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.

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 is led by the Programme Director, Lukasz Szpruch.

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.

We are driven by our vision to enable the finance sector to leverage transformational benefits through the responsible adoption of AI by:

• Developing an actionable framework for safe and trustworthy deployment of AI in Financial Services, underpinned by foundational research methodologies formulated by cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral teams.
• Developing digital sandbox environments to enable validation and testing and co evaluation of emerging technologies in a transparent manner.
• Identifying industry-wide standards and processes to address trade-offs between regulatory and ethical dimensions facing industry and regulators across a range of contexts and use-cases.

FAIR has five main research themes:

1. Robustness and Resilience
2. Privacy and Security
3. Fairness and Transparency
4. Verification and Accountability
5. Integration Environment

Find out more: FAIR: Framework for responsible adoption of artificial intelligence in 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.

We are looking for a Research Associate to support and enable the delivery of the Privacy and Security theme under the direction of Carsten Maple and Graham Cormode.

ROLE PURPOSE

The successful candidate will work in partnership with our industry partner HSBC and contribute to work in the Privacy and Security research theme within FAIR. The successful applicant will explore the use of Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) in the context of the Financial Services industry. PETs are becoming increasingly developed and deployed in a range of sectors to protect the privacy of personal information. However, these techniques are also suitable for protecting aspects of other sensitive information. The aim of this work is to consider the applicability of PETs across the finance ecosystem and develop fundamental advances that are practicable in such cases. This addresses a key research objective of FAIR which is to develop privacy and security methods that provide safeguards against new risks in AI-driven financial service applications.

The candidate will join a vibrant team of researchers and will have opportunities to engage with cutting-edge projects and experts at leading universities. These will include Sam Cohen, Gesine Reinert and Marta Kwiatkowska (Oxford), Carsten Maple and Graham Cormode (Warwick), Adrian Weller (Cambridge), Philip Treleaven (UCL) and Lukasz Szpruch (Edinburgh), as well as project teams funded by other strategic partnerships.

DUTIES AND AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

• Develop and apply state-of-the-art techniques for secure and private data sharing such as
• Differential Privacy
• Secure Multiparty Computation and Secure Aggregation
• Federated learning and analytics
• Homomorphic Encryption
• Combinations of the above
• Develop and apply metrics for evaluating the efficacy and privacy of data sharing across multiple use cases
• Scope, pilot and deliver high quality research activity under the Direction of the Principal Investigator and Programme Director:
• 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.

Other duties:

• Present, disseminate and explain our work at internal and external events hosted by Turing and/or the partner.
• Contribute to the life of the Institute and support its community.

Please see the Job description for a full breakdown of the duties and responsibilities as well as the person specification.

Essential

• 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: Differential Privacy, Secure Multiparty Computation, Federated learning and analytics or Homomorphic Encryption
• Sufficient specialist knowledge of development and analysis of PETs
• Experience in design, development and implementation of research software tools and libraries, such as Python and Java or others
• 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

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 at [email protected].

CLOSING DATE: SUNDAY 24 JULY 2022 at 23:59

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This full-time post is offered on a 3-year fixed-term basis, with the option to extend for a further 1-year term subject to a review at the end of year three. The annual salary is £37,000-£42,000 (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 £36,236 per annum

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 teal to reflect this. We therefore welcome applications from the broadest spectrum of backgrounds.

Reasonable adjustments to the interview process will be made for any candidates with a disability.

Please note all offers of employment are subject to continuous eligibility 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].

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.

The Alan Turing Institute is based at the British Library, in the heart of London’s Knowledge Quarter.

From 01 March 2022 we will trial a Hybrid Working Model for an initial six-month trial period. During this period, staff will be expected to work at our British Library office for a number of days per month, dependent on the requirements of the role. As a guide, we anticipate this will be between 2-4 days per month, but the hiring manager will be able to confirm this during the interview.