Senior Data Scientist (AI)

TL;DR

Senior Data Scientist (AI): Designing and building cutting-edge AI systems, including generative AI, LLMs, and RAG pipelines, with an accent on model evaluation, scalability, and production-readiness. Focus on translating research findings into high-impact industrial prototypes and mentoring junior team members.

Location: Must be based in Chicago or Peoria, Illinois, USA

Salary: $112,710 - $183,140

Company

A global leader in construction and mining equipment, providing advanced digital and technology solutions through its Cat Digital arm.

What you will do

• Design and execute AI experiments across the full model lifecycle, from hypothesis to production.
• Develop, fine-tune, and benchmark LLMs and multimodal AI models for quality, latency, and cost.
• Optimize knowledge retrieval systems (RAG) and agentic workflows for enterprise use cases.
• Lead data preparation, curation, and labeling strategies for model training and validation.
• Instrument AI systems for observability and reproducibility using frameworks like MLflow.
• Collaborate with Engineering and Product teams to define technical requirements and deployment paths.

Requirements

• Must be authorized to work in the US; visa sponsorship is not available.
• Advanced proficiency in Python and modern AI frameworks (PyTorch, LangChain).
• Strong experience in generative AI, deep learning, NLP, and multimodal systems.
• Proven ability to design precise experiments and validate model performance.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure) and scalable experimentation environments.
• Strong communication skills to translate research findings for technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Culture & Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance plans.
• 401(k) savings plans with company contributions.
• Generous paid time off including vacation and holidays.
• Tuition reimbursement and career development programs.
• Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA).
• Parental leave and adoption benefits.