Job description

About Optimal

Optimal is a leading user research platform that empowers organisations to create exceptional experiences for their customers across a range of industries and mediums. Our platform offers a suite of tools for conducting various experience research methods including discovery, usability testing, card sorting, and tree testing. We are committed to helping our clients make data-driven decisions and deliver outstanding experiences.

The role

As an AI Engineer at Optimal, you'll be part of our Development team and lead the generation of our new-generation AI capabilities. You’ll build and deploy machine learning solutions that help our customers extract deeper insights from their customer research. Collaborating with cross-functional teams, you'll turn research models into production-ready systems while maintaining best practices for deployment and performance. Your work will directly shape the future of AI-powered insights, driving value for our customers.

What you’ll do:

Design, develop, and deploy production-grade models focusing on generative AI, sentiment analysis, and customer behavior prediction
Create robust data pipelines to process and analyze large volumes of research data
Develop APIs and services that make our AI capabilities accessible throughout our platform
Architect and maintain scalable ML infrastructure supporting our growing customer base
Establish best practices for model deployment, monitoring, and maintenance
Collaborate with data scientists to translate research models into production-ready systems
Work closely with product and engineering teams to integrate AI features into our platform
Stay at the forefront of AI/ML developments, particularly in areas relevant to customer experience analysis
Lead proof-of-concept projects to validate new AI capabilities
Contribute to our technical strategy for AI implementation and scaling
Evaluate and recommend new tools and frameworks to enhance our AI capabilities

What we’re looking for:

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or related field
5+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 3 years focused on machine learning and AI
Strong programming skills in Python and experience with ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, or similar)
Expertise in large language models
Experience deploying and maintaining models in production environments
Strong understanding of data structures, algorithms, and software design principles
Proven track record of building scalable, production-grade AI systems
Knowledge of AWS and MLOps practices
Experience with customer experience analytics or voice-of-customer solutions (desirable)
Experience with real-time processing systems and streaming data (desirable)

What’s in it for you:

Competitive salary (we offer a salary that reflects your experience and the value you’ll bring to our team)
Annual wellbeing allowance and support
Generous annual learning and development fund
Employee Share Option Plan (ESOP) to help you benefit from the long-term success of the company.
Home office set-up support
4 weeks annual leave, plus an additional day off on your birthday!
Opportunities for professional growth and development

Be part of a fast-growing company that’s trusted by some of the world's biggest brands, and make an impact in an innovative environment where your AI expertise will shape the future of customer insights. If you're an AI Engineer with a passion for developing cutting-edge machine learning solutions, we'd love to hear from you. We'll be interviewing as applications come through.

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