Emotech is currently at the forefront of the research in conversational AI solutions to develop Customer Experience(CX) AI Agents at scale. We focus on under-resourced languages with the intention of bringing the best experience for a potential user base of 2.5 billion people. With a growing customer base including some of the biggest names in the airline, telco, and banking industries we are seeking a seasoned Senior Applied Research Scientist to lead our R&D efforts and shape the future of our AI research strategy .

General Description of the Role

As a Senior Applied Research Scientist lead, you will take ownership of a full R&D pipeline. This includes identifying trends in the industry, defining research plans and delivering state-of-the-art technology. The role will involve researching all areas within conversational AI, such as Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Text-to-Speech (TTS) and Large Language Models (LLM). Besides technical excellence , this role also requires research leadership, and strategic vision . You will lead and mentor a high-performing team , drive cross-functional collaboration , and ensure innovations directly advance business goals.

As Senior Applied Research Scientist, you will be responsible for:

• Drive applied R&D in speech and language technologies (ASR, TTS, LLM), combining cutting-edge research with practical system development for multilingual, end-to-end applications.
• Lead and grow the research team, setting clear goals, fostering innovation, and ensuring alignment with company strategy.
• Convert product requirements into research plans and ideas
• Define data requirements and ensure data quality and integrity
• Perform continuous evaluation of systems to make sure they always fulfil requirements
• Collaborate cross-functionally with data, product, and engineering teams to accelerate deployment of cutting-edge solutions.
• Represent the company’s research externally through publications, conference talks, and engagement with the broader AI community.

Minimum Requirements:

• Minimum of 4 years of research & development experience in industry, or equivalent academic experience
• Minimum 2 years track record of leading small teams in a fast-paced research environment.
• Experience in relevant fields, such as Automatic Speech Recognition or Speech Synthesis
• Experience working with production systems using AI models
• Proficient knowledge of Python, PyTorch and other libraries for deep learning applied to speech and language
• Masters Degree or higher in Computer Science or other relevant area

Preferred Background and Skills:

• PhD in a topic with a strong speech and language focus
• Experience working with low resourced languages
• Knowledge of other programming languages, such as C++ or Rust
• Good software version control practices, for instance with Git
• Familiarity with containerization solutions like Dockers
• Exposure to CI/CD pipelines and best deployment practices
• Previous projects integrating LLMs into conversational AI solutions
• Publications in top-tier conferences (Interspeech, ICASSP, NeurIPS, etc) or journals.