Research Assistant - Machine Learning and NLP

Staff - Union

Job Category
CUPE 116

Job Profile
CUPE 116 Hourly - Research Assistant /Technician 2

Job Title
Research Assistant - Machine Learning and NLP

Department
Research | Abdul-Mageed | School of Information

Compensation Range
$26.44 - $28.95 CAD Hourly

Posting End Date
February 17, 2024

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above.

Job End Date

Feb 28, 2025

At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career. 

Job Summary

The Research Assistant (RA) will support Dr. Muhammad Abdul-Mageed and Dr. Luciana Duranti in performing routine research tasks in the Natural Language Processing (NPL) Lab at the University of British Columbia (UBC) on-campus in Vancouver, Canada. The RA will assist with research and development in machine learning and natural language processing as part of the SSHRC partnership grant “I Trsut AI”.

Organizational Status

Works under the direction of Dr. Muhammad Abdul-Mageed, director of the NLP lab. Interacts with student researchers and other members of the research team, including “I Trsut AI” project co-ordinator, Dr. Corinne Rogers, to support management and maintenance of the project website.

Work Performed

• Improves, maintains, and resolves any issues with the “I Trsut AI” website
• Updates project website with new content as approbriate
• Assists with the collection and processing of public data as well as data from project partners
• Assists with the development and packaging of machine learning models to exploit the data
• Assists with summarizing findings in research papers, and maintaining online platforms to describe research outcomes
• Attends meetings related to the project; prepares agendas; and takes notes as necessary
• Attends training sessions on relevant research methodologies.
• Performs other research-related duties as-needed

Consequence of Error

The RA will be expected to behave in a professional manner in carrying out all duties. Work will be checked by the lab director and/or a senior lab member as-needed. There will at times be the opportunity for the RA to exercise judgement or make independent decisions; errors may result in loss of otherwise useful data and/or the slowing down of productivity in the laboratory.

Supervision Received

Supervised by the lab director.  Written and/or verbal protocols will be provided for the procedures performed by/tasks assigned to the RA.

Supervision Give

None.

Minimum Qualifications
High school graduation, some additional training in a related field and a minimum two years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own

- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in Computer Science or a related field is an asset
• Strong knowledge of machine learning and natural language processing
• Strong knowledge of neural networks and large language models
• Experience building machine learning to solve natural language problems
• Proven knowledge of PyTorch and familiarity with the HugginFace libraries
• Fluency in the Python programming language
• Ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail
• Ability to communicate effectively in English both verbally and in writing