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SIL International is hiring a
Remote Senior Data Scientist - AI

📍 Remote

About the Role:

Are you mad-skilled at building amazing technical solutions yet burned out because your efforts sell widgets you don’t care about? Passionate about your Christian faith and want to put that to work making a difference for people around the world? Come join the IDX team as a senior data scientist / NLP Engineer!

The SIL Innovation team (IDX) at SIL International is looking for a senior data scientist / NLP engineer to help advance AI technology expanding language possibilities designed to enable a quarter of the world’s population to flourish using their mother language. This candidate will be part of a faith-based nonprofit organization committed to serving language communities worldwide as they build capacity for sustainable language development. The position is a paid salary position, offers exceptional real-world learning opportunities, and involves work on state-of-the-art (SOTA) NLP solutions and modern infrastructure.

The senior data scientist / NLP engineer is seeking a full-time engineering position in which they will gain non-profit, business and technical experience. They enjoy supporting a team that solves complex problems to generate valuable insights. They communicate, create, organize, and advocate the impact of Bible Translation as a critical element of the Great Commission.

The Senior Data Scientist / NLP Engineer works on real-world problems in natural language processing (NLP) for text and speech/voice. This includes extending and improving on NLP models and methods using pooled language/voice data from SIL and its partners (in 1,600+ languages). The output of this work will be applied by SIL, other NGOs, and commercial entities in technology/content creation for local language communities.

Work Location: Remote

Pay: $120,000.00 - $155,000.00 per year
Job Type: Full-time

What You'll Be Doing:

Must be able to successfully fulfill the following tasks:
Participate in research in machine intelligence and machine learning applications
Develop solutions for real world natural language processing problems
Help curate and pre-process pooled data from SIL and its partners such that is can be utilized in NLP/ML/AI research and development
Advise and collaborate with SIL Data Scientist(s)
Lead and contribute to the design and implementation of NLP models and algorithms that can scale across diverse languages and dialects, taking into consideration the linguistic variations and complexities present in different language communities.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including linguists, on-the-ground Bible translation teams (consultants, mother tongue translators), software engineers, and domain experts, to identify language-specific challenges and develop innovative NLP solutions to address them.
Stay up-to-date with the latest advancements in NLP and machine learning research, and integrate cutting-edge techniques into the existing workflow to improve the efficiency and accuracy of language processing models.
Engage in regular knowledge-sharing sessions with team members, promoting a culture of continuous learning and professional development.
Contribute to the creation of technical documentation and research papers to disseminate findings and contribute to the academic community.
Collaborate with partner organizations and stakeholders to understand their specific NLP requirements and develop tailored solutions that cater to their needs.
Participate in technical discussions and brainstorming sessions to provide insights and recommendations for improving the overall AI technology strategy of SIL Innovation team.
Assist in exploring potential funding opportunities and grants that align with the organization's mission and research goals.

What We're Looking For:

Available full time starting asap.
General availability during US business hours Monday – Friday, 8AM-5PM (central time); fairly flexible.
Bilingual and multicultural experience is preferred
Position can be remote or in person in the Dallas area (SIL International Headquarters).
Occasional face to face meetings: up to 25% travel, including international trips
Strong organizational, communication skills
Enjoy working with a team or independently with minimal supervision
Leadership skills and ambitious attitude
Passion for global missions
Experience with Google GSuite
Able to complete and pass all required screens for employment
U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident (Deferred action and temporary / permanent resident do not qualify)
Able to pass a criminal background check

Required experience/ education:

Python programming, including experience with data manipulation, algorithm development, and NLP libraries/frameworks.
Command line (e.g., bash) to navigate file systems, edit files, connect remotely to servers, etc.
Cloud infrastructure usage and management (e.g., AWS, GCP, or Digital Ocean), for deploying NLP solutions at scale.
Ability to work effectively in a collaborative team environment, utilizing office suites like Google Docs and shared drives such as Google Drive for efficient communication and documentation.
Degree in computer science or another quantitative discipline (physics, engineering, etc.) and/or 5 years of experience.
Previous projects demonstrating the ability to develop and deploy real world APIs or other software products.

Preferred experience/ education:

Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in computer science, computational linguistics, or a related field, with a focus on natural language processing or machine learning.
Go programming experience.
Proven track record of research publications or contributions to the NLP/Machine Learning community, such as academic papers, conference presentations, or open-source projects.
Experience with deep learning frameworks like TensorFlow or PyTorch / HuggingFace, and the ability to fine-tune pre-trained language models for specific NLP tasks.
Strong understanding of linguistics, syntax, and semantics, enabling effective collaboration with linguistic experts within SIL International.
Familiarity with Agile development methodologies and project management tools for efficient project execution and delivery.
Knowledge of other programming languages commonly used in NLP, such as Java, C++, or JavaScript, to facilitate integration with existing systems or applications.
Prior experience working with multi-language or low-resource language datasets, addressing challenges in data scarcity and language diversity.
Demonstrated ability to conduct end-to-end model evaluation and performance optimization, considering real-world constraints and deployment scenarios.

Extra credit experience:

Proven track record of public presentations on AI-related topics, including participation in podcasts, conferences, or speaking engagements.
Previous leadership and management experience, including leading NLP research teams or managing complex projects with interdisciplinary stakeholders.
Experience in collaborating with non-profit organizations or faith-based initiatives, demonstrating a passion for using AI technology to serve global language communities.
Involvement in community-driven AI initiatives or mentorship programs, promoting knowledge sharing and diversity in the AI field.

Benefits: