Research Assistant / Associate in Event-driven Machine Learning Systems

Salary: 

Research Assistant: £31,396 to £32,982 per annum

Research Associate: £33,966 to £44,263 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits . We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 20 February 2024

The Role

We have an opportunity for a motivated Research Assistant / Associate to join the School of Engineering's latest EPSRC grant, "SONNETS: Scalability Oriented Novel Network of Event Triggered Systems." 

The SONNETS project is a new £6.5M EPSRC programme grant jointly led by the University of Southampton, Imperial College London, and Newcastle University.  Over five years the project will create new tools, algorithms, and systems for monitoring and estimating UK national financial risk. 

We will build a digital shadow for the UKs economy which constantly ingests data from many sources, generates potential adverse scenarios, models, and labels the scenarios, and uses new and existing machine learning methods (such as Tsetlin machines and neural networks) to build intelligent and proactive risk models. The diverse set of modelling, learning, and data management components will run on a heterogenous cloud, using an approach called event-triggered computing to execute and manage computation. The project will engage with several industrial partners, whose areas of expertise range from generating financial data to crafting machine learning solutions for large-scale, high-performance systems.

The Microsystems Group at Newcastle has international leadership with pioneering research in microelectronics design and computer systems engineering. Over the last 5 years, the group has secured funding exceeding £21 million from EPSRC and other funding organisations, spun out two companies such as Mignon and Microbritt and generated numerous prototype microchips.

This position is available immediately on a fixed-term contract basis for a duration of 36 months from the commencement date. We are committed to building and maintaining a fair and inclusive working environment and we would be happy to discuss arrangements for flexible and/or blended working.

To apply, please complete an online application and upload a CV and a cover letter. Your cover letter is a supporting statement, and you should outline how you meet the essential criteria of the role and evidence this with examples.

For all informal enquiries, please contact Rishad Shafik ([email protected] ).

School of Engineering: School of Engineering | School of Engineering | Newcastle University (ncl.ac.uk) .

Key Accountabilities

• Use machine learning methods for designing risk models using data from diverse sources (initially the data will be synthetically generated)
• Work individually and in a team on the different tasks in the research project to generate deliverables in a timely manner and meet the project objectives
• Provide active intellectual contributions to the research project by ways of, e.g., planning for implementation, generating new ideas, interacting with industrial partners and conducting lab experiments
• Prepare clear, well-written reports and draft scientific papers to meet the requirements of high-impact journals on time according to the project timeline set out by the Investigators team
• Present research findings at conferences or through publications in reputable outlets appropriate to the discipline

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience
Essential

• Knowledge and research experience in hardware/software co-design commensurate with career levels (sufficient knowledge for RA and expert knowledge for SRA)
• Knowledge of Python/C++ commensurate with career levels (sufficient knowledge for RA and expert knowledge for SRA)
• Experience in FPGA design and testing
• Experience in multi-core and parallel programming models such as MPI

Desirable

•  Knowledge of machine learning models: Tsetlin Machine and neural networks
• A developing track record of peer-reviewed publications in internationally recognised journals and conferences and experience in presenting to the national and international research community
• Experience in event-driven computing systems
•  A developing track record of peer-reviewed publications in internationally recognised journals and conferences and experience in presenting to the national and international research community

Attributes and Behaviours
Essential

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Excellent interpersonal skills to build trust and collaboration with internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to manage research data and maintain records in a professional manner for research projects
• Capacity for original thought and initiating new research ideas
• Willing to learn and expand your research area and carry out challenging research studies
• Maintaining a high level of professional conduct and ethics in research
• Committed to embedding the values of equality and diversity in all aspects of your work
• Demonstrable commitment to our values of academic excellence. ambition. social responsibility and accountability

Desirable

• Experience in research and development within industrial or academic environments
• Industrial experience.

Qualifications

• A PhD award (or nearing completion for Research Assistant), or demonstrable equivalent experience in a discipline closely related to the project area
• MSc award (or equivalent, e.g., MEng) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (or closely related discipline).

Desirable

 Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are aDisability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 26695