Research Scientist (Information Retrieval & Recommendation Systems)

TL;DR

Research Scientist (AI/ML): Researching and applying state-of-the-art techniques to large-scale problems in recommender systems and NLP with an accent on semantic search and deep research agents. Focus on fine-tuning Transformer-based models, optimizing Information Retrieval, and implementing scalable ML solutions for business challenges.

Location: Madrid, Spain (Hybrid)

Salary: €46,100 – €51,000 yearly

Company

NIQ is the world’s leading consumer intelligence company, delivering a complete understanding of consumer buying behavior across 100+ markets.

What you will do

• Research, evaluate, and adapt state-of-the-art AI techniques to solve large-scale business problems.
• Fine-tune Transformer-based and embedding models for domain-specific applications.
• Contribute to research initiatives in Information Retrieval, Product Matching, Recommendation Systems, and Generative AI.
• Develop scalable, reproducible, and maintainable machine learning solutions.
• Collaborate with technical colleagues to integrate ML solutions into production.
• Contribute to scientific publications, patents, and innovation initiatives.

Requirements

• Master's degree in Computer Science, AI, ML, Mathematics, Physics, or a related quantitative discipline.
• 3-6 years of experience in Machine Learning, Deep Learning, or AI research.
• Proficiency in Python, PyTorch, Hugging Face, Pandas, and Scikit-learn.
• Experience training Transformer models, embeddings, and custom SLMs or reasoning models.
• Familiarity with Information Retrieval concepts and vector databases (e.g., FAISS, ChromaDB, Pinecone).
• Must be based in Madrid, Spain (Hybrid work model).

Nice to have

• Publications in AI, NLP, Information Retrieval, or Recommendation Systems.
• Experience with RAG architectures, LLMs, and agent-based frameworks (LangChain, LangGraph).
• Experience with Knowledge Graphs and MLOps practices.
• Experience with Databricks, SQL, or Elasticsearch.
• Industry experience in retail, consumer intelligence, ecommerce, or FMCG.

Culture & Benefits

• Flexible working environment.
• Volunteer time off.
• Access to LinkedIn Learning for professional development.
• Employee-Assistance-Program (EAP).