Research

Best-in-class AI research recruitment in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, and the US

Researchers are currently some of the most sought-after candidates, with demand rising across the full spectrum of AI development. The advent of increasingly powerful robotics, Multimodal systems, LLMs, and advanced simulation models has led to a surge in R&D funding across industry and academia. 

From machine learning in drug discovery to synthetic data generation, DeepRec.ai specialises in connecting innovators with research talent from around the world. 

Whether you’re building out a research function or exploring your next career step as a researcher, our consultants understand the complexity of the space, and we’re here to help.

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The Impact of AI Research

From the spark of an idea to an era-defining technology, today’s AI researchers are redefining what’s possible.

Whether that’s building hybrid LLMs to help cure novel diseases, writing the next groundbreaking paper on synthesised audio, or prototyping disaster prediction models, AI research is home to the most exciting jobs in deep tech.

AI Research Goes Global

As innovators around the world compete to push the boundaries of tech, AI research jobs in NLP, LLM, machine learning, quantum computing, and robotics are in growing demand, and top companies are actively hiring AI researchers in these fields.

This market movement isn’t limited to tech-native companies either. Given AI’s transformative potential, you can now find a host of great rewarding opportunities in high-impact sectors, including healthcare, financial services, aerospace, and the life sciences.

At DeepRec.ai, we’re proud to partner with the world’s premier AI companies, and we’re here to search further afield and connect them with the people they need to power progress.

Our specialised consultants have the global talent network and localised market expertise to find the ideal career match for today’s researchers.

Contact our consultants to learn more about our tailored approach to AI research recruitment in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, and the US. Our staffing services cover key AI hubs, including London, Dublin, Berlin, Zurich, and San Francisco.

Why Choose DeepRec.ai for Research Recruitment?

When you partner with DeepRec.ai, you get a dedicated talent partner with:

  • A best-in-class network, built by our community.
  • A fully tech-enabled service, with a custom-built CMS, integrated automation, and a real-time feedback platform to track NPS (net promoter score).
  • An expert delivery team with a deep technical understanding of the market
  • The reach and market specialisms of our three sister brands, Broadgate, Trust in SODA, and Trinnovo Consulting.
  • Award-winning recruitment support and career guidance

