Founded in 1997 by Sanjeev Bikhchandani, the founder of InfoEdge and Ashoka University, Naukri.com is India’s largest platform for white collar job seekers as well as recruiters.

To cater to these distinct user groups, Naukri developed state-of-the-art AI-powered vertical search and recommendation engines in the country. Comprising a talented group of around 60 data scientists, 15 ML engineers, and 20 analytics professionals, the team operates under specialised units like Search, Recommendation, Language Model (Taxonomy), Pricing, User Acquisition, Content Generation, Job-CV Matching, and Information Extraction. Each unit is expertly led by a lead data scientist or an AVP of data science, guaranteeing strong leadership and focused proficiency.

“We take pride in having solved the challenges of ‘job seeker discovery’ and ‘job discovery’ for each group respectively,” Jatin Thukral, executive vice president & head – data science, Naukri.com, told AIM. 

Naukri has carved a unique path in the world of B2B data science and AI with its exceptional AI and analytics team. They effectively solve business problems by collaborating with product managers and and engineering teams to make it possible. The company has been investing in AI R&D since 2011, amassing over a decade of invaluable experience as a trailblazer in B2B data science and AI. 

Introduced in 2022, Naukri’s ResDex is India’s largest resume database built by leveraging data science vigorously. Recruiters use this platform to handle over one million job mandates from a vast pool of eight crore applications available on Naukri. 

The company is currently hiring for various data scientist roles in senior, lead, AVP, and VP positions.

The experience levels required for these roles are as follows: Data Scientist (0-4 years), Senior Data Scientist (4-8 years), Lead Data Scientist (6-10 years), AVP Data Science (8-12 years), VP Data Science (10-14 years), and SVP Data Science (10-16 years).

AI & Analytics Play at Naukri.com

Naukri.com’s data science efforts cater to both B2B and B2C needs. On the B2B front, the focus is on optimising recruiter efficiency through an advanced CV search engine and precise candidate recommendations based on their unique journey. For B2C users, the company provides personalised job recommendations, salary-related insights, and an easy-to-navigate job search engine.

“Our approach to AI model development is unique because of its flexibility, as it avoids restricting itself to specific AI architectures. Instead, the team relies on a combination of various models to effectively address real-world challenges, fostering innovation and adaptability,” added Thukral.

One of the prime examples of their AI implementation is harnessing the power of AI to automatically generate job requirements tailored to the recruiters’ search actions and patterns. This was made possible using various tiers of hierarchical agglomerative clustering models where the first stack is based on single linkages and the subsequent ones are based on multiple linkages. 

With a dedicated ecosystem, the company focuses on developing, deploying, and monitoring AI and ML-based engines to address various business challenges and deliver superior client solutions. 

To achieve this, a diverse range of AI models and techniques are employed, including deep learning models like LSTMs, Bi-Directional LSTMs, BERT, CNNs, Transformers, Attention Mechanisms, and GANs. The most commonly used classical machine learning and statistical models are Random Forests, XGBoost, Hierarchical and Divisive Agglomerative Clusterings, and Logistic Classifiers. 

Through training these open-source models on proprietary data and combining them into AI architectures, the organisation optimises problem-solving capabilities and ensures effective deployment into products.

Their job recommendation engine, RecoClus leverages over 200 multiple models to provide personalised job recommendations. It automatically extracts information from candidates’ resumes and matches them with the most suitable job openings, learns candidates’ preferences based on their previous job applications, encompassing various job categories like technical, HR, finance. It then recommends jobs based on recent search behaviour and optimises job notifications, allowing applicants to apply.

The ResDex Enterprise platform analyses recruiters’ past activity to personalise search results to deliver the most relevant talent options. For example, if a recruiter from Amazon is acting heavily on job seekers from Flipkart, the model will automatically learn this behavior and enhance visibility of job seekers from Flipkart in the future searches of the recruiter.

Hiring Process

The hiring process for data science roles is rigorous and consists of five rounds of interviews to assess candidates’ understanding of statistics, linear algebra, classical machine learning, and deep learning. Candidates are also asked to solve real-world programming case studies live with a recruiter. The next round involves a senior data science leader evaluating technical skills and data science temperament. The final round is an HR assessment for personality and cultural fit. 

Candidates must have a degree (BTech/MTech/MSc/PhD) from prestigious institutions such as IIT, IISc, ISI, IIIT in Maths or Engineering. Prior experience in a top 10 AI team is advantageous.

Expectations

The ideal candidate is expected to have skills including Mathematics, Statistics (Probability, Hypothesis Testing, etc.), Linear Algebra, Classical ML, Algorithms (RF, Boosting, etc.), Testing (Performance Metrics), Loss functions, Deep Learning (LSTMs, CNNs, etc.), Data Processing (NLP, Text Mining), DL Libraries (TensorFlow, PyTorch), LLM Frameworks (Vicuna, MPT-7B), and Programming Languages (Python with PySpark interface), Databases (SQL, MongoDB, HDFS).

Joining Naukri’s data science team brings a fast-paced research environment, autonomy for independent projects, collaboration with smart colleagues, meritocracy, data-driven decision-making, and ample learning opportunities.

Work Culture

According to Thukral, the team at Naukri is young, dynamic, and collegial, and the work culture fast-paced. When it comes to data science, it holds a crucial role as the core of the Naukri business and innovations. “This makes the job of a data scientist at Naukri very exciting, albeit challenging,” he added. 

At all levels, data scientists fully embrace the responsibility of overseeing one or more projects from start to finish, having complete ownership of the final business outcomes. They collaborate closely with diverse stakeholders, including product managers, ML engineers, technologists, design teams, and more. Naukri aims to maintain a strong balance sheet and follows the highest level of professional ethics, along with conservative cash management. 

Additionally, data science and AI play a crucial role in powering Naukri’s top-selling products, distinguishing it as one of the consistently lucrative internet enterprises in India. With Naukri.com, you can focus on building a long-term career with the company, as it values stable growth over forced job hopping. Furthermore, Naukri benefits from the guidance of some of the best thought leaders in the internet industry, providing employees with an enriching and supportive environment for professional development. 

Overall, Naukri.com presents an attractive opportunity for those seeking a rewarding and impactful career in the field of data science and AI, backed by a strong foundation and a thriving work culture.

Check out their openings now.