Senior AI and Language Technologies Specialist
4 days ago
San Sebastián
EUSKORPORA, the Linguistic Data Center for Basque Digital Technologies, a newly established association based in Donostia/San Sebastián, is seeking a senior specialist in AI and language technologies, with solid experience in natural language processing and applied AI, combined with strong project management, team coordination and leadership skills. The selected person will play a key role in the development of Euskorpora’s technological activities, combining technical expertise with the ability to coordinate people, organize work, prioritize tasks and drive projects forward. The role will involve working in an interdisciplinary environment on projects related to the collection, processing, analysis and annotation of linguistic data, as well as the development and adaptation of language technologies and foundational models (ASR, TTS, MT, NLP) oriented to the Basque language, in a research and development context closely connected to industry and the wider technological ecosystem. The position is particularly suited to a professional who is able to translate strategic objectives into concrete technical plans, coordinate internal and external teams, ensure execution and quality, and proactively identify new technological opportunities. MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES • Lead and coordinate technical activities and projects related to AI and language technologies, ensuring appropriate planning, prioritization, execution and follow-up., • Supervise and optimize processes for linguistic corpus collection, processing, annotation, validation and management, ensuring their technical consistency and scalability., • Coordinate the design, development and adaptation of language technologies and foundational models applied to Basque, including speech recognition and synthesis, machine translation, natural language processing and related technologies., • Translate project objectives and strategic priorities into technical roadmaps, work plans, milestones and deliverables, ensuring that projects move forward effectively., • Coordinate internal technical staff and external collaborators, including research groups, technology centers, companies and other partners, ensuring clear responsibilities, deadlines and expected outcomes., • Provide technical guidance and mentoring to junior staff, helping them develop their capabilities and ensuring consistency across the team's work., • Contribute to the design and future evolution of Euskorpora’s technological architecture, in collaboration with the responsible teams and external technology partners., • Ensure the technical, methodological and operational quality of the developments and datasets produced., • Identify technological opportunities, emerging technologies and new lines of work relevant to Euskorpora’s mission and contribute to their assessment and prioritization., • Participate in the preparation of technical proposals, project plans, reports, documentation and presentations, translating complex technical issues into clear and actionable information., • Collaborate with management in technical planning, resource allocation, prioritization and decision-making., • Build and maintain strategic relationships with key stakeholders in the ecosystem, including academia, technology centers, industry, public institutions and international language technology networks. REQUIREMENTS • Advanced university degree (Bachelor + Master or PhD) in Computational Linguistics, Natural Language Processing, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Engineering, Data Science or a related field., • At least 5 years of professional experience in language technologies, artificial intelligence, NLP or related technological projects., • Proven experience participating in or leading the development, adaptation or deployment of ASR, TTS, MT, NLP or related AI systems., • Experience in applied research, advanced technological development or innovation environments., • Experience in technical project management and/or coordination of multidisciplinary teams., • Demonstrated ability to organize work, prioritize tasks, coordinate people and ensure delivery against agreed objectives and deadlines., • Ability to work autonomously while also collaborating effectively with multidisciplinary teams and external partners. TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE • Advanced Python programming skills., • Professional experience with libraries and frameworks such as Hugging Face, PyTorch, TensorFlow, spaCy, Kaldi, ESPnet, Fairseq, or equivalent technologies., • Experience with language processing pipelines, corpus management and linguistic data workflows., • Knowledge of machine learning and AI development methodologies, including model training, fine-tuning, evaluation and deployment., • Knowledge of MLOps, version control (Git) and reproducible data science practices., • Familiarity with open data repositories, data governance and licensing frameworks, including Creative Commons and other relevant licenses., • Understanding of current developments in the open-source AI and NLP ecosystem. LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT SKILLS • Strong project management and organizational skills., • Ability to coordinate technical teams and external collaborators and establish clear priorities, responsibilities and deadlines., • Ability to take ownership, make decisions and drive projects forward, even in environments with uncertainty or evolving requirements., • Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with the ability to balance technical quality, available resources and project objectives., • Ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders., • Capacity to connect technical decisions with broader strategic objectives., • Proactive, collaborative and results-oriented approach, with a strong capacity for initiative and continuous improvement. LANGUAGES • Basque: desirable, intermediate level (B2 or higher)., • Spanish: fluent., • English: high level, particularly for technical and scientific communication. ADDITIONAL VALUED EXPERIENCE • Previous experience leading technical projects or coordinating multidisciplinary teams., • Experience working with research institutions, technology centers, industry or public-sector innovation projects., • Updated knowledge of the open-source AI and NLP ecosystem and emerging language technologies., • Experience with multilingual or low-resource language technologies., • Experience working with linguistic datasets, benchmarks or evaluation methodologies., • Participation in scientific publications, conferences, European projects or technology transfer activities., • Experience preparing technical proposals and project documentation., • Strong communication, synthesis, negotiation and strategic thinking skills., • Connection to European or international language technology research and innovation networks. WE OFFER • Integration into a newly created, dynamic and innovative center with a clear mission: positioning the Basque language in the global digital sphere., • A position with real responsibility and the opportunity to contribute to the technological development and future evolution of Euskorpora., • Participation in strategic projects with scientific, technological, economic and cultural impact., • A high-level interdisciplinary and collaborative working environment, connected to leading actors in AI, language technologies and innovation., • The opportunity to lead projects, coordinate teams and develop new technological lines., • Flexible working arrangements, continuous training and professional development opportunities., • Competitive salary aligned with experience, capabilities and level of responsibility.