RESEARCH CONSULTANTS

Anthony Kelly

Co-Founder & MD EU/UK

Hayley Killengrey

Co-Founder & MD USA

Nathan Wills

Senior Consultant | Switzerland

George Templeman

Senior Consultant

LATEST JOBS

Paris, Ile De France, France
Computer Vision Research Engineer
About the Company We’re supporting a venture-backed AI company building cutting-edge surgical AI systems focused on video understanding. Their initial product transforms surgical videos into structured clinical reports - a focused entry point into a much bigger vision: developing a large-scale surgical foundation model, ultimately enabling advanced perception systems and autonomous surgical robotics.This is a deep-tech team building models from first principles - not treating AI as a black box. They combine ambitious research goals with real-world deployment in high-stakes medical environments. The Role Our client is hiring a Computer Vision Engineer who operates at the intersection of research and production. This is not a pure research role - and not just product engineering. They’re looking for someone who can:Deliver research-grade innovationWrite clean, scalable, production-ready codeMove fluidly between experimentation and deploymentYou will work on state-of-the-art video understanding systems that convert unstructured surgical footage into structured intelligence. This role is central to their long-term roadmap toward advanced autonomy. What You’ll Work OnDesigning and training advanced video understanding modelsExtending image-based CV architectures into temporal domainsWorking with multimodal and potentially 3D data (point clouds beneficial)Building scalable training pipelines, including distributed trainingBridging research prototypes into production systemsContributing to publications at leading AI conferencesCollaborating closely with a highly technical founding teamWhat They’re Looking For Technical BackgroundStrong foundation in Computer Vision on imagesExperience in video understandingExposure to 3D data / point clouds (beneficial)Experience with model training pipelines and optimizationAbility to implement research papers quickly and robustlyStrong software engineering fundamentalsResearch MindsetTrack record (or clear potential) for top conference-level workAbility to derive models from first principlesDeep understanding of modern CV architecturesProblem-SolvingComfortable working in ambiguous environmentsStrong analytical and structured thinking skillsAble to tackle unfamiliar domains effectivelyCollaboration & Product AwarenessUnderstands real-world constraints and client needsComfortable working closely with cross-functional teamsThrives in a collaborative environment (not a solo contributor role_Why Consider This Opportunity?Meaningful Impact - Building AI systems that support safer surgical procedures and improve access to care. Big Technical Vision - Report generation is the entry point. The broader roadmap includes foundational models and advanced autonomy systems. Genuine Deep Tech - This team is building core models and infrastructure from the ground up. Publication & Credibility - Publishing at leading conferences is part of the company’s DNA. Strong Talent Density - You’ll work alongside highly technical peers in an ambitious, research-driven environment.
Paddy HobsonPaddy Hobson
Zürich, Switzerland
Multimodal AI Systems: Principal Technical Leader/ Chief Scientist
Multimodal AI Systems: Chief Scientist/ Principal Technical Leader We are seeking a senior leader to define and deliver the architecture and research direction for large-scale multimodal AI systems. This role combines scientific leadership with hands-on system ownership, spanning model innovation, training, inference, and production deployment. You will lead the design of multimodal architectures across LLMs, VLMs, video models, and multimodal agents, while driving cutting-edge research in multimodal understanding and generation. The role owns the full lifecycle from novel algorithms and publications to scalable, optimized systems (autotuning, quantization, inference efficiency). RequirementsDeep expertise in multimodal learning with hands-on experience training large-scale vision-language, video, or multimodal models.Strong understanding of transformers, diffusion models, and large multimodal model inference.Proven research impact (top-tier conferences preferred) and/or significant open-source contributions.Ability to translate frontier research into production-grade AI systems.
Anthony KellyAnthony Kelly
Frankfurt am Main, Hessen, Germany
Senior / Principal Research Scientist – Core AI Algorithms (Autonomous Systems)
Senior / Principal Research Scientist – Core AI Algorithms (Autonomous Systems)Location: Germany (Remote-first within Germany, on-site in Frankfurt every 2–4 weeks)About the RoleWe are partnering with a global automotive OEM building a core AI research and algorithm team responsible for the foundational intelligence behind next-generation automated driving systems.This role is research-driven and sits upstream of product teams. The focus is on inventing, validating, and transitioning new perception and world-modeling algorithms from research into production-ready systems. The team operates similarly to a big-tech research lab, but with a clear path to real-world deployment.Research Focus AreasDepending on background and interest, you may work on topics such as:3D scene understanding and world modelingOccupancy, motion forecasting, and dynamic scene reconstructionMulti-sensor perception (camera, LiDAR, radar)Representation learning for autonomous systems (BEV, implicit / generative 3D, Gaussian models, foundation models)Robustness, generalization, and long-tail perceptionLearning under weak, sparse, or noisy supervisionBridging offline training with real-world deployment constraintsKey ResponsibilitiesConduct original research in perception and autonomous systems with clear technical ownershipDesign