Senior Research Associate on FUN2MODEL: From FUNction-based TO MOdel-based automated probabilistic reasoning for DEep Learning

Grade 8: Salary £41,526 – £49,553 p.a. (note: Grade 7: £32,817 - £40,322 p.a.)

We are looking for a motivated Senior Research Associate to play a key role in the ERC funded FUN2MODEL project.

You will be a senior member of the collaborative project team, reporting directly to Professor Marta Kwiatkowska, and you will provide leadership for the development of theories, models and algorithms for quantitative/probabilistic verification and synthesis to enable robust AI. Based within an internationally leading research group, you will benefit from working in Oxford University’s acclaimed Computer Science Department, located in the heart of Oxford’s Scientific Keble Triangle.

You will be responsible for carrying out research with an emphasis on probabilistic reasoning and inference, including cognitive aspects. This may include symbolic AI and verification/synthesis techniques; causal reasoning based on Bayesian networks; planning and game-theoretic methods; and provably safe and robust AI. Suitably qualified candidates will have an opportunity to software implementation, liaising with Dave Parker to coordinate PRISM codebase extensions.

You will be expected to regularly write research articles at a national level for peer-reviewed journals, agree clear task objectives, organise and delegate work to other members of the team, and share responsibility for shaping the research group’s plans. You should hold a PhD (or close to completion) in computer science, mathematics or related discipline and have post qualification research experience, possess specialist knowledge and demonstrable experience across some/all of: quantitative and/or probabilistic modelling, verification and synthesis, concurrency/games/multi-agent systems, and symbolic methods, as well as have proven experience of software development in relevant areas, such as verification and symbolic AI (SAT, SMT, etc), statistical inference or statistical model checking, numerical methods, constraint solving and optimisation. Knowledge of neural networks and Bayesian methods is highly desirable.

Whilst the role is a grade 8 position, we would be willing to consider candidates with potential but less experience who are seeking a development opportunity, for which an initial appointment would be at grade 7 (£32,817 - £40,322 p.a.) with the responsibilities adjusted accordingly; for Grade 7, you would be expected to hold a doctoral degree in Computer Science, mathematics, or related discipline (or be close to completion). This would be discussed with applicants at interview/appointment where appropriate.

We would particularly welcome applications from women and black and minority ethnic applicants who are currently under-represented within the Computer Science Department.

The closing date for applications is 12 noon 4 March 2020. Interviews are expected to be held week commencing 9th March 2020.

Our staff and students come from all over the world and we proudly promote a friendly and inclusive culture. Diversity is positively encouraged, through diversity groups and champions, for example http://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/aboutus/women-cs-oxford/index.html, as well as a number of family-friendly policies, such as the right to apply for flexible working and support for staff returning from periods of extended absence, for example maternity leave.

For further details and to apply please visit: https://my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecruit/erq_jobspec_details_form.jobspec?p_id=145222