The Alan Turing Institute is the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. The Institute is named in honour of the scientist Alan Turing and its mission is to make great leaps in data science and artificial intelligence research in order to change the world for the better.

Data Study Groups (DSG) are the Turing’s version of a hackathon, yet much more collaborative in nature. DSG events are held a number of times over a year. They provide an engagement tool for postgraduate students and above (participants), as well as industry, government and third sector (Challenge Owners, CO) to engage with the Turing Institute. For participants it is a training activity, primarily peer to peer learning, where they get to work on real-life data science problems. For COs, it is an entry level engagement tool to working with the Turing, with our objective to develop the outputs of the DSG into further and bigger research projects.

ROLE PURPOSE

The DSG Principal Investigator (DSG PI) will be required to take academic ownership of a singular DSG challenge. They are responsible for:

• Scoping the overall DSG challenge into something that will be suitable for DSG participants
• Supporting the DSG participants during the event and acting as quality control on what they write, code and developed solutions, (e.g., completeness and scientific integrity)
• Reporting to ensure the final report is of publishable quality for the Turing website, qualifying the outcomes and suggesting how the DSG project can be developed into a broader and longer-term research project.

This is an opportunity for early career researchers to gain valuable real-world experience working collaboratively with industry, government or third sector. Support and training will be offered in and around ethics, communicating with industry and project design.

DSG Challenges:

• Plymouth Machine Laboratory - Identifying Global decadal shifts in coccolithophore bloom distribution

This project aims to use state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to analyse and detect temporal patterns of these plankton using a curated 40 year long time-series dataset.

• The Rivers Trust – Equipping communities with the skills to improve water quality

This project hopes to enable citizen scientists include a wide variety of sensor data that monitors water quality parameters such as temperature and salinity, as well as surveys recording wildlife sightings, pollution sources, problem plants, water quality, and flow conditions with accompanying photographs.

• National Oceanography Trust - Towards a Deeper Understanding of Eddies using Machine Learning

This project aims to use state-of-the-art machine learning techniques on marine science satellite, remote sensing and robotic datasets to better understand, detect and track eddy currents.

For a more detailed overview of the role, the prospective candidate should review the DSG PI supplementary doc.

• A PhD (or equivalent experience and/or qualifications) in a relevant area, which will include Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, Computer Science, or related discipline.
• Familiar in a wide range of data science and AI techniques
• Fluency in one or more modern programming languages used in research in data science and artificial intelligence (e.g. Python)
• Proven experience in data science techniques and real-world datasets particularly relevant for the challenge at hand
• Experience managing, structuring, and analysing research data
• Experience with messy real world data

Please see the job description for a full breakdown of the duties, responsibilities and person specification.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please click the apply button below. You will need to register on the applicant portal and complete the application form including your CV and covering letter.

The cover letter (up to 2 pages) should demonstrate your ability to suggest multiple potential methodological approaches to the challenge being applied for, as well as demonstrate:

• Experience in applied data science
• Willingness for multi-disciplinary collaborative work
• Enthusiasm for working with industry, government and third sector to take their business problems and convert into data science research projects

If you have questions about the role or would like to apply using a different format, please contact us on 020 3970 2148 or 0203 862 3340, or email [email protected].

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: Sunday 27 November 2022 at 23:59

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early or to interview suitable candidates before the closing date if enough applications are received.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This is a zero hours position per project/challenge. The hourly rate is £25.

Time commitment is an average of 135 hours (however, this could increase or decrease dependant on the challenge), typically spread over 25 days in a 4 – 6 months period, but not evenly distributed.

Please consult the DSG PI supplementary doc for a detailed breakdown.

The time commitment can be roughly broken down as follows:

• Pre-event stage: c.70 hours spread over 10/11 working days to prepare for the event.
• Event stage:3-4 hours per day, total of 20 hours for the week – to take place outside of normal working hours – e.g. 5-9pm Monday-Friday
• Post-event stage: c.10 hours spread over 8 weeks to complete and finalise the report.

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The Alan Turing Institute is committed to creating an environment where diversity is valued and everyone is treated fairly. In accordance with the Equality Act, we welcome applications from anyone who meets the specific criteria of the post regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

We are committed to building a diverse community and would like our leadership team to reflect this. We therefore welcome applications from the broadest spectrum of backgrounds.

We are committed to making sure our recruitment process is accessible and inclusive.

This includes making reasonable adjustments for candidates who have a disability or long-term condition. Please contact us at [email protected] to find out how we can assist you.

Please note all offers of employment are subject to obtaining and retaining the right to work in the UK and satisfactory pre-employment security screening which includes a DBS Check.

Full details on the pre-employment screening process can be requested from [email protected].