You will:

• Drive the selection and evaluation of open foundation / open-weight models as the basis for our next-generation translation systems.
• Lead model selection and general architecture decisions for scaling to hundreds of billions of parameters, including Mixture-of-Experts and other sparse or efficient designs.
• Design multi-capability adaptation strategies using LoRA, PEFT, and related methods.
• Own the modelling lifecycle for your work: prototyping, ablations, scaling experiments, evaluation, and delivery into production, with rigorous and reproducible evaluation.
• Partner closely with post-training, RL/RLHF, and instruction-following specialists to integrate alignment and capability work into the base model.
• Stay ahead of the open-model and scaling literature, and bring well-founded recommendations back to the team.

Qualities we look for

• Strong hands-on experience adapting and scaling large language models via fine-tuning, instruction-tuning, or post-training of multi-billion-parameter models beyond black-box use.
• Sound judgment about architecture trade-offs at scale (e.g. dense vs. MoE) and about which open-weight foundation models to build on.
• Working knowledge of parameter-efficient and multi-capability adaptation (LoRA/PEFT and variants).
• A hands-on builder who enjoys training models, running experiments, and debugging pipelines, and who can carry research results through to production with engineering.
• Strong coding and experimentation skills (Python, PyTorch/JAX/Tensorflow).
• Ability to communicate clearly, collaborate across teams, and align research work with product and engineering priorities.

Nice to have:

• Experience quantifying uncertainty in large models — calibration and confidence estimation via Bayesian methods, ensembling, steering, or prompt-based approaches.
• Experience with machine translation, multilingual NLP, or document-/layout-aware modelling experience.
• Familiarity with MoE-specific training and adaptation (e.g. expert routing, Mixture-of-LoRA-Experts) and large-scale data-mixture design.

What we offer

• Diverse and internationally distributed team: joining our team means becoming part of a large, global community with people of more than 90 nationalities. We're more than just colleagues; we're a group of professionals with a shared mission to connect diverse cultures. Our global presence is growing–we've doubled in size nearly every year, with our employees based in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, the US, and Japan, and we continue to expand our network.
• Open communication, regular feedback: as a language-focused company, we value the importance of clear, honest communication. We value smooth collaboration, direct and actionable feedback, and believe that leading with empathy and growth mindset makes us better together.
• Hybrid work, flexible hours: we offer a hybrid work schedule, with team members coming into the office twice a week. This allows you to engage directly with your team and experience the unique energy of our workspace, while still enjoying the flexibility and comfort of working from home. With flexible working hours and trust in your productivity, we are in sync with your team’s general locations and time zones to foster effective and seamless collaboration.
• Virtual Shares - An ownership mindset in every role: We believe everyone should share in our success, and that’s why every employee receives Virtual Shares, linking your contribution directly to DeepL’s growth and rewarding you with a stake in our future.
• Regular in-person team events: we bond over vibrant events that are as unique as our team, from local team and business unit gatherings, to new-joiner onboardings, to company-wide events that bring us all together–literally.
• Monthly full-day hacking sessions: every month, we have Hack Fridays, where you can spend your time diving into a project you're passionate about and get the opportunity to work with other teams–we value your initiatives, impact, and creativity.
• 30 days of annual leave: we value your peace of mind. With 30 days off (excluding public holidays) and access to mental health resources, we make sure you're as strong mentally as you are professionally.
• Competitive benefits: just as our team spans the globe, so does our benefits package. We've crafted it to reflect the diversity of our team and tailored it to align with your unique location, to ensure you feel supported every step of the way.

If this role and our mission resonate with you, but you're hesitant because you don't check all the boxes, don't let that hold you back. At DeepL, it's all about the value you bring and the growth we can foster together. Go ahead, apply—let's discover your potential together. We can't wait to meet you!

We are an equal opportunity employer

You are welcome at DeepL for who you are - we appreciate authenticity here. Our product is for everyone, and so is our workplace. The more voices we have represented and amplified in our business, the more we will all succeed, contribute, and think forward! So bring us your personal experience, your perspectives, and your background. It’s in our diversity that we will find the power to break down language barriers in the world.