Lead AI & Machine Learning Engineer (NLP Focus)

Our client, a globally recognized leader in legal technology solutions, is seeking an exceptional Lead AI & Machine Learning Engineer with a specialization in Natural Language Processing (NLP). This is a fully remote role that will spearhead the development and implementation of advanced AI and ML models to revolutionize how legal professionals interact with information and manage cases. You will be instrumental in building intelligent systems that can understand, interpret, and generate legal text, automate document review, enhance legal research, and improve overall legal service delivery. The ideal candidate possesses a strong theoretical foundation in AI/ML and NLP, combined with practical experience in building scalable, production-ready systems. You will collaborate closely with legal experts, product managers, and other engineers to translate complex legal challenges into innovative AI-powered solutions.

Key Responsibilities: Lead the design, development, and deployment of cutting-edge NLP models for legal applications, including text classification, entity recognition, summarization, and question answering. Architect and implement robust ML pipelines for data preprocessing, model training, evaluation, and deployment in a production environment. Collaborate with legal domain experts to understand requirements, gather data, and validate model performance against legal accuracy standards. Research and apply state-of-the-art NLP techniques and algorithms to solve complex legal problems. Optimize ML models for performance, scalability, and efficiency. Mentor junior AI/ML engineers and contribute to the team's technical growth and best practices. Stay abreast of the latest advancements in AI, ML, and NLP research and industry trends, particularly within the legal tech space. Develop and maintain documentation for AI/ML models, code, and systems. Work closely with software engineering teams to integrate ML models into existing and new product offerings. Evaluate and recommend new tools, technologies, and frameworks for AI/ML development. Drive innovation by identifying new opportunities to apply AI/ML to enhance legal services and products. Ensure ethical considerations and bias mitigation are integrated into the development of AI models. This is a fully remote position, offering the flexibility to work from anywhere, with a focus on supporting our global operations and contributing to projects that impact legal professionals worldwide, especially those connected to **Sandton, Gauteng, ZA**, and its surrounding professional communities. We are seeking a highly motivated and technically adept individual with a passion for applying AI to solve real-world problems in the legal sector. If you have a proven ability to lead AI/ML projects from conception to deployment and excel in a collaborative, fast-paced environment, we encourage you to apply. This is a prime opportunity to shape the future of legal technology and make a significant impact on the legal industry.

Qualifications: Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or a related quantitative field. Minimum of 7 years of experience in AI/ML engineering, with a strong focus on Natural Language Processing (NLP). Proven expertise in developing and deploying NLP models using frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, or similar. Strong programming skills in Python and experience with relevant libraries (e.g., scikit-learn, spaCy, NLTK, Hugging Face Transformers). Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and MLOps practices. Deep understanding of ML algorithms, statistical modeling, and data mining techniques. Familiarity with the legal domain and legal technology is highly desirable. Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and critical thinking skills. Strong communication and leadership skills, with the ability to mentor and guide technical teams.