and prototype novel algorithms and learning frameworksPublish at or contribute toward top-tier conferences and journals (e.g., CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, NeurIPS, ICRA, IROS)Translate research ideas into scalable, production-oriented implementationsCollaborate with applied ML, systems, and hardware teams to ensure feasibilityShape the long-term technical roadmap of the core AI organizationMentor junior researchers and engineers where appropriateRequired BackgroundPhD (or equivalent research experience) in Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Robotics, or a related fieldStrong publication record at top-tier conferences or journalsExperience conducting research within an industrial or applied settingExcellent understanding of modern deep learning methods and 3D perceptionStrong programming skills in Python and/or C Ability to work across the full spectrum from theory to implementationStrongly PreferredResearch experience in autonomous driving, robotics, or embodied AIWork on 3D perception, tracking, SLAM, or world modelsExperience at big-tech research labs, industrial AI labs, or advanced OEM R&DFamiliarity with real-world constraints such as runtime, memory, and system integrationPrior collaboration with product or engineering teamsWhat’s on OfferA research-first role with real influence on production systemsThe opportunity to define core algorithms, not just incremental improvementsA team culture that values publications, patents, and long-term thinkingRemote-first working model within Germany, with regular in-person collaboration in FrankfurtCompetitive compensation aligned with senior / principal research profilesWho This Role Is ForResearchers who want their work to ship into real vehiclesIndustry researchers seeking greater technical ownershipPhD-level candidates who enjoy both publishing and buildingProfiles combining academic depth with practical engineering maturityLooking forward to seeing your profile!
Paddy HobsonPaddy Hobson
Madrid, Spain
Deep Reinforcement Learning Engineer
Location: Europe (strong preference for Spain, ideally Madrid) Type: Full-time About the Company We're working with a high-growth startup developing AI systems that allow industrial robots to perform tasks they currently cannot, starting with complex warehouse operations like mixed palletizing. Their technology combines deep reinforcement learning (DRL) with modern sequence modeling to tackle control and combinatorial optimization problems where classical approaches fail.They are a small, highly skilled team. Joining us means having direct impact, minimal bureaucracy, and ownership over core technology that will be deployed in real-world, high-throughput environments. Role Overview As the second hire in the DRL team, you will own the end-to-end reinforcement learning stack: from problem formulation to algorithm design, large-scale training, evaluation, and deployment. You will work closely with the technical leadership to translate cutting-edge DRL research into practical production throughput at operational sites. This role is highly autonomous, requiring a hands-on expert capable of leading experiments, troubleshooting complex issues, and establishing best practices for algorithm development and deployment. Key ResponsibilitiesDesign, implement, and ship DRL algorithms (e.g., PPO, SAC, DDQN and variants) incorporating advanced architectures such as encoders, cross-attention, and pointer networksOptimize stability and sample efficiency using techniques such as GAE, reward shaping, normalization, entropy/KL control, curriculum learning, and distributional/value-loss tuningSet up and manage large-scale training pipelines: multi-GPU training, parallel rollouts, efficient replay/storage, reproducible experimentsProductionize algorithms with clean, maintainable PyTorch code, profiling, Dockerized services, cloud deployments (AWS), experiment tracking, and dashboardsCollaborate with leadership to align technology with business goals and customer needsMentor and grow future team members, fostering a culture of technical excellence and innovationRequired QualificationsProven track record delivering DRL systems beyond academic demos: led at least one end-to-end DRL system from concept to production or achieved a state-of-the-art benchmark in the last 3–5 yearsDeep expertise in reinforcement learning and deep learning, with strong PyTorch skillsSolid understanding of DRL theory: MDPs, Bellman operators, policy gradients, trust-region/KL methods, λ-returns, stability and regularization in on-policy/off-policy regimesSystems experience: Python, Linux, multi-GPU training, Docker, cloud deployments (AWS preferred)Comfortable taking ownership of experiments, code quality, and results in a small, high-impact teamPhD or equivalent experience in DRL is acceptable; strong academic-only candidates considered if they demonstrate deep expertiseNice to HaveRobotics experience is not requiredProduction system deployment experience is beneficial but not mandatoryLocation & TravelEU-based (CET ±1) with occasional travel to customer sitesPreference for candidates in Spain; otherwise, EuropeCompetitive Compensation & Real Equity Offered.Interview ProcessDeep Technical Session – with CTO, focused on past DRL work (no coding tests, no homework)Traits & Skills Interviews – Two × 1-hour sessions with co-founders to assess problem-solving, communication, and startup fitTeam Meet & Offer – final discussion and reference checkWhy This Role is ExcitingWork at the frontier of DRL robotics in real-world, high-throughput industrial applicationsHigh autonomy, technical ownership, and direct impact on deployed AI systemsSmall, experienced founding team and strong early customer traction reduces commercial risk while maximizing technical challengeOpportunity to join a founding-stage team with equity and influence over core product and technology
Paddy HobsonPaddy Hobson