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.

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The 'Finance and Economics' programme brings together leading experts in data science, machine learning, finance, and the social sciences, from both academia and industry to tackle the most challenging questions by producing world-leading research with significant impact. The programme works closely with government and the industry to exploit the potential of new technologies in the financial sector and economic research, and to position the UK as the leader in these areas.

The programme has recently received a significant investment from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to deliver one of eight business-led “Prosperity Partnerships.” This will see the Turing, HSBC, and other organisations in the financial sector developing a Framework for responsible adoption of Artificial Intelligence in the financial services industry (FAIR). FAIR brings together academia and industry to advance research and develop practical and scalable solutions needed to fully realise the transformational benefits of responsible adoption of AI across the financial services industry.

The Turing are hiring a team of Research Associates to support and enable the delivery of the five main research themes under the direction of the Turing Programme Director, and the project PIs. The team will collectively have a broad range of expertise, and we will be hiring based on varied skills required for each specific challenge.

ROLE PURPOSE

The successful candidate will work across projects that are aligned to the Fairness and Transparency research theme within FAIR. The theme will develop new theory, methods and tools for appropriate fairness and transparency in the context of commercial finance. Within transparency, the primary focus is interpretability of the outputs of machine learning systems which will be directly beneficial for practitioners, stakeholders, or regulators; though we shall also consider broader issues, such as the process of how data and humans fit into decision pipelines. We are interested in ways to connect this theme with the other FAIR themes. For example, we will examine the extent to which algorithmic explanation methods leak private information and develop verifiable approaches for practical measures of explanation or fairness without leaking private information.

DUTIES AND AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

• Develop and apply state-of-the-art approaches for fairness and transparency to tackle business-inspired research challenges of the Turing Institute and partnerships including areas such as
• Robust methods for practically useful transparency, examining the extent of leakage of private information
• Appropriate methods to monitor and mitigate bias and unfairness
• Ways to improve practical human-machine team performance
• Formal verification and Validation
• Scope, pilot and deliver high quality research activity under the direction of the theme leads and Principal Investigator:
• Drive collaboration with academic experts and broader research partners from across the Turing and the wider Turing community
• Publish and disseminate high-quality research papers and publications detailing research output and project case-studies.
• Become part of the broader partnership team and be expected to engage on a regular basis with the partner.

• Research Associate level: PhD in Mathematics, Computer Science, or a closely related discipline.
• Research Assistant level: Near completion of a PhD or equivalent level of professional qualification in Mathematics, Computer Science, or closely related discipline.
• A solid background in one or more of the following: technical approaches to fairness, transparency, or privacy; probabilistic models; human-machine teams
• Experience in design, development and implementation of research software tools and libraries, such as Python, Java, GPU programming (TensorFlow, PyTorch, etc), symbolic verification (SAT, SMT)
• Track record of the ability to initiate, develop and deliver high quality research aligned with the research strategy indicated by the PI and any industrial stakeholders and to publish in peer reviewed journals and conferences.
• Hands-on experience with Machine Learning methods
• Track record of outstanding research and in delivering impact appropriate to career stage
• Experience in publishing research papers, code libraries or technical reports and giving presentations or classes on technical subjects.

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. Please ensure you submit both a CV and covering letter. If you have questions about the role or would like to apply using a different format, please email [email protected].

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: Sunday 10th September 2023 at 23:59 BST

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 full-time post is offered on a fixed-term basis until 1st December 2026. The annual salary is £42,893 - £48,510 (depending on experience) 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.

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.

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.

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.

Reasonable adjustments to the interview process will be made for any candidates with a disability. Please contact us at [email protected] to find out how we can assist you.