Staff/Principal AI Scientist (f/m/d) for Mixture-of-Architecture Foundation Models

Date: 03/12/2026
Company: SAP

We help the world run better
At SAP, we keep it simple: you bring your best to us, and we'll bring out the best in you. We're builders touching over 20 industries and 80% of global commerce, and we need your unique talents to help shape what's next. The work is challenging – but it matters. You'll find a place where you can be yourself, prioritize your wellbeing, and truly belong. What's in it for you? Constant learning, skill growth, great benefits, and a team that wants you to grow and succeed. 

What you`ll do 

At SAP Business AI, we are exploring the next frontier of AI on structured business data like graphs, tables and more. Foundation Models on structured data, like SAP-RPT-1, have ushered in the GenAI era for business relevant scenarios. Now, we are pushing further. We want to enable companies across all industries to collaboratively train foundation models and build knowledge graphs. 

As Staff/Principal AI Scientist (f/m/d), you will play a leading role in defining, prototyping and iterating a composable, multi-modal architecture for foundation models spanning across structured (tables, time series, graphs, ...) and unstructured data (text, code, images, …). You stay up to date with the most recent research in the highly dynamic realm of foundation models and you use these insights to work out ideas for technical concepts, model architectures and inform backlogs and research roadmaps of the model R&D teams. You can easily andeasily switch between deep hands-on work, training and evaluating foundation models, and conceptual work, defining technical visions and roadmaps for scaled execution by multiple R&D teams. 

This is the ideal role for a highly focused, ambitious individual with both, a strong technical and coordinating abilities to grow in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, and your chance to become a key contributor to one of the very few leading foundation models of European origin. 

The Role 

• Define research roadmap for mixture-of-architecture foundation models to enable training across multiple modalities of business data, such as tables, time series, graphs, text and others 
• Define processes, methods, hypotheses, and experiments with the ambition to lead the project together with a team of AI Scientists 
• Balance long-term research roadmap with and hands-on coding, experimentation, and technical improvements to bootstrap the development 
• Guide the development of enablement materials and blueprints for training mixture-of-architecture models on different, potentially federated data sources 
• Collaborate cross-functionally to inform value proposition and partnering ambitions 

What you bring 

• PhD or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or other relevant disciplines 
• Extensive experience and academic background in Foundation Models on Structured Data, demonstrated by a profound record of related publications (including recent works) at top tier conferences or demonstrable record of delivering models in an applied research environment. 
• Demonstrated hands-on experience in researching, prototyping, and advancing machine learning models 
• Proficiency in Python, and experience with ML frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or similar. Optionally, hands-on experience with Graph ML frameworks 
• Experience with Machine Learning and Knowledge Modeling on structured data such as in the ERP or CRM domain is a plus 
• Proven history of exemplary leadership and strategic mindset, complemented by superior organizational abilities 
• Strong communication and documentation skills for technical and non-technical audiences – you can explain technical model architecture in detail just as well as you can explain the why and the benefits for users and business stakeholders 

Meet your team  
SAP's AI organization is dedicated to seamlessly infusing AI into all enterprise applications, enabling customers, partners, and developers to enhance business processes and generate remarkable business value. Join our international AI team where innovation thrives, opportunities for personal development abound, and exceptional colleagues collaborate globally. 

 
#SAPBusinessAICareers #LI-KH1

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Bring out your best
SAP innovations help more than four hundred thousand customers worldwide work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively. Originally known for leadership in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, SAP has evolved to become a market leader in end-to-end business application software and related services for database, analytics, intelligent technologies, and experience management. As a cloud company with two hundred million users and more than one hundred thousand employees worldwide, we are purpose-driven and future-focused, with a highly collaborative team ethic and commitment to personal development. Whether connecting global industries, people, or platforms, we help ensure every challenge gets the solution it deserves. At SAP, you can bring out your best.  

We win with inclusion
SAP’s culture of inclusion, focus on health and well-being, and flexible working models help ensure that everyone – regardless of background – feels included and can run at their best. At SAP, we believe we are made stronger by the unique capabilities and qualities that each person brings to our company, and we invest in our employees to inspire confidence and help everyone realize their full potential. We ultimately believe in unleashing all talent and creating a better world.

SAP is committed to the values of Equal Employment Opportunity and provides accessibility accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities. If you are interested in applying for employment with SAP and are in need of accommodation or special assistance to navigate our website or to complete your application, please send an e-mail with your request to Recruiting Operations Team: Careers@sap.com.

For SAP employees: Only permanent roles are eligible for the SAP Employee Referral Program, according to the eligibility rules set in the SAP Referral Policy. Specific conditions may apply for roles in Vocational Training.

AI Usage in the Recruitment Process

For information on the responsible use of AI in our recruitment process, please refer to our Guidelines for Ethical Usage of AI in the Recruiting Process.

Please note that any violation of these guidelines may result in disqualification from the hiring process.

Requisition ID: 448566  | Work Area: Software-Design and Development  | Expected Travel: 0 - 10%  | Career Status: Professional  | Employment Type: Regular Full Time   | Additional Locations: Walldorf, Berlin, Potsdam  #LI-Hybrid

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