Hire a Top AI Researcher in LatAm. Same Quality. 63% Less.

South helps growing companies find, hire, and pay top Latin American talent. Build high-performing teams in 21 days or less.

Latin American Talent Savings

Hire 

AI Researcher

s for up to

63

% less

We’ve helped hundreds of clients hire amazing staff in Latin America.

9400

/month 

Average US Salary

3500

/month 

Average LatAm Salary

63

%

Potential Savings

See a few of our 80,000 pre-vetted professionals

Helio C.
AI Researcher
Jr. AI Researcher
Junior
Middle
Senior
Panama
2
years exp.
Python
NumPy
TensorFlow
Jupyter Notebooks
GitHub
Monthly Salary
$
2.5
k - $
3
k
Olga C.
AI Researcher
AI Researcher
Junior
Middle
Senior
Argentina
5
years exp.
Python
PyTorch
TensorFlow
MLflow
Google Colab
AWS/GCP
Monthly Salary
$
3.5
k - $
4
k
Aurea S.
AI Researcher
Peru
Junior
Middle
Senior
Peru
8
years exp.
PyTorch
TensorFlow
CUDA
GANs
ArXiv
LaTeX
BibTeX
Monthly Salary
$
4.5
k - $
5
k
Our talent has worked at top startups and Fortune 500 companies

AI Researcher

Tasks:

  • Investigate cutting-edge machine learning, deep learning, and AI algorithms.
  • Create and deploy innovative AI models and techniques to tackle complex challenges.
  • Clean, analyze, and prepare large datasets for model training.
  • Partner with cross-functional teams to embed AI solutions into products and services.
  • Keep abreast of the latest research papers, trends, and breakthroughs in AI.
  • Publish findings in peer-reviewed journals and present at leading conferences.
  • Design rigorous experiments to verify model accuracy and performance.
  • Benchmark new models against existing approaches to pinpoint enhancements.
  • Collaborate with software engineers to scale models for production use.
  • Build internal tools and frameworks that accelerate AI research and development.
  • Translate technical results into clear insights for non-technical stakeholders.
  • Engage with the AI research community and work alongside academic and industry peers.

AI Researcher

Qualifications:

  • Advanced knowledge of machine learning, deep learning, and general AI techniques.
  • Mastery of programming languages such as Python, R, and MATLAB.
  • Hands-on experience with leading ML frameworks, including TensorFlow, PyTorch, and Keras.
  • Strong foundation in data analysis, statistical methods, and mathematical modeling.
  • Familiar with reinforcement learning, NLP, and computer-vision methodologies.
  • Experienced in handling large-scale datasets and utilizing big-data technologies.
  • Capable of designing and running experiments to test and validate AI models.
  • Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills for tackling complex AI challenges.
  • Published research in peer-reviewed journals and presented findings at major conferences.
  • Collaborative team player who communicates technical insights clearly to non-technical audiences.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What does a AI Researcher do?

An AI Researcher pushes the frontier of what models can do: novel architectures, new training methods, evaluation methodologies, and the experimental work that informs which approaches make it to production. They live in PyTorch, JAX, and Hugging Face, run experiments on multi-GPU clusters, and publish or share findings internally. The role demands deep math, deep coding, and the patience to spend weeks on experiments that often don't work.

How much does it cost to hire a AI Researcher?

AI Researcher salaries are among the highest in tech. Expect an average U.S. salary of $9,400 per month compared with an average Latin American salary of $3,500 per month, creating potential savings of up to 63%. LatAm has built a small but elite AI research bench, often holding PhDs from top programs and direct experience publishing or working at U.S. AI labs.

Can a U.S.-based company hire a remote AI Researcher from Latin America?

Yes, AI research is increasingly remote-friendly. South contracts the researcher locally, runs payroll and compliance, and bills you monthly. They join your GitHub, Weights & Biases, and Slack day one. Time-zone alignment matters for paper-reading group, model debugging sessions, and live discussion of experimental results.

