Senior Principal Applied AI Scientist

About the role

As a Senior Principal Applied AI Scientist, you will lead the development of AI‑driven personalized learning solutions and shape Preply's scientific roadmap. You will collaborate with top scientists and engineers to architect state‑of‑the‑art models that enhance the experience of millions of learners worldwide, reporting directly to the VP of Data and Applied AI.

Key responsibilities

• Innovative R&D: design and deploy scalable deep‑learning, NLP, IR, LLM and multimodal AI solutions for personalized learning and intelligent tutor systems.
• Scientific leadership: create long‑term scientific roadmaps aligned with product strategy and advise senior leadership on technology investments.
• Cross‑functional collaboration: partner with applied science leaders, product managers and engineering teams to deliver AI solutions that meet user needs.
• Mentorship & knowledge sharing: guide scientists and engineers, fostering a collaborative science community.
• Drive best practices: establish standards for model architecture, research roadmaps and deployment pipelines.

Required profile

• PhD in NLP, Information Retrieval, Machine Learning or equivalent experience with 8+ years in industry.
• Proven expertise in retrieval and ranking models, retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) and real‑world LLM applications.
• Leadership experience shaping scientific roadmaps across multiple product areas and delivering end‑to‑end solutions.
• Visionary mindset with a passion for scientific innovation in personalized learning.
• Strong collaboration skills to work cross‑functionally with diverse teams.

Required skills

• Deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch.
• Cloud platforms (AWS, Google Cloud).
• Experience with large language models (LLMs) and continuous pre‑training.
• Retrieval‑augmented generation (RAG) techniques.
• Retrieval and ranking model development.

What we offer

• Open, collaborative and diverse culture.
• Monthly allowance for lessons on Preply.com and a learning & development budget.
• Competitive financial package with equity, leave allowance and health insurance.
• Free mental‑health support platforms.
• Opportunity to impact learners and tutors in 175+ countries.