AI Software Engineer

Aleph Alpha Research's mission is to deliver AI innovation that enables open, accessible, and trustworthy deployment of GenAI in government and enterprise applications. Our organization develops foundational models and next-generation methods that make it easy and affordable for Aleph Alpha's customers to increase productivity in finance, administration, R&D, logistics, and manufacturing processes. We do this with a flat hierarchy and IC-driven culture: ideas come from the bottom up, and it's our shared responsibility to deliver impactful research.The position:We're looking for skilled (Senior) Software Engineers to join our research team, headquartered in Heidelberg. While we highly value in-person work, we offer the flexibility to work from Berlin or elsewhere in Germany and with regular travel to onsite events.This job posting reflects multiple openings across our research teams; during our interview process, we will align your candidacy both in terms of team/focus assignment, but also according to seniority (Mid- --> Staff- level).As a (Senior) AI Software Engineer in Aleph Alpha Research, you help the research teams train models and iterate on cutting-edge ideas. You own significant portions of the research infrastructure, including data processing pipelines, our model lineage tooling, our testing infrastructure, our cluster management systems and engineering-heavy parts of our distributed training software.We build and train large-scale models using Python and PyTorch. Our infrastructure runs in our own data centre on Kubernetes, managed by a dedicated team. You'll work on systems that handle petabytes of data and contribute to optimising our distributed training software to run efficiently over entire clusters. This is high-scale, high-impact engineering.Your responsibilities:You can expect to contribute to the following areas:Design and develop tooling to accelerate researchCollaborate with researchers to develop, train, persist and evaluate deep learning modelsDeep-dive on performance-critical code to enable efficient training at scaleImprove our data ingestion and processing pipelines and help curate state-of-the-art datasetsSet up systems to ensure our codebases are maintainableCollaborate with our Product team to bring AI research innovations into real-world applicationsContribute to papers and technical reports and help present them at top international AI conferencesMentor engineers and researchers in your areas of software engineering expertiseEngage in our hiring process to identify talented engineers to join our teamCo-own efforts to make code, data and model artefacts available to the broader research communityYour profileIn Aleph Alpha Research, we hire deliberately. We recognise that we need top talent to deliver top research, and we value ability over experience: if you think you would be a good fit for this role, we'd encourage you to apply even if you do not meet all of the following qualifications.Basic QualificationsBachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related fieldWilling to work in Germany. Our primary working locations are Heidelberg (preferred) and Berlin, although there is flexibility to work from other locations in Germany, with travel to Heidelberg expected regularly, potentially weeklyProficiency in programming and a passion for crafting high-quality, maintainable software while following engineering best-practices (e.g., TDD, DDD)Curiosity to dig deep and understand how things workDesire to take ownership of problems and collaborate with other teams to solve themMotivation to learn AI-related topics and get up-to-speed with the cutting edge.Strong communication skills, with the ability to convey technical solutions to diverse audiences.Preferred QualificationsMaster's degree in computer science or related fields.Familiarity with systems programming and low-level languages such as Rust, with a focus on performance and reliability.Experience building software with a focus on performance and reliability.Experience working with distributed systems.We do not require prior experience in machine learning for this role, but we do value your eagerness to learn. If you have prior experience in ML, we will be particularly excited about:Experience bringing AI research innovations into productionExperience in areas such as large-scale data processing or distributed computation for foundation model training or inferenceFamiliarity with popular NLP tools and frameworks such as PyTorch or HF Transformers, with knowledge of transformer architecturesExperience with cluster management systems, model and data lineage, or other MLOps topicsWhat you can expect from usBecome part of an AI revolution30 days of paid vacationAccess to a variety of fitness & wellness offerings via WellhubMental health support through Substantially subsidized company pension plan for your future securitySubsidized Germany-wide transportation ticketBudget for additional technical equipmentFlexible working hours for better work-life balance and hybrid working modelVirtual Stock Option PlanJobRad Bike Lease