Senior Applied AI Scientist

We power people's progress.

At Preply, we’re all about creating life-changing learning experiences. We help people discover the magic of the perfect tutor, craft a personalized learning journey, and stay motivated to keep growing. Our approach is human-led, tech-enabled - and it’s creating real impact. So far, 90,000 tutors have delivered over 20 million lessons to learners in more than 175 countries. Every Preply lesson sparks change, fuels ambition, and drives progress that matters.

Meet the team!

As a Senior AI Scientist, you will lead the development of AI-driven personalized learning solutions and shape Preply's scientific roadmap. Working alongside exceptional scientists and engineers, you will architect state-of-the-art models and systems that enhance the experiences of millions of learners worldwide.

What you’ll be doing:

• Innovative R&D: Leverage your extensive experience in Deep learning, NLP, Information Retrieval (IR), LLMs and multimodal AI to design and deploy scalable machine learning solutions for personalized learning and intelligent tutor systems. 
• Scientific leadership: Develop long-term scientific roadmaps, aligning them with Preply’s product strategy and business goals. Act as a strategic advisor to senior leadership on investments, technology direction, and organizational planning.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Partner closely with applied science leaders, product managers, and engineering teams to deliver AI solutions that address user needs and unlock new business opportunities.
• Mentorship & knowledge sharing: Guide and mentor scientists and engineers, fostering a collaborative and innovative science community within Preply.
• Drive best practices: Establish and advocate for best practices in machine learning, including architecture design, research roadmaps, and deployment pipelines.

What you need to succeed:

• Academic and professional background:
  • PhD in NLP, IR, Machine Learning, or related fields (or equivalent experience).
  • 8+ years of industry experience, with a strong focus on deep learning-based NLP and IR methods.
• Scientific and technical expertise:
  • Demonstrated authority in retrieval models and extensive experience with ranking models.
  • Strong understanding and experience with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and LLMs for real-world applications.
  • Proficiency in deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow.
  • Hands-on experience with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud).
• Leadership & impact:
  • Proven ability to lead scientific roadmaps across multiple product areas, aligning them with business objectives and a strong publication record in top-tier venues.
  • Track record of solving real-world problems throughout the entire product lifecycle, from research to production.
• Visionary mindset:
  • A passion for driving scientific innovation to enhance personalized learning experiences.
  • Strong collaboration skills and the ability to work cross-functionally with diverse teams.

Why you’ll love it at Preply:

• An open, collaborative, dynamic and diverse culture;
• A generous monthly allowance for lessons on Preply.com, Learning & Development budget and time off for your self-development;
• A competitive financial package with equity, leave allowance and health insurance;
• Not in Barcelona? We offer an attractive relocation package to join us in our Preply Barcelona Hub
• Access to free mental health support platforms;
• Access to Gympass-partnered wellness and gym centers throughout Spain to promote and support well-being and physical health; 
• The opportunity to unlock the potential of learners and tutors through language learning and teaching in 175 countries (and counting!).

Our Principles

• Care to change the world - We are passionate about our work and care deeply about its impact to be life changing.
• We do it for learners - For both Preply and tutors, learners are why we do what we do. Every day we focus on empowering tutors to deliver an exceptional learning experience.
• Keep perfecting - To create an outstanding customer experience, we focus on simplicity, smoothness, and enjoyment, continually perfecting it as every detail matters.
• Now is the time - In a fast-paced world, it matters how quickly we act. Now is the time to make great things happen.
• Disciplined execution - What makes us disciplined is the excellence in our execution. We set clear goals, focus on what matters, and utilize our resources efficiently.
• Dive deep - We leverage business acumen and curiosity to investigate disparities between numbers and stories, unlocking meaningful insights to guide our decisions.
• Growth mindset - We proactively seek growth opportunities and believe today's best performance becomes tomorrow's starting point. We humbly embrace feedback and learn from setbacks.
• Raise the bar - We raise our performance standards continuously, alongside each new hire and promotion. We build diverse and high-performing teams that can make a real difference.
• Challenge, disagree and commit - We value open and candid communication, even when we don’t fully agree. We speak our minds, challenge when necessary, and fully commit to decisions once made.
• One Preply - We prioritize collaboration, inclusion, and the success of our team over personal ambitions. Together, we support and celebrate each other's progress.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Preply is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment where people from all backgrounds can thrive. Different opinions and viewpoints are key ingredients in our success as a multicultural Ed-Tech company. 

Preply will consider all applications for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age or veteran status. Together, we are The World Class.

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