Senior Data Scientist I - LeapSpace

About the team : Elsevier’s mission is to help researchers, clinicians, and life sciences professionals advance discovery and improve health outcomes through trusted content, data, and analytics.This role sits within Elsevier’s Platform Data Science organization , a centralized AI and data science group responsible for advancing intelligent discovery, retrieval, and generative AI capabilities across Elsevier products and platforms. The organization develops foundational AI technologies that power experiences such as LeapSpace , Elsevier’s AI-powered research assistant, as well as Elsevier’s broader Search & AI Platform .The Platform Data Science organization works at the intersection of:Search and retrieval systemsGenerative AI and LLM applicationsAI evaluation and experimentationSemantic enrichment and knowledge systemsScalable AI platforms and intelligent workflowsAbout the role : We are looking for a Senior Data Scientist I to help design, build, and evaluate advanced AI capabilities powering LeapSpace. This role will focus heavily on applied AI research and development , including prototyping intelligent workflows, integrating large language models with trusted scientific data, and advancing AI-assisted research experiences.You will work across retrieval systems, generative AI, reasoning workflows, evaluation frameworks, and AI experimentation , helping shape the future of AI-powered scientific discovery at Elsevier.This role is ideal for someone with strong hands-on experience in applied AI, NLP, retrieval systems, and LLM-based applications , who enjoys rapidly prototyping and translating emerging AI techniques into scalable product capabilities.Responsibilities:Applied AI & ResearchLead prototyping and development of LLM-powered research workflows , including:Scientific question answeringLiterature summarizationSemantic exploration and discoveryResearch insight generationCitation-aware reasoning workflowsDesign and iterate on agentic and multi-step AI workflows using frameworks such as LangGraph and related orchestration tooling.Apply state-of-the-art techniques in:NLPGenerative AIEmbeddings and semantic representationsRetrieval-augmented generation (RAG)AI reasoning and orchestrationRapidly evaluate emerging AI models, tooling, and frameworks to identify opportunities for product innovation.Translate applied AI research into scalable, production-oriented solutions that improve researcher productivity and trust.Contribute to experimentation around prompt engineering, context management, grounding strategies, and hallucination mitigation.Support integration of scientific metadata, ontologies, and knowledge assets into AI workflows.Search, Retrieval & RAG SystemsDesign and optimize search and retrieval pipelines , including lexical, vector, and hybrid retrieval approaches.Develop and improve RAG systems that integrate LLMs with trusted scientific and biomedical content.Experiment with embeddings, re-ranking models, chunking strategies, and retrieval orchestration to improve relevance and answer quality.Build scalable workflows for semantic search and knowledge discovery.Collaborate closely with engineering teams to productionize AI and retrieval systems.AI Evaluation & ExperimentationDevelop and evolve evaluation frameworks for search and AI systems, including:IR metrics (e.g., NDCG, recall, precision)LLM and RAG evaluation metrics (e.g., grounding, faithfulness, hallucination detection)Design offline evaluation methodologies and contribute to online experimentation and A/B testing.Build and maintain evaluation datasets, benchmark suites, and annotation strategies.Drive rigorous experimentation to measure system improvements and user impact.Contribute to responsible AI practices, including quality, reliability, and trust evaluation.Cross-functional LeadershipPartner with product managers, engineers, UX researchers, and domain experts to deliver impactful AI capabilities.Translate complex technical findings into actionable recommendations for stakeholders.Contribute to technical strategy and roadmap discussions for LeapSpace AI capabilities.Requirements:Master’s or PhD in Computer Science, Data Science, Machine Learning, NLP, Information Retrieval, or a related fieldSignificant experience in applied AI, machine learning, NLP, or information retrievalStrong hands-on experience with:LLM-based applications and generative AI systemsRAG pipelines and retrieval systemsSearch and retrieval architectures (lexical, vector, hybrid)Evaluation methodologies for IR and generative AI systemsAdvanced programming skills in PythonExperience with modern AI/ML frameworks and tooling (e.g., PyTorch, Hugging Face, LangChain, LangGraph , Haystack)Experience working with Databricks or similar distributed data/ML platformsStrong understanding of experimentation design, evaluation frameworks, and statistical analysisProficiency with data visualization and analytical tooling (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, matplotlib, seaborn)Preferred qualificationsExperience building AI assistants, agentic workflows, or conversational AI systemsExperience working on large-scale search, ranking, or recommendation systemsFamiliarity with scientific, biomedical, or scholarly datasetsExperience with knowledge graphs, ontologies, or semantic enrichment systemsExposure to production ML systems and MLOps practicesPublications or applied research contributions in NLP, IR, search, or generative AIExperience building AI systems in regulated, high-trust, or content-rich domainsWhy join us?Join our team and contribute to a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence. If you are ready to advance your career and make a significant impact, we encourage you to apply.Work in a way that works for youWe promote a healthy work/life balance across the organization. We offer an appealing working prospect for our people. With numerous wellbeing initiatives, shared parental leave, study assistance and sabbaticals, we will help you meet your immediate responsibilities and your long-term goals.Flexible working hours - flexing the times when you work in the day to help you fit everything in and work when you are the most productive.About the business : As a global leader in information and analytics, we help researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. Building on our publishing heritage, we combine quality information and vast data sets with analytics to support visionary science and research, health education, and interactive learning, as well as exceptional healthcare and clinical practice. At Elsevier, your work contributes to the world’s grand challenges and a more sustainable future. We harness innovative technologies to support science and healthcare to partner for a better world.We know your well-being and happiness are key to a long and successful career. We are delighted to offer country specific benefits. Click here to access benefits specific to your location.We are committed to providing a fair and accessible hiring process. If you have a disability or other need that requires accommodation or adjustment, please let us know by completing our Applicant Request Support Form or please contact 1-855-833-5120.Criminals may pose as recruiters asking for money or personal information. We never request money or banking details from job applicants. Learn more about spotting and avoiding scams here .Please read our Candidate Privacy Policy .We are an equal opportunity employer: qualified applicants are considered for and treated during employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, disability status, protected veteran status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.USA Job Seekers:EEO Know Your Rights . #J-18808-Ljbffr