Contract Research Collaboration: Fine-Tuning Large Language Models

Location: Remote

Duration: 2–4 months (project-based)

Type: Contract / Research Collaboration (Paid)

About the Project

We are looking for a Master’s or PhD student to work on fine-tuning large language models (LLMs) for domain-specific tasks. The goal is to take an existing pretrained model (e.g., Meta AI’s LLaMA-class models or similar) and specialize it for a narrow, high-value use case using efficient fine-tuning techniques.

This is a hands-on applied project designed for someone who wants real-world experience deploying and optimising LLM systems.

Help drive the next wave of applied AI by demonstrating how fine-tuned LLMs can unlock advanced, real-world use cases beyond general-purpose foundation models. Organizations that require domain-specific accuracy, self-hosted deployments, customisable workflows, or performance beyond out-of-the-box capabilities increasingly rely on fine-tuned models to meet those needs.

Through this project, you will contribute to building specialised AI systems that deliver improved accuracy, efficiency, and control compared to out-of-the-box models. You will also help bridge the gap between academic knowledge and real-world application by applying fine-tuning techniques to solve concrete business problems.

What You’ll Work On

• Fine-tuning pre-trained LLMs on small to medium datasets (500–20k examples)
• Implementing parameter-efficient fine-tuning (e.g., LoRA-style methods)
• Optimising training for cost and performance
• Running experiments on GPU cloud infrastructure
• Evaluating model performance and tradeoffs (specialisation vs generalisation)
• Deploying fine-tuned models for inference
  
  

Experience

• Strong Python skills

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• Experience with deep learning frameworks: PyTorch (preferred) or TensorFlow
• Experience with Hugging Face Transformers or similar ecosystems
• Hands-on experience training or fine-tuning transformer models on GPUs (local or cloud-based)
• Previous experience using cloud platforms for model training or deployment (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure, RunPod or similar GPU providers)
• Experience working with or fine-tuning open-weight LLM families (Gemma-3, Qwen-3.5, Llama 4, GPT-OSS, Mistral...)
• Hands-on experience with LoRA
  
  

Understanding of:

• Fine-tuning vs pretraining
• Overfitting and generalization
• Model evaluation
• Strong business awareness: ability to understand the context of the fine-tuning task and translate domain requirements into clear modeling objectives
  
  

What you bring

• MSc or PhD student in Computer Science, Machine Learning, AI, or related field
• Alternatively, 6 months of hands-on experience training and fine-tuning deep learning models
• Has worked on LLMs in research or industry

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• Has fine-tuned at least one transformer model
• Comfortable working independently
• Interested in applied AI and real-world constraints (cost, latency, memory)
  
  

What You’ll Gain

• Real-world experience fine-tuning large models (30B–100B parameter class)
• Exposure to production constraints and deployment
• Opportunity to co-author technical writeups if applicable
• Strong applied portfolio project
  
  

What We Offer

• 100% Remote Work: Work from anywhere with flexibility and autonomy
• Dynamic, High-Impact Projects: Work on cutting-edge ML and GenAI solutions across diverse industries
• International Clients: Collaborate with global organizations and solve real-world challenges at scale
• Urban Sports Club Membership: Supporting your physical and mental wellbeing
• Monthly Bolt Credits: For rides
• Company Events & Offsites: Regular team gatherings to connect, collaborate, and celebrate