Applied AI Solutions Lead

Company Intro

At Toloka AI we create data that powers leading GenAI models and innovations. We work with frontier labs, big tech, renowned AI startups, enterprises and non-profit research organizations worldwide. We use a combination of Experts + Crowd + Tech Platform to teach AI models to reason and evaluate their efficacy and safety. We have experts in more than 50 different domains—from doctors and lawyers to physicists and engineers—and boast one of the most diverse global crowds, representing over 100 countries and speaking 40+ languages. We are a well-funded startup with an enviable portfolio of clients including Anthropic, Amazon, Microsoft, Poolside, Recraft, and Shopify.

Recently, we secured strategic investment led by Bezos Expeditions with participation from Mikhail Parakhin, CTO of Shopify and board advisor to leading GenAI companies, who now serves as our Chairman of the Board. Our remote-first team is globally distributed around the world: USA, UK, the Netherlands, Israel, Czech Republic, Serbia, and more. We are headquartered in Amsterdam.

About the role

We’re looking for an Applied AI Solutions Lead - a technically strong LLM engineer ready to step into leadership. You’ll design and deliver data strategies for LLM training and evaluation, lead a small team, and work directly with customers to turn research goals into practical, high-quality AI data solutions.

What You’ll Work On

• Bridge customers and engineering - understand client research goals, translate them into data strategies, and advise on best practices in LLM training and evaluation.

• Design and validate LLM data pipelines: prompts, datasets, audit methods, quality criteria, and evaluation workflows using Toloka’s ML audit tools.

• Ensure data quality and success in training: anticipate which data or labeling strategies will lead to better model outcomes; define metrics and validation plans to prove it.

• Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, ML, Business Development and Delivery teams to launch projects that meet timelines, scope, and client satisfaction.

• Act as a trusted advisor to customers - scope projects, identify pain points, and guide researchers on data-centric AI strategy.

• Drive fast iteration and continuous improvement, applying agile practices and evidence-based decision-making.

About You

• Hands-on ML & LLM Experience: You’ve trained or fine-tuned large language models and understand how data strategy, prompt design, latency, throughput and evaluation affect model quality and behavior. You think critically about data quality - what makes good training data, how to measure it, and how to improve it. You bring 5+ years of experience as an AI/ML Engineer or Software Engineer in an AI environment, ideally with a Master’s or PhD in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, or a related field.

• Customer & Communication Excellence: You can talk to researchers and business stakeholders with equal confidence - translating technical concepts into clear, actionable solutions. You’re great at scoping projects, identifying customer pain points, asking the right questions, and presenting ideas in polished, professional English.

• Strong Technical Foundation: You’re fluent in Python and familiar with ML libraries such as Hugging Face, PyTorch, or OpenAI’s APIs. You can prototype and evaluate LLM-based solutions independently. You bring all-around technical depth and innovate. You don’t criticize existing solutions, you make them better.

• Project & Delivery Mindset: You’ve worked in project-based environments with external stakeholders, understand iterative software development, and can balance quality with speed in real-world delivery settings.

• Mindset: Curious, pragmatic, collaborative - you enjoy solving complex problems with customers, not just building models in isolation.

What we can offer

• You’ll have the opportunity to work on highly innovative, projects at the leading edge of AI development, and work with a genuinely dedicated and dynamic team of experts.

• You’ll also be working on projects with customers that are AI industry leaders and household names.

• Personal and career development: we support employee’s ambition for professional development and encourage them to implement their ideas in their projects.

• Flexibility: we offer remote or hybrid employment. You will also design with your manager a workday that works best for you.

• Paid parental leave and sick leave.

[Important Notice] Scam Alert Regarding Fake Job Postings

It has come to our attention that an individual or group is fraudulently impersonating Toloka to post fake jobs and solicit personal information from applicants.Please be aware:

• Official Communication: Our recruiting team will only contact you from an official "toloka.ai" email address. We will NEVER use Gmail, Yahoo, Tolokainc, toloka.inc, or other personal or seemingly business email accounts.

• Our Process: We will never ask for your bank account details, credit card number, or any fees as part of the application or interview process.

• Official Listings: All legitimate job openings are posted on our official careers page: https://toloka.ai/careers#job-list

What to do: If you see a suspicious job posting or have been contacted by someone you suspect is a scammer, please do not provide any personal information. Instead, report the incident to us directly at [email protected] and report the profile/post to LinkedIn.We are taking this matter very seriously and are working with the appropriate parties to resolve it.

Thank you for your vigilance!