Senior AI/ML Researcher

Navan is the all-in-one travel and expense management platform that is transforming the way businesses manage their corporate travel and expenses. Leveraging AI-driven automation, real time data, and an intuitive user experience, Navan simplifies business travel and finance operations for companies worldwide. We are seeking an AI Researcher to help create innovative artificial intelligence solutions within our platform enabling smarter, more efficient solutions for our customers. Working closely with cross-functional teams, you will be involved in every stage of AI development, from ideation and design to rigorous testing and successful deployment, ensuring our AI projects drive innovation and provide value in the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence.

What You’ll Do:

• Develop cutting-edge machine learning algorithms and models to improve AI performance and capabilities in our product
• Conduct research to identify and implement new AI technologies and techniques
• Design and conduct experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of AI models
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams closely to ensure cohesive integration of AI solutions into existing products and systems
• Stay current on industry trends and advancements in AI research and technology in natural language processing and machine learning, and incorporate new techniques and technologies as appropriate
• Publish findings and contribute to academic and industry journals and conferences
• Assist in mentoring and guiding junior AI researchers in their projects and development

What We’re Looking For:

• Master’s or PhD degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field
• 5+ years of professional experience in AI, machine learning, and/or natural language processing
• Strong background in machine learning, AI algorithms, and natural language processing, with experience in commercial models (such as OpenAI and Anthropic) and/or open-source models (such as Llama and DeepSeek)
• Experience with deep learning architectures, including Transformers, and deep learning techniques, including Reinforcement Learning (RL)
• Familiarity with deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow
• Experience with training and/or finetuning LLM models and familiar with popular model training/finetuning techniques.
• A passion for staying updated with the latest advancements in AI research and technology
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to think critically and logically
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams 

The posted pay range represents the anticipated low and high end of the compensation for this position and is subject to change based on business need. To determine a successful candidate’s starting pay, we carefully consider a variety of factors, including primary work location, an evaluation of the candidate’s skills and experience, market demands, and internal parity.

For roles with on-target-earnings (OTE), the pay range includes both base salary and target incentive compensation. Target incentive compensation for some roles may include a ramping draw period. Compensation is higher for those who exceed targets. Candidates may receive more information from the recruiter.