What skills should I look for when hiring a AI Researcher?

Deep ML fundamentals (transformers, diffusion, RL), strong PyTorch or JAX skills, and a publication or open-source track record. Look for researchers who can walk through their own work and a recent paper with technical depth. Run a paper-reading interview: pick a recent paper and discuss what they'd change. The signal is genuine curiosity plus rigorous experimental discipline.

What tools and frameworks should a AI Researcher know?

Python with PyTorch or JAX. Hugging Face Transformers and datasets. Weights & Biases or MLflow for experiment tracking. CUDA, NCCL, and distributed training tooling (DeepSpeed, FSDP). Compute on AWS, GCP, or specialized providers. SLURM or Ray for cluster scheduling. ArXiv, papers with code, and OpenReview for staying current.

How is a AI Researcher different from a Machine Learning Engineer?

An ML Engineer ships models to production: training pipelines, deployment, monitoring. An AI Researcher pushes capability: new architectures, new methods, new evals. They share a coding stack but diverge on output. Researchers ship papers and prototypes. Engineers ship products. For applied work, hire an ML Engineer. For frontier capability work, hire a Researcher.

How can South help me hire a AI Researcher?

South vets LatAm AI researchers through technical interviews, paper deep-dives, and reviews of prior work. You see a shortlist in seven to ten days, run your own interviews, and onboard inside two to three weeks. South handles the contract, monthly payments, and a replacement guarantee. Schedule a free call here to get started!

Interview Questions:

  • Walk me through your most ambitious experiment. What was the hypothesis and what did you learn?
  • Pick a recent paper you'd want to reproduce. What would you change in their approach?
  • How do you decide between scaling up versus changing the algorithm when results plateau?
  • Walk me through how you'd evaluate a new fine-tuning method against an existing baseline.
  • How do you debug a training run that diverged after 80% of the planned compute?
  • When do you reach for RL versus supervised fine-tuning versus prompt-engineering?
  • Walk me through your approach to ablation studies in a paper-quality experiment.
  • Pitch me on a research direction you'd push for inside our company in your first 90 days.
  • Walk me through an experiment you killed because results were flat. What did you learn?
  • What's a research trend you think is overrated, and what fundamental gets ignored?

Related Roles:

Related Skills:

Why Latin America?

Hire teammates, not offshore resources.

US Time Zones

Argentina & Brazil are just one hour apart from New York. Your Latin America teammates work when you do so you can collaborate all day long.

Excellent English

We screen all candidates for excellent spoken and written English. They are ready to jump right in.

Cultural Fit

We make sure all candidates are a strong professional and culture fit. They are already accustomed to working remotely.

Cost Savings

Latin American salaries are 30-80% less than US-equivalents. Grow your team with top 1% nearshore talent without breaking your budget.

Why Choose South?

We try harder.

Full-Service Talent Partner

We take care of all the headaches of hiring, from recruiting, vetting, compliance, and global payroll. We work to understand your specific needs and to provide unreasonable hospitality every step of the way.

Trusted Top Talent

Tap into our pool of over 120,000 pre-vetted professionals who have worked for Fortune 500 companies and top startups. Our rigorous selection process accepts only the top 0.5% of Latin American talent.

Transparent Pricing

No hidden fees or surprises here. With risk-free hiring, you only pay if you find the right candidate. You’ll know exactly how much you pay for your hires and our fee.

Zero Compliance Headaches

South handles all legal and compliance aspects of employment, ensuring adherence to local regulations in every country we operate in. Bring on global talent confidently, without legal risks or administrative headaches.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Your satisfaction is our highest priority. If your new team member doesn’t meet your needs perfectly, we are happy to provide a quick replacement.

Ready to elevate your team? Start hiring remotely in Latin America today!

Start hiring

How South Works

Hiring great employees globally can be tough. We make it easy with our hassle-free hiring.
01.
Describe the Role
We get to know you, your company, and the job you are looking to fill. Then, we put together a job listing to start finding potential candidates for your specific role.

