Software Engineer (AI / NLP / ML)

We are seeking a talented and experienced AI/NLP Engineer to join our dynamic team. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML), with proven expertise in fine-tuning, deploying, and optimizing state-of-the-art NLP models. This role demands a hands-on approach to designing, developing, and integrating NLP solutions tailored to solve complex business challenges.

If you are passionate about cutting-edge AI, have a knack for deploying scalable models in production environments, and enjoy collaborating with cross-functional teams, we’d love to hear from you!

Key Responsibilities:

• Model Development and Fine-tuning:
  • Customize, fine-tune, and optimize open-source NLP models (e.g., LSTM/RNN based, Transformer-based, Conformer-based, and VITS architecture) using transfer learning.
  • Develop and train models from scratch when needed to address specific business challenges.
• Generative AI & Prompt Engineering:
  • Design effective prompts for generative AI tasks to meet diverse user and business requirements.
  • Build similarity models (e.g., symmetric/asymmetric - gte, bge, Mini-LM) using BERT, XLNET, and cross-encoders for LLM-based Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) use cases.
• Model Deployment & Optimization:
  • Deploy models at scale using Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud platforms like AWS.
  • Optimize models for performance using techniques such as vLLM (Paged Attention), quantization, and adapter-based fine-tuning - LoRA, QLoRA.
• Performance Monitoring and Enhancement:
  • Continuously evaluate and enhance model performance to ensure accuracy, scalability, and minimal latency.
  • Build pipelines for data preprocessing, model serving, and monitoring using tools like Airflow and AWS Batch.
• Collaboration:
  • Work closely with data scientists, software engineers, and product teams to integrate NLP models seamlessly into business applications.

 Required Skills:

• NLP & Machine Learning:
  • 3+ years of experience in NLP, with expertise in fine-tuning, transfer learning, and developing custom models.
  • Hands-on experience in ASR, TTS, or custom language model architectures (e.g., Auto-regressive transformers, RWKV).
• Generative AI & Prompt Engineering:
  • Proficiency in designing and crafting prompts for generative AI models aligned with business use cases.
• Programming Skills:
  • Strong proficiency in Python, with experience in implementing NLP models and building pipelines.
• Model Deployment:
  • Hands-on experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud-based deployment on platforms such as AWS.
• Deep Learning Frameworks:
  • Proficiency with TensorFlow, PyTorch, and libraries like Hugging Face Transformers, NLTK, SpaCy, and Gensim.

Bonus Skills:

• MLOps & Cloud Services:
  • Experience with AWS (Lambda, Step Functions, Batch), GCP, Azure, or Nemo for model deployment and pipeline management.
• Large-Scale Deployments:
  • Expertise in scaling AI models and managing SLAs for real-world applications.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• Proven track record of working with large datasets and creating robust pipelines for data ingestion and preprocessing.
• Strong understanding of neural networks and advanced deep learning architectures for NLP.

Nextiva DNA (Core Competencies)

Nextiva’s most successful team members share common traits and behaviors:

• Drives Results: Action-oriented with a passion for solving problems. They bring clarity and simplicity to ambiguous situations, challenge the status quo, and ask what can be done differently. They lead and drive change, celebrating success to build more success.
• Critical Thinker: Understands the "why" and identifies key drivers, learning from the past. They are fact-based and data-driven, forward-thinking, and see problems a few steps ahead. They provide options, recommendations, and actions, understanding risks and dependencies.
• Right Attitude: They are team-oriented, collaborative, competitive, and hate losing. They are resilient, able to bounce back from setbacks, zoom in and out, and get in the trenches to help solve important problems. They cultivate a culture of service, learning, support, and respect, caring for customers and teams.

Total Rewards

Our Total Rewards offerings are designed to allow our employees to take care of themselves and their families so they can be their best, in and out of the office.

Our compensation packages are tailored to each role and candidate's qualifications. We consider a wide range of factors, including skills, experience, training, and certifications, when determining compensation. We aim to offer competitive salaries or wages that reflect the value you bring to our team. Depending on the position, compensation may include base salary and/or hourly wages, incentives, or bonuses.

• Medical 🩺 - Medical insurance coverage is available for employees, their spouse, and up to two dependent children with a limit of 500,000 INR, as well as their parents or in-laws for up to 300,000 INR. This comprehensive coverage ensures that essential healthcare needs are met for the entire family unit, providing peace of mind and security in times of medical necessity.
• Group Term & Group Personal Accident Insurance 💼 - Provides insurance coverage against the risk of death / injury during the policy period sustained due to an accident caused by violent, visible & external means.
  • Coverage Type - Employee Only
  • Sum Insured - 3 times of annual CTC with minimum cap of INR 10,00,000
  • Free Cover Limit - 1.5 Crore
• Work-Life Balance ⚖️ - 15 days of Privilege leaves per calendar year, 6 days of Paid Sick leave per calendar year, 6 days of Casual leave per calendar year. Paid 26 weeks of Maternity leaves, 1 week of Paternity leave, a day off on your Birthday, and paid holidays
• Financial Security💰 - Provident Fund & Gratuity
• Wellness 🤸‍ - Employee Assistance Program and comprehensive wellness initiatives
• Growth 🌱 - Access to ongoing learning and development opportunities and career advancement

At Nextiva, we're committed to supporting our employees' health, well-being, and professional growth. Join us and build a rewarding career! 

#LI-MK1 #LI-Hybrid