Research Lead, Conversational AI

At ASAPP, our mission is simple: deliver the best AI-powered customer experience—faster than anyone else. To achieve that, we’re guided by principles that shape how we think, build, and execute. We value customer obsession, purposeful speed, ownership, and a relentless focus on outcomes. We work in tight, skilled teams, prioritize clarity over complexity, and continuously evolve through curiosity, data, and craftsmanship.

We’re seeking technologists and problem solvers who thrive in fast-paced environments, love collaborating with great talent, and approach every day like it’s Day 1. We're a globally diverse team with hubs in New York City, Mountain View, Latin America, and India. If you're driven by continuous learning, rapid pivots, and the challenges of building in a high-growth startup, we’d love to talk. This is more than a job—it’s a journey.

We're currently expanding our research team, and looking for an experienced Research Lead specializing in Conversational AI & Speech. In this role, you will work on solving scientific challenges related to Conversational AI to build domain-specific, real-world solutions. Your contributions will be through both applying your expertise as an IC, and through your leadership of a team of researchers. You will have the opportunity to leverage the massive amounts of data generated by our products to ask fundamental research questions, while deploying AI features into real-world applications.

What you'll do

• Lead, mentor and grow a team of research scientists and engineers working on spoken conversational AI research initiatives.
• Hands-on Research: Be deeply involved in hands-on technical work in any and all aspects of research projects from early exploration to working prototypes to achieve successful real-world applications
• Research Leadership: Identify promising applications of AI relevant to ASAPP’s core mission, formulate and advocate for research programs in those areas, and take ownership of driving impactful research initiatives
• Collaboration & Advocacy: Work with cross-functional teams to socialize your research findings, advocate for their application, and guide the productization of those findings to improve customer experience solutions
• Documentation & Publication: Document significant experimental results, contribute to publishing peer-reviewed papers, and participate in patenting innovations
• Mentorship: Mentor and guide junior researchers, helping them develop their skills in independent research and the communication of their findings.

What We're Looking For

• Education: PhD in a relevant field (such as Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Linguistics, etc.), along with significant experience in research.
• Technical Expertise: Strong research experience in Speech systems and/or Speech LLMs, including practical knowledge of algorithm design, model development, and experimental evaluation.
• Mentorship & Leadership: Experience leading or managing research teams. You’re excited to mentor, coach and develop talent.
• Hands-on Contribution: As an individual contributor, you’ll be expected to lead experiments, perform hands-on research, and drive the execution of innovative projects
• Enthusiasm: A passion for continued learning and deepening expertise in machine learning and AI, with a strong desire to apply research in impactful ways.

What we'd like to see

• Experience building & growing an applied research team in academia or industry.
• Experience with Spoken Conversational AI applications or Speech LLMs.
• Experience developing and leading long term research programs.
• Experience collaborating across functions to productize research, and to improve production systems.
• A collaborative mindset, eager to share research findings and drive their application across product teams.
• Experience in a startup environment, with the ability to balance deep research and rapid execution.

$270,000 - $290,000 a year

Compensation is a combination of salary and performance bonus

Separately, you will also receive an equity grant

ASAPP is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, or veteran status. If you have a disability and need assistance with our employment application process, please email us at [email protected] to obtain assistance.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.