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Staff/Principal AI Scientist (f/m/d) for Mixture-of-Architecture Foundation Models (Garching bei München (Munich), DE, 85748)

SAP (München)Garching bei München (Munich)20 Jul 2026
Visa-eligible · Fast-trackEnglish-firstlead

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Job Description

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 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 

Candidate must have a strong background in Foundation Models and/or World Models, with a substantial publication record, including recent top-tier conference papers, or equivalent experience delivering models in an applied research environment. Experience with foundation models for large structured data or multimodal foundation models is a strong plus.

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

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-Research  | Expected Travel: 0 - 10%  | Career Status: Professional  | Employment Type: Regular Full Time   | Additional Locations: Walldorf, Berlin, Potsdam  #LI-Hybrid

Visa & salary

ELIGIBLE
125000.0
annual gross · from listing
Blue Card threshold (shortage)€45,934.20
Meets Blue Card threshold
Shortage OccupationMangelberuf ✓

§ 6 BeschV · On BA Positivliste · no priority check

Residence PermitEligible

§ 18 AufenthG · Skilled Immigration Act · qualified employment

Source: BAMF · BA PositivlisteEstimated — not legal advice

What to do next

  1. Generate a German Lebenslauf + Anschreiben in your Application Kit.
  2. Confirm your degree is recognised (anabin / Skilled Immigration Act).
  3. Apply on the employer's site, then interview.
  4. Once you have a written job offer, use it to start your Blue Card application.
Visa paths explained