Research Assistant – Program synthesis Data Science Institute/Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics 

Ref. No. 010528

 JOB ADVERTISEMENT

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for a full-time, fixed term position as a Research Assistant with Data Science Institute at the University of Galway, Ireland.

The University is committed to embracing opportunities for hybrid working, to build a more dynamic, agile and responsive University, while sustaining strong standards of teaching, learning, research and high levels of productivity. The University will continue to be the primary workplace for all staff, however individual hybrid arrangement requests can be reviewed with the Line Manager in conjunction with the University Hybrid Working Policy.

This position is funded by Science Foundation Ireland via the Insight Centre, and is available from 1st September 2024 for 1 year.

The Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics is one of the largest data analytics centres in Europe. It undertakes high-impact research, seeks to derive value from Big Data and provides innovative technology solutions for industry and society by enabling better decision-making. Insight is one of the largest data analytics centres in Europe. It undertakes high-impact research, seeks to derive value from Big Data and provides innovative technology solutions for industry and society by enabling better decision-making.

At the Data Science Institute (DSI), we research technologies at the convergence of Computer Science, Web Science and Artificial Intelligence to build a fundamental understanding of how information and knowledge are increasingly driving society through digital processes, and of the tools, techniques and principles supporting a data-enhanced world. See Dr James M c Dermot t ’s researc h g roup in the Data Science Institute and School of Computer Science studies AI, program synthesis, and optimisation, with applications in sustainability and in music.

Salary: Research Assistant salary scale €31,962 – €41,943 per annum, (subject to the project’s funding

limitations), and pro rata for shorter and/or part-time contracts.

The default position for all new public sector appointments is the 1st point of the salary scale. This may be reviewed, and consideration afforded to appointment at a higher point on the payscale (subject to the project’s funding limitations), where evidence of prior years’ equivalent experience is accepted in determining placement on the scale above point 1, subject to the maximum of the scale.  (Research Salary Scales – University of Galway)

Closing date for receipt of applications is 17:00 (Irish Time) on 15 August 2024. It will not be possible to consider applications received after the closing date.

 *Please review full job description for further details and essential requirement

 JOB DESCRIPTION

 Job Description:

The successful candidate will join a small team working on a set of related problems which cannot be solved by current work in AI. They will work closely with the PI to develop ground-breaking approaches to understanding structure and pattern in designed objects, and using those for AI tasks which require reasoning. Here, “designed objects” can include for example pieces of music and small visual objects such as those found in Bongard Problems and the ARC prize.

Our approach will use Turing-complete programs as formal, interpretable, manipulable representations of objects. Commonalities across programs will indicate commonalities across objects. We will implement simple reasoners which work on these programs, eg to find out what several objects have in common, by reading their program representations. In order to synthesize such programs for any object we will use program search, for example genetic programming. Crucially, in order to drive program search we will use visual feedback as an objective function, taking advantage of convolutional neural network embeddings.

We will evaluate success on tasks such as Bongard Problems, the ARC prize, Raven’s Progressive Matrices, Hofstadter’s toy worlds, and tasks such as tune similarity and variation in music.

Suggested reading:

• Chollet, On the Measure of Intelligence
• Foundalis PhD thesis and website
• Hofstadter and the FARG research group, Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies
• Kanani et, Parsing Musical Structure to Enable Meaningful Variations

  Duties:

• Review existing research;
• Implement approaches and carry out testing under the direction of the PI;
• Participate in regular meetings and discussion with the project team (in-person and online meetings; via email and other online channels);
• Contribution to publishing in international conferences and journals;
• Engage in wider research and scholarly activities of the research group, including journal clubs, reviewing;
• Engage in training and professional development appropriate to the candidate’s level and background, such as research ethics training, technical training;
• Contribute to