VP of AI Research – Foundation Models
💰 Well-funded DeepTech Startup | 🧠 Research-Driven | 🌍 London/France
We’re partnering with an early-stage AI startup building next-generation foundation models for structured data. Combined with their unique agentic platform, they provide companies with smart, more accurate predictions in complex environments.
As VP of Research, you’ll work with the Founders to define the research direction, shape core models, manage the team to conduct research, and continue to be active in both the research communities and product delivery.
The Role:
* Manage a scaling team of Research Scientists and ML Engineers
* Define and drive the research roadmap for foundation models on structured data
* Lead development of novel architectures (tabular + time-series focus)
* Own evaluation frameworks aligned with real-world use cases
* Shape active learning & long-term data strategy
* Work closely with engineering (~8 people) and leadership
* Translate research into scalable product capabilities
* Represent the company externally (partners, research community)
Your Background:
* PhD in ML, Computer Science, or related field
* 10–15+ years in machine learning research
* Strong publication record (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, JMLR)
* Experience designing & scaling large transformer-based (or similar) models
* Track record of turning research into real-world product impact
* Deep expertise in foundation models & modern deep learning architectures
* Hands-on with Python, PyTorch, distributed training (DeepSpeed/SLURM etc.)
* Comfortable operating in high-autonomy startup environments
If this sounds like the perfect match, please apply with your most recent CV, and someone from the team will be in touch to discuss in detail.