Senior Applied Scientist

Qualtrics • Reston, VA

7d • Hybrid

About The Position

We are looking for a talented and innovative Senior Applied Scientist to bring our Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence R&D to the next level. Our goal is to personalize the Qualtrics experience using ML/AI features showcasing Qualtrics data as a core value proposition and competitive advantage. Applied scientists partner with application teams to deliver algorithms and models that drive efficiency, innovation, and growth. They identify business needs and define strategies where Qualtrics can most benefit from AI technologies and they conduct modeling with deep expertise and rigor, including model selection, training, fine-tuning, customization, explainability, and evaluation.

Requirements

• Leverage your deep knowledge of AI principles, including machine learning, natural language processing, and reinforcement learning.
• Use your understanding of both supervised and unsupervised learning techniques, and their applications in building intelligent systems.
• Develop and optimize algorithms for building scalable and efficient AI applications.
• Tackle challenging problems in creative ways, leveraging generative models to address real-world use cases and drive innovation.
• Use effective communication skills to articulate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and gather requirements for AI application development.
• Design and execute evaluation strategies for agentic systems, including rubric-based success criteria, multi-turn conversation simulation, and LLM-as-a-judge frameworks.
• Show strong programming skills in languages like Python, along with proficiency in deep learning frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, or similar.
• Bachelors and Ph.D in Computer Science or related fields.
• 2+ years of post graduate industrial research experience in machine learning, NLP, information retrieval, deep learning or a related field.
• Deep learning implementation expertise (MxNet, TensorFlow, PyTorch etc)
• Excellent communication, writing and presentation skills.
• Excellent command of at least one modern programming language (preferably Python)
• Excellent problem solving ability.
• Deep understanding of machine learning model life cycle management.
• Depth in one or more of the following: Natural Language processing, information retrieval, speech processing, deep learning, reinforcement learning, etc.
• Knowledge of or experience in building production quality and large scale deployment of applications related to machine learning.
• Comfortable working in a fast paced, highly collaborative, dynamic work environment.
• Experience in machine learning systems (e.g. SageMaker, MLFlow), and deep learning frameworks (e.g. TensorFlow, PyTorch, MXNet etc).
• Proven track record in evaluating complex, multi-turn agentic systems. Deep experience with observability tools, evaluating tool-use reliability, and implementing systematic benchmarking in CI/CD pipelines.

Nice To Haves

• Passion for leveraging cutting-edge AI technology to create innovative applications that have a meaningful impact on businesses, industries, and society.
• Commitment to developing AI applications that adhere to ethical standards and promote positive societal impact while minimizing potential risks.
• Drive to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI, and to contribute to the advancement of the field through research, experimentation, and collaboration.
• Willingness to stay updated with the latest advancements in AI research and technology, and to continuously learn and adapt to new methodologies and best practices.
• Agility to pivot and iterate on AI applications based on feedback, emerging trends, and changing business requirements.
• Preference for a publication record in top-tier ML and NLP conferences (e.g. NeurIPS, ICML, SIGIR, ICLR, ACL, EMNLP, etc.).

Responsibilities

• Work as part of a multidisciplinary team to research, implement, evaluate, optimize, productize and maintain cutting-edge machine learning models to meet the demands of our rapidly growing business.
• Stay on top of the latest developments in machine learning and related research, and present research findings with the broader community.
• Work closely with, and incorporate feedback from other specialists, engineers, and product managers.
• Lead and engage in design reviews, modeling discussions, requirement definitions and other technical activities in diverse capacity.
• Mentor and grow junior scientists, drive best practices for experimentation, reproducibility, monitoring and lifecycle management, and ensure models are reliable, scalable and impactful in production.
• Champion Evaluation-Driven Development (EDD) by embedding automated testing, risk-based assessments, and production monitoring into the full agentic lifecycle.

Benefits

• Wellness Reimbursement for $300 per quarter for wellness activities including gym memberships, spa massages, workout equipment, meditation apps, and much more.
• $1800 Experience bonus to be used for an “Experience” of your choosing
• Amazing QGroup Communities; MOSAIQ, Green Team, Qualtrics Pride, Q&Able, Qualtrics Salute, and Women’s Leadership Development, which exist as places for support, allyship, and advocacy.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree