Staff Research Scientist

What you will be doing:

• Lead applied AI research and develop innovative machine learning, optimization, and data-driven solutions across Maya's AI initiatives.
• Translate complex business problems into production-ready AI, machine learning, and optimization solutions.
• Design, prototype, validate, and deploy scalable models and systems that deliver measurable business impact.
• Drive the adoption of emerging AI technologies and research advancements, including Causal AI and Neuro-symbolic AI.
• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, and Business teams to bring research innovations into production.
• Lead and grow a high-performing AI research team, providing technical direction, mentorship, and strategic leadership.
• Define and execute research roadmaps aligned with business priorities and Maya's AI strategy.
• Represent Maya in the AI research community through academic partnerships, publications, and participation in leading AI/ML conferences.
• Drive improvements across lending, fraud, marketing, and intelligent operations through innovative AI solutions, faster deployment of research, and increased adoption of frontier AI techniques.

What we are looking for:

• Master's degree or PhD in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field.
• Experience in Data Science, Machine Learning, AI Research, or a related field.
• Experience leading and managing high-performing Data Science teams.
• Proven track record of delivering impactful AI or Data Science solutions in fast-paced environments.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to design innovative solutions while balancing business, regulatory, and responsible AI requirements.
• Publication record or demonstrated research contributions through conference papers, workshops, or pre-prints is an advantage.

Displayed Skill Mastery:

• Proven leadership, people management, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to lead, mentor, and develop high-performing teams.
• Strong communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Experience working in agile environments and managing complex projects.
• Ability to balance hands-on technical contributions with leadership responsibilities across multiple AI research domains.

Specialization Track A: LLMs, Audio Processing & Speech AI

• Experience developing and fine-tuning speech, audio, and language models in research or production environments.
• Strong knowledge of speech recognition, speaker verification, emotion recognition, audio classification, and speech-based behavioral modeling.
• Experience with transformer-based architectures, multimodal learning, self-supervised learning, and representation learning.
• Strong proficiency in PyTorch, TensorFlow, digital signal processing, feature engineering, and deep learning architectures such as Transformers, CNNs, and RNNs.
• Familiarity with Causal AI and Neuro-symbolic AI approaches.
• Background in behavioral science, psychology, psychometrics, or behavioral modeling is a plus.

Specialization Track B: Operations Research & Optimization

• Strong background in Operations Research, Optimization, or Applied Mathematics.
• Experience solving complex optimization problems, including linear programming, mixed-integer programming, multi-objective optimization, scheduling, routing, and resource allocation.
• Experience developing algorithms, heuristics, simulation models, and decision-support systems.
• Proficiency with optimization tools such as Gurobi, CPLEX, OR-Tools, SCIP, or similar platforms.
• Strong understanding of mathematical modeling, algorithms, and computational complexity.