Winter 2025

PhD Data Science – NLP Intern

Summer 2026

Posted on 10/7/2025

Vail Systems

Vail Systems

51-200 employees

Scalable telephony software with APIs

Compensation Overview

$40/hr

Chicago, IL, USA + 1 more

More locations: Highland Park, IL, USA

Hybrid

Hybrid role with in-office presence at Chicago or Deerfield offices; interviews/onboarding conducted in-office when possible.

Category
AI & Machine Learning (2)
,
Requirements
  • Currently enrolled in a PhD program in Computer Science, Data Science, Mathematics, Human Computer Interaction, Natural Language Processing, Computational Linguistics or a related field.
  • 1+ year experience with machine learning and natural language processing.
  • Strong verbal and writing communication skills.
  • Ability to independently execute a research agenda and collaborate effectively with other researchers and engineers.
  • Proficiency in Python or R.
  • Experience with deep learning platforms, such as PyTorch, Tensor Flow, CNTK, specifically as they relate to the implementation of state-of-the-art deep learning models (including, but not limited to transformer-based models).
  • Existing body of relevant research contributions, such as peer-reviewed publications at top-tier conferences and journals related to ML/NLP.
Desired Qualifications
  • Preference will be given to candidates with demonstrated proficiency in sentence-generative language models.

Vail Systems provides scalable, fault-tolerant telephony software services for large enterprises across financial services, retail and hospitality, software, and wireless industries. Its offerings include advanced network routing and call control, caller authentication and risk scoring, conversational IVR/IVA solutions, and customer experience analytics. Customers can engage Vail Professional Services or build on the FreeClimb voice and messaging API to integrate telephony features into their apps. The goal is to help enterprises deliver safer, more reliable, and scalable customer care by combining strong security, platform reliability, and a broad suite of telephony tools in one ecosystem.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

Deerfield, Illinois

Founded

1991

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • STIR/SHAKEN compliance deadline September 18, 2025 creates demand for authentication services among non-compliant providers.
  • FCC removal of 1,200+ non-compliant providers August 25, 2025 consolidates market toward compliant operators like Vail.
  • Enterprise reliance on legacy VoiceXML hosting creates sticky customer relationships resistant to cloud migration.

What critics are saying

  • Twilio's FreeClimb acquisition commoditizes Vail's API platform, eroding pricing power and differentiation.
  • Amazon Connect captures 35% market share with AI-native IVR, undercutting Vail's legacy VoiceXML hosting.
  • Microsoft Azure Communication Services migrates Vail's 30% OCS hosting clients via forced platform upgrades.

What makes Vail Systems unique

  • Carrier-grade collocation facilities across Chicago, Southfield, and Aurora ensure fault-tolerant delivery for Fortune 500 clients.
  • Comprehensive platform handles billions of interactions yearly with 24/7 monitoring across voice, messaging, and conferencing.
  • FreeClimb API enables enterprise customers to build custom voice applications without vendor lock-in constraints.

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Benefits

Health - When you work hard, it’s important to stay healthy. Our competitive benefits package includes medical, dental, and vision insurance options to keep you healthy and happy.

Financial/Savings - We pride ourselves with rewarding great work with great compensation. Plan ahead with our 401(k) Retirement Plan with company match. Take advantage of our pre-tax transit program to save money from parking to train tickets.

Work/Life Balance - With flexible work hours, open workspaces, casual office attire, and employee outings, it’s easy to work hard, play hard, and enjoy a balanced lifestyle.

Vacation - We believe that time away from the office is important, and key to employees’ satisfaction and productivity at work. With a generous accrual of vacation in addition to holidays, our team members can take off the time they need to come back revitalized.

Wellness - We encourage an active lifestyle by providing memberships to gyms near each of our office locations. We also host periodic wellness events and keep our office kitchens stocked with yummy, healthy snacks!

Have Some Fun! - We encourage employees to engage with each other outside of their teams. We sponsor runners in the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge, the annual Vail Ringers softball team, and have a group training for the Chicago Triathalon, as well as host book clubs, hackathons and game nights.

Company News

TribTown
Oct 20th, 2023
Columbus Speedway Go-Karts to host final points race

Vails was named Rookie of the Year.

SVDaily
Feb 22nd, 2021
Vail Systems, Inc. recognized as Level 1 Service Provider on Feb 22nd 21'.

Credit Suisse has partnered with UnitedLe CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- #HIPAA--Vail Systems announced today that FreeClimb is certified as a Level 1 Service Provider under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and is compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

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