NLP/Linguistics Software Engineer

Babel Street$100K — $120K *
Information Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 2-4 years of professional software engineering experience, including impactful internships or projects.
  • Proficiency in Java or Python for AI/ML integrations.
  • Strong problem-solving skills in ambiguous situations.
  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Linguistics, or a related field.

Responsibilities

  • Write and maintain high-quality code for the analytics platform and record matching.
  • Implement theoretical ideas from linguistics and data science into software features.
  • Optimize search engine components like Elasticsearch.
  • Participate in agile sprint planning and collaborate with senior engineers.
  • Design and ship robust APIs and scalable architectures for an AI-native platform.

Benefits

  • Babel Street covers 85-100% monthly premium costs for medical, dental, vision, life & disability insurances for you and your family.
  • Offers both Traditional and Roth 401(K) plans with competitive matching.
  • Unlimited flexible leave to balance personal and work life.
  • Provides 12 paid Federal Holidays.
  • Tuition reimbursement program for continuing education.
Full Job Description
ROLE SUMMARY

Babel Street is looking for a Software Engineer to join our Analytics Group. This is an execution-focused "builder" role for an engineer early in their career who wants to work at the intersection of NLP algorithms, search engines, and data science techniques. In this role, you will help create the next generation of architecture and components for our analytics platform, focusing specifically on our record matching functionality. You will bridge the gap between linguistic theory and practical AI applications, helping us implement practical, innovative text analytics and AI-driven features. You will work closely with senior engineers to learn how to deliver software that is safe, reliable, and production-ready.

WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS

The record matching functionality is where Babel Street's signals become usable intelligence. Do you care about provenance, explainability, and trust? When a match decision affects whether someone is onboarded or investigated, "the model said so" is not good enough. You will help build systems where every match is defensible, auditable, and tunable - a rare luxury in modern ML-heavy stacks. Do you speak multiple languages? Since our platform processes data from around the globe, your linguistic insights can directly inform how we build and polish the NLP and computational linguistics components that make our record matching world-class.

WHAT YOU'LL DO (KEY RESPONSIBILITIES)
  • Implement and Maintain: Write high-quality, maintainable code to support the analytics platform and its record matching components.
  • Bridge Theory and Practice: Take theoretical ideas from linguistics and data science and implement them as practical software features.
  • Support Search Internals: Help optimize and maintain search engine components, including Elasticsearch data modeling and performance tuning.
  • Collaborate and Learn: Participate in agile sprint planning and work daily with senior partners to translate project requirements into technical solutions.
  • Build Scalable Systems: Assist in designing and shipping robust APIs and scalable architectures that integrate into our AI-native platform.

WHAT YOU BRING (QUALIFICATIONS)

Required:
  • 2-4 years of professional software engineering experience (including high-impact internships or projects).
  • Proficiency in Java (our core analytics language) or Python (for AI/ML integrations).
  • Problem Solver: Ability to work across teams and make steady progress in ambiguous problem spaces.
  • Educational Foundation: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Linguistics, or a related technical field.

Preferred (Nice to Have)
  • Foundation in Data Science: Experience with data quality evaluation, data annotation, or guideline design, preferably for linguistics.
  • Familiarity with Elasticsearch internals or other search/retrieval-based systems.
  • Exposure to computational linguistics or natural language processing (NLP).
  • Interest in Kubernetes and cloud-native architectures.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE (FIRST SIX MONTHS)
  • Month 1-2: Ramp up on the analytics stack and record matching architecture; ship your first initial changes to production.
  • Month 3-4: Take ownership of a specific component or pipeline improvement with guidance, including full testing and documentation.
  • Month 5-6: Deliver a measurable improvement to record matching quality or pipeline reliability and contribute to team design discussions.

Benefits at Babel Street (just to name a few...)
  • Health Benefits: Babel Street covers 85-100% monthly premium costs for Medical, Dental, Vision, Life & Disability insurances - for you and your family!
  • Retirement Plans: Babel Street offers both a Traditional and Roth 401(K) with a very competitive match.
  • Unlimited Flexible Leave: We trust our employees to manage their own time and balance their personal and work lives.
  • Holidays: Babel Street provides employees with 12 paid Federal Holidays
  • Tuition Reimbursement: We are committed to investing in our employees. One way we do that is with our Tuition Reimbursement Program for continuing education.

Range for this position based on qualifications and experience

$100,000-$120,000 USD

About Babel Street

Babel Street is a software company that provides advanced data analytics and search capabilities to government agencies and private sector organizations. The company was founded in 2014 by Jeff Chapman and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. Babel Street's flagship product is the Babel X platform, which allows users to search and analyze data from a wide range of sources, including social media, news articles, and public records. The platform uses advanced algorithms and machine learning to identify patterns and trends in large datasets, enabling users to make more informed decisions. Babel Street is committed to helping its customers stay ahead of emerging threats and opportunities.
Learn more about Babel Street
Size
50 employees
Industry
Founded
2014

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