<div class="content-intro"><p>At NiCE, we don’t limit our challenges. We challenge our limits. Always. We’re ambitious. We’re game changers. And we play to win. We set the highest standards and execute beyond them. And if you’re like us, we can offer you the ultimate career opportunity that will light a fire within you.</p></div><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">So what is the role about?</span></strong></p> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">NiCE is looking for a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to join NiCE Labs Research (NLR), the team responsible for model expertise and agent architecture for the Cognigy platform. You will evaluate and optimize AI models across Cognigy's agentic systems, including speech models (text-to-speech and speech-to-speech). You will track the model landscape, identify state-of-the-art candidates, and develop strategies to improve quality and latency while reducing cost. You will work closely with NLR colleagues to extend the team's evaluation framework and build proof-of-concept implementations that demonstrate your recommendations.</span></p> <h2><span style="font-size: 10pt;">How will you make an impact?</span></h2> <ul> <li style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Monitor the field for new state-of-the-art models and assess their relevance to Cognigy use cases; stay current on advances in ML, model optimization, and agentic AI.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Design and run model evaluations, including human-judged protocols for generated output and validation of automated metrics against human ratings.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Design and execute optimization strategies (fine-tuning, quantization, distillation, efficient inference) to improve quality, reduce latency, and lower cost.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Deploy and benchmark open-weight models on cloud platforms and compare platforms for hosting.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Provide technical review and guidance on teammates' model optimization work.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Communicate results and recommendations to technical and non-technical stakeholders.</span></li> </ul> <h2><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Have you got what it takes?</span></h2> <ul> <li style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">MS in computer science, machine learning, data science, or a related field.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">3+ years of post-graduate, hands-on experience with ML models, including training, fine-tuning, and evaluation.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Experience with model optimization techniques such as quantization, distillation, or efficient inference.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Experience designing evaluations or benchmarks for AI systems, including subjective or human-rated measures.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Proficiency in Python and PyTorch or TensorFlow.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Experience with cloud ML infrastructure (AWS, Azure, or GCP) for model testing and deployment.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Ability to build working relationships with cross-functional teams, keep pace with a fast-changing field and shifting priorities, and present clearly to internal and external stakeholders.</span></li> </ul> <h2><span style="font-size: 10pt;">You will have an advantage if you have:</span></h2> <ul> <li style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Experience evaluating or fine-tuning TTS or S2S models for production use, or related audio and speech work.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Exposure to agentic AI frameworks or conversational AI platforms.</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Docker, microservice deployment, and GPU inference serving.</span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><strong>What’s in it for you?</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Join an ever-growing, market disrupting, global company where the teams – comprised of the best of the best – work in a fast-paced, collaborative, and creative environment! As the market leader, every day at NiCE is a chance to learn and grow, and there are endless internal career opportunities across multiple roles, disciplines, domains, and locations. If you are passionate, innovative, and excited to constantly raise the bar, you may just be our next NICEr!</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><strong>Enjoy NiCE-FLEX! </strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 10pt;">At NiCE, we work according to the NiCE-FLEX hybrid model, which enables maximum flexibility: 2 days working from the office and 3 days of remote work, each week. Naturally, office days focus on face-to-face meetings, where teamwork and collaborative thinking generate innovation, new ideas, and a vibrant, interactive atmosphere.</span></p> <p><