Principal Applied Data Science

This role is for one of Weekday’s clients

Min Experience: 3+ years
Location: Chennai
JobType: full-time

We are looking for a highly accomplished Principal Applied Data Scientist to lead the design, development, and deployment of next-generation AI solutions. This role is ideal for an experienced AI leader with deep expertise in Large Language Models (LLMs), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Computer Vision, along with a strong foundation in machine learning and applied research.

As a Principal Applied Data Scientist, you will define AI strategy, solve complex business problems using advanced AI techniques, and drive innovation across multiple products and platforms. You will collaborate with engineering, product, research, and business teams to build scalable, production-ready AI systems while mentoring a team of data scientists and machine learning engineers.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, design, and implementation of cutting-edge AI and machine learning solutions.
• Develop and optimize applications powered by Large Language Models (LLMs), including Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), prompt engineering, fine-tuning, and AI agents.
• Design advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) systems for text classification, information extraction, summarization, semantic search, conversational AI, and question-answering.
• Build Computer Vision solutions for image classification, object detection, segmentation, OCR, document intelligence, video analytics, and multimodal AI applications.
• Research, evaluate, and integrate emerging AI technologies and state-of-the-art models into enterprise solutions.
• Develop scalable ML pipelines, model deployment strategies, and monitoring frameworks for production environments.
• Collaborate closely with product managers, software engineers, architects, and business stakeholders to translate business requirements into AI-driven solutions.
• Drive model optimization, experimentation, performance benchmarking, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ensure AI solutions adhere to responsible AI principles, model governance, security, scalability, and regulatory compliance.
• Mentor senior data scientists, conduct technical reviews, and establish engineering best practices across AI initiatives.
• Contribute to long-term AI strategy, innovation roadmaps, and technical leadership within the organization.

Required Skills

Must-Have Skills

• Extensive experience with Large Language Models (LLMs) including prompt engineering, fine-tuning, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), AI agents, embeddings, vector databases, and model evaluation.
• Deep expertise in Natural Language Processing (NLP) using transformer architectures, BERT, GPT-based models, text analytics, semantic search, conversational AI, and information retrieval.
• Strong experience in Computer Vision involving CNNs, Vision Transformers (ViTs), object detection, image segmentation, OCR, multimodal learning, and video understanding.
• Expertise in Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Generative AI algorithms.
• Strong programming skills in Python and experience with AI frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, Hugging Face Transformers, OpenCV, LangChain, and related AI ecosystems.
• Experience deploying AI models using cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform.
• Strong understanding of MLOps, model lifecycle management, CI/CD pipelines, Docker, Kubernetes, and scalable distributed systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Machine Learning, or a related discipline.
• Proven experience leading enterprise-scale AI programs and mentoring high-performing technical teams.
• Strong publication, patent, or open-source contribution record is an added advantage.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and strategic problem-solving skills.
• Ability to influence technical direction, drive innovation, and deliver measurable business impact through AI.