Machine Learning Consultant, Saint Thomas Mount

Sony Research India is driving cutting-edge research and development in various locations around the globe, including laboratories in Japan, the United States, Europe, and Asia. We endeavor to create new technology, products, and services while sustaining Sony Group’s diverse businesses in electronics, entertainment, and financial fields. For our research centre to blaze a trail in the latest technologies, we seek to foster the growth of a diverse pool of research and engineering talent and create a technology talent bank to drive research excellence worldwide. Sony Research India is offering outstanding career opportunities around frontline technologies such as AI and data analytics.We are looking for a highly motivated applied research consultant who can assist in our research and development efforts on large-scale user engagement predictive models. The ideal candidate should have prior hands-on experience in Deep Learning and Natural Language Processing, with a strong emphasis on building and shipping production-ready systems.Key Responsibility: Developing and deploying models to analyze user behavior patterns on OTT platforms, predicting their likelihood of leaving along with plausible reasons behind their behavior. Building causal inference–based intervention models aimed at retaining users on the platform, with a focus on measurable real-world impact.Contributing to the development and evaluation of user engagement models (including foundation models) by leveraging and fine-tuning pre-trained LLMs for platform-specific use cases. Work closely with research scientists, engineers, and product teams to translate research findings into scalable, production-grade solutions.Contribute to improving the experience of millions of Sony LIV users in India by applying AI capabilities to real-world product challenges. Stay current with applied ML literature and bring relevant techniques and tools into active use within the team. Work Location: Remote within India. Duration of the paid contractual role:The annual paid direct contractual tenure is renewable/extendable on yearly basis. Ideally this position will start from the June 2nd Week 2026. The working hours are from 9:00 to 18:00 (Monday to Friday) full-time. Essential Education: Completed a Ph.D or Master's/Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a similar background.Must Have Skills&Abilities: Strong background in applied deep learning and machine learning— both conceptual understanding and substantial hands-on experience. Solid experience handling large-scale datasets, including proficiency with SQL. Familiarity with current applied machine learning literature and the ability to adapt techniques to real-world problems quickly.Prior experience building large-scale prediction and reasoning models, ideally in a product or industry setting. Strong knowledge of and practical experience with LLMs— including fine-tuning, training, and integrating them into downstream applications. Proficiency in Python and one or more popular deep learning frameworks (e.g. PyTorch, TensorFlow).Ability to prototype new ideas rapidly and validate them through experiments. Experience working on cloud platforms, preferably AWS, is desirable. Good to Have Skills: 0–1 year of experience building and deploying large-scale predictive models in production environments. 0–1 year of experience on LLM/NLP projects within a start-up or fast-paced product environment.Familiarity with the applied ML conferences (KDD, RecSys, SIGIR, WSDM, ICDM, ECML, etc.) as a reader or attendee; publications are a plus. Our Values: Dreams&Curiosity: Pioneer the future with dreams and curiosity. Diversity: Pursue the creation of the very best by harnessing diversity and varying viewpoints. Integrity&Sincerity: Earn the trust for Sony brand through ethical and responsible conduct. Sustainability: Fulfil our stakeholder responsibilities through disciplined business practices. Sony Research India is committed to equal opportunity in all its employment practices, policies and procedures and to ensuring that no worker or potential worker will receive less favourable treatment due to any characteristic protected under applicable local laws.