Staff Research Engineer, Model Efficiency

About Cohere

Cohere is a leading enterprise AI company that prioritizes security in creating foundational AI models and comprehensive products designed to solve practical business challenges. We focus on training and deploying cutting-edge models for enterprises developing AI systems, accelerating AI adoption globally. Our team consists of passionate researchers, engineers, designers, and others committed to enhancing model capabilities and driving value for customers. Headquartered in Toronto, we also have major offices across London, New York City, San Francisco, Montreal, Paris, Berlin, and Seoul.

Role Summary

The Model Efficiency team works to overcome inference bottlenecks in large language models (LLMs), driving breakthroughs across model architecture, routing optimization, decoding algorithms, and GPU-accelerated software/hardware co-design to improve inference speed without sacrificing model quality. This role is remote-friendly, with preferred locations in EST and PST time zones for optimal collaboration.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, prototype, and deploy innovative methods to significantly enhance the speed and efficiency of LLM inference in production environments

Qualifications

• Doctorate (PhD) in Machine Learning or a closely related discipline
• Comprehensive understanding of LLM architectures and strategies to optimize inference under resource constraints
• Proven experience with advanced techniques improving model efficiency
• Robust software engineering capabilities
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic, high-ambiguity startup environment
• Publications in premier conferences such as ICLR, ACL, or NeurIPS
• Strong desire to provide mentorship and guidance to peers

Work Location and Environment

This position offers remote flexibility or may be based at any of Cohere’s offices. While remote work is supported, alignment with core time zones (EST or PST) is preferred for this role.

Employee Benefits

• Weekly lunch stipend of $75 USD or equivalent in local currency
• Comprehensive health and dental coverage, including dedicated mental health resources
• Retirement plans such as RRSP matching, 401K, or Pension schemes
• Full parental leave top-up for up to six months available to either parent
• Annual enrichment budgets covering cultural activities, wellness, quality time, and workspace enhancement
• Funding support for professional development, including conferences and coaching
• Six weeks (30 working days) of paid vacation annually
• Travel budget for visiting other offices and attendance at company-wide events

Work Environment

• Remote-friendly organization with offices worldwide
• Office perks include daily lunches, snacks, and regular social events
• Co-working benefits for remote employees seeking collaborative spaces
• $500 stipend for home office setup regardless of location

Diversity and Inclusion

Cohere values a welcoming and inclusive workplace and encourages applicants from all backgrounds. Accommodations during recruitment are available upon request.

Recruitment Process

AI-enabled applicant screening tools may be used to identify qualified candidates without limiting recruiter consideration. Beware of fraudulent job postings; Cohere does not charge fees or request third-party services during hiring. Official communications come from company email domains only.

Compensation

The overall salary range for this role is CAD 250,000 to CAD 535,000 annually.