Time saved: 5 days
02.
We Search & Vet
We search far and wide for the best talent that meets your goals. Then, we run them through English assessments, internet speed tests, the initial interview, behavioral and communication tests, and run reference checks on your behalf. After the candidates survive our gauntlet, we present the best pre-vetted options for you to choose from.

Time saved: 10 days
03.
Hire with Confidence
After you select the best person for the job, we set you up for success with our battle-tested processes for remote onboarding. We handle compliance, payroll, and any mess for you. Then, you are off and running with your new favorite employee!

Money saved: $30k-$100k / year
Why clients love us for hassle-free hiring...

"South was a low-risk, high ROI way to source new talent. In under two weeks, we hired a Customer Support and a SEO Specialist and were able to scale up without getting bogged down in hiring."

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Brent Sanders
CEO, Scout Software

"I got a Finance & Data Manager for under $40k a year, that would have cost me $180k in the US. South knocked it out of the park for us! Their thorough hiring funnel delivered exactly the quality I was looking for. Over half our team is in Latin America now. "

image-6
Trevor Houghton
CEO, Pass Galleries

"Working with South has honestly changed my entire business. I built my whole team with them. They are by far the best."

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Brian Blum
Founder, Nibble Studio

Frequently asked questions

If you have any further questions, get in touch with our friendly team!
Why hire in Latin America?

The region has the perfect mix of everything you want in remote employees: English skills, shared time zones, hard-working, and depth of talent. They are already accustomed to working remotely for top US startups and Fortune 500 companies.

Can they work my time zone?

Absolutely! The US and Latin America have basically the same time zones. No Latin American city is more than two hours ahead of EST.

What tasks can they do? What roles can I hire for? 

Every hire is sourced based on your exact needs. They will arrive ready to support your business right away. They can do basically any tasks done remotely, but we recommend starting them as support so your team has more bandwidth for high-value strategic tasks.

All types of roles - customer service, executive assistant, sales, accounting, email marketing, lead generation, content writers, operations, social media marketing, and more!

How do I pay them? Any tax or visa issues?

You can pay directly through us (most popular) or we can connect you with one of our payroll partners.

You don't have to deal with any American labor laws / taxes when hiring full-time remote contractors. They aren't US-based, so no visas or sponsorships to deal with either.

What does this cost?

We recommend market pay which varies for each role. See our salary guide and success stories for some ideas.

Then, we have two different models:

Staffing (most popular) - We charge a small monthly fee for each employee's monthly salary to make the process hassle-free. The fee covers sourcing, recruiting, admin, payroll, compliance, ongoing support, and a free replacement if necessary at any point. There are no cancellation fees or minimum commitments. You only pay if you make a hire.

Headhunting - A one-time simple fee once we've found the perfect candidate. This comes with a 120-day replacement guarantee.

For both options, you only pay something if we find you someone great that you want to hire.

Do I have to hire full-time?

Yes, we only recruit for full-time and we strongly recommend full-time hiring if you can. Stability (full-time & long-term) is highly sought after abroad. The top caliber candidates are only looking for full-time work.

You're also going to spend time training and getting them up to speed on your processes. It would be a waste to do that over and over again with new people all the time.

Do I have to hire for an individual role or can they handle multiple roles?

We recommend training new hires on one thing at a time.

For example, once they get up to speed on lead generation, you can add the next role writing blog posts or whatever you'd like. You can definitely overlap roles until you have enough work for multiple people.

How can they be 70% less?

The cost of living is much less in Latin American countries. Many of our employees are able to own homes, raise families, provide for their parents, and have in-home help of their own with their salaries.

How does the money-back guarantee work?

If you aren't happy with your hire in the first 120 days, we will work with you to conduct a second round of search for the same role for free.

How do I reach out if I have a question?

Just email us at Hello@HireInSouth.com and we will get back to you with an answer as soon as possible.

Start hiring today!
Free to interview, pay nothing until you hire.