Machine Learning AI Consultant

Are you ready to work at the forefront of AI innovation, helping researchers and organisations design, train and scale advanced AI models? At SURF, you will play a key role in applying AI within the Dutch AI Factory, supporting groundbreaking research and real-world applications across the Netherlands. As a Machine Learning / AI Consultant, you act as the bridge between cutting-edge AI infrastructure and the researchers, companies and public organisations that rely on it. Does enabling AI innovation at scale sound like your kind of challenge? Apply now!

Where you will work

SURF is the ICT cooperative for Dutch educational and research institutions. Together with them, we work on digital services and complex innovation challenges to enhance the quality of education and research.

Working at SURF means being part of a unique and open organization. You can see this in everything: the organizational structure, the composition of the project teams, the culture in our offices, and the atmosphere among colleagues. SURF offers excellent employment conditions and takes a flexible approach to work–life balance. Employees enjoy working independently, and everyone is given the space and freedom to apply and develop their talents as effectively and broadly as possible.

The team you will join

You will join the AI Systems team within the Advanced Solutions for Research unit. Your colleagues work on training language models such as OpenEuroLLM and GPT-NL, and advise researchers on the optimal use of the Snellius supercomputer for AI workloads.

You will work with Python on a rapidly growing AI platform. The team has an open and collaborative culture, with a strong focus on knowledge sharing and mutual support.

What you will do

As an Machine Learning / AI Consultant at SURF you work with research and education communities to develop and deliver AI Factory services. You support users in designing, training and scaling AI models on national AI infrastructure. You operate at the intersection of technology and applications, translating complex AI capabilities into practical solutions for scientific and societal challenges.

Other responsibilities include:

• Advising academic, public and private stakeholders on AI projects (AI support desk, intake, triage, workflow advice and expert support for complex modelling challenges)
• Designing, implementing and scaling AI models, including domain-specific LLMs for Dutch language, legal, healthcare and public administration domains
• Researching and applying energy-efficient AI methods (e.g. quantisation, sparsity, distillation, workload scheduling)
• Setting up and supporting joint labs with key sectors, including reproducible templates, pipelines and evaluation frameworks
• Designing and executing federated learning pilots on sensitive distributed datasets
• Developing training materials, delivering workshops, organising hackathons and sharing results with the community

Your skills and experience

You are an experienced AI professional with a strong technical foundation and the ability to translate complex problems into practical, scalable AI solutions. You communicate clearly, work in a structured way, and feel comfortable in multidisciplinary environments.

In addition you have:

• Academic level (MSc/PhD) in AI, computer science, mathematics or related technical field
• Strong background in machine learning, with hands-on experience in deep learning
• Excellent command of Python, Git, SSH and relevant AI frameworks (e.g. PyTorch, HuggingFace)
• Experience with distributed training on HPC environments (multi-node, multi-GPU)
• Experience with Federated Learning frameworks (Flower, PySyft, OpenFL) and/or differential privacy (Opacus)
• Strong communication skills in English; Dutch is a plus
• Analytical mindset and the ability to translate real-world problems into technical solutions

Strong advantages

• Knowledge of confidential computing (SGX/TDX, secure enclaves)
• Experience with LLM fine-tuning and techniques such as RLHF or DPO
• Knowledge of the AI Act and experience with AI compliance
• Publications at relevant conferences (e.g. NeurIPS, ICML, ACL, EMNLP, FL workshops)

Additional information

For this role, candidates must already have the legal right to work in the Netherlands.

Unfortunately, we are not able to offer visa sponsorship for this position.

A background screening may be part of the recruitment process.

SURF takes pleasure in doing its recruitment itself; acquisition is therefore not appreciated.