Team Lead ML (Sophea AI)

About the company:

Kiefer Tech, the technology arm of Kiefer, leverages over 12 years of engineering heritage from the Green Energy sector to deliver cutting-edge AI, robotics, and enterprise solutions across Greece and the EU. We build sovereign AI infrastructure that keeps data within EU borders, respect privacy, and delivers tangible business impact. Guided by our core values: innovation, quality, and long-term client partnerships, we create enterprise-grade AI infrastructure, the first true Greek Large Language Models, and intelligent automation solutions that empower organizations to thrive. Our strategic collaboration with NVIDIA combines sustainable infrastructure expertise with world-class AI technology, creating an ecosystem that fosters innovation, strengthens Greece’s technological sovereignty, and generates real impact across industries. Join us and help build the AI-powered world of tomorrow.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

- Lead and orchestrate the ML Engineering team — coordinate efforts, remove blockers, and ensure alignment with company goals;
- Design and implement structural frameworks: workflows, ownership boundaries, and accountability across all ML workstreams;
- Raise the technical bar — establish engineering best practices in line with top-tier AI organizations (OpenAI, Google, Qwen-level standards);
- Own the end-to-end ML roadmap: take full accountability for delivery, quality, and measurable business impact;
- Develop team members — mentor individual contributors, support career growth, and build a culture of continuous learning;
- Drive AI innovation and stay ahead of industry trends — bring new capabilities, tools, and methodologies into the team's practice.


WHAT YOU WILL NEED

- Proven experience leading and growing ML engineering teams in high-stakes, fast-paced environments;
- Background from top-tier AI organizations (e.g., Google, OpenAI, Qwen, or equivalent) with demonstrated ability to apply elite-level engineering standards;
- Deep expertise in ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition) technologies and production-grade ML systems;
- Strong knowledge of large-scale ML model development, CPT, fine-tuning, and RL. Familar with model validation tools;
- Strong knowledge of model inference optimization, model quantization, experience with vLLM, SGLang, Nvidia Triton/Dynamo etc;
- High autonomy and self-direction — a strong self-learner who seeks knowledge in communities, follows AI research closely, and translates trends into team action;
- Exceptional communication skills — able to create clarity from ambiguity and align cross-functional stakeholders


NICE TO HAVE

- Greek language skills — a genuine plus for team integration and local collaboration;
- Experience with MLOps infrastructure: model serving pipelines, GPU workload management, experiment tracking;
- Contributions to open-source ML projects or published research in AI/ML;
- Familiarity with event-driven ML architectures or real-time inference systems.


WHAT IS THERE FOR YOU

- Compensation: upper-quartile for the EU market, aligned to top-tier AI talent benchmarks;
- Ownership: full accountability over ML Engineering — you define the function, the standards, and the roadmap;
- Remote: fully remote within the EU, or hybrid from our Athens office;
- AI-native environment: real challenges across LLMs, ASR, GPU workloads, and advanced AI product development;
- Growth: dedicated budget for conferences, courses, and certifications — direct path to Head of ML as the function scales;
- Culture: engineering-first, high autonomy, low bureaucracy — your ideas shape the company's AI direction.