Named in honour of Alan Turing, the Institute is a place for inspiring, exciting work and we need passionate, sharp, and innovative people who want to use their skills to contribute to our mission to make great leaps in data science and AI research to change the world for the better.

Please find more information about us here.

The Alan Turing Institute is looking to recruit three Research Associates to work with an interdisciplinary team to develop machine learning and autonomous decision-making solutions for scientific research questions, under the open-source research project entitled “AI and Autonomous Systems for Biodiversity Monitoring”.

The project stems from the observation that global biodiversity decline is a critical issue facing humanity, and, in consequence, biodiversity monitoring is essential to understand the functioning of ecosystems, as well as impacts of human activities and climate change, and to develop policies to address this decline. The goal is to develop real-world exemplars of AI-driven Biodiversity Monitoring, selected to leverage existing effort towards this direction and address outstanding technical challenges in key areas of autonomous marine monitoring and citizen science-led terrestrial monitoring.

Each of these three roles will have a distinct area of research focus, as follows:

1. AI for autonomous systems

2. AI for automated biodiversity image classification

3. AI for citizen-science led biodiversity monitoring

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work collaboratively with researchers, senior investigators from across the Turing and external partners on the project;
• Run experiments to demonstrate the performance of models and algorithms;
• Build upon open and accessible tools for the scientific research community;
• Manage and engage with open-source collaborative code on GitHub;
• Produce high-quality publications for dissemination of the work to the wider academic community as well as research reports to document the work undertaken during the project;

Please see each job description attached for a full breakdown of the specific duties and responsibilities for each role.

· Research Associate level: A PhD degree or equivalent professional experience in the relevant field. See JD for specific information.

· Research Assistant level: Near completion of a PhD or equivalent level of professional experience in the relevant field. See JD for specific information.

· Fluency in at least one programming language (we particularly work in Python)

· Familiarity with one or more machine learning toolsets (e.g. SciKit Learn, JAX, TensorFlow, PyTorch, etc.) or autonomous decision-making toolsets (e.g. PDDL planners)

· Experience in managing, structuring, and analysing research data

· Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience in the visual representation of quantitative data, the authoring of research papers or technical reports, and giving presentations or classes on technical subjects.

More information about the project, as well as full job descriptions, which include duties, responsibilities and person specification can be found in the Job Description attachment.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

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. If you have questions about the role or would like to apply using a different format, please contact us on 20 3862 3533 or 0203 862 3516, or email [email protected].

If you are applying for more than one role at the Turing, please note that only one Cover Letter can be visible on your profile at one time. If you wish to apply for multiple roles and do not want to overwrite your existing Cover Letter, please apply for the role using the button below and forward your additional cover letter directly to [email protected] quoting the job title.

If you are an internal applicant and wish to apply, please send your CV and Cover Letter directly to [email protected] and your application will be considered.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This full time post is offered on a fixed term basis for 12 months. This post requires an immediate start. The annual salary is £42,893 - £48,510 plus excellent benefits, including flexible working and family friendly policies, https://www.turing.ac.uk/work-turing/why-work-turing/employee-benefits

Candidates who have not yet been officially awarded their PhD will be appointed as Research Assistant at a salary of £40,148 per annum

The Alan Turing Institute is based at the British Library, in the heart of London’s Knowledge Quarter. We expect staff to come to our office at least 4 days per month. Some roles may require more days in the office; the hiring manager will be able to confirm this during the interview.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: Tuesday 13th June 2023

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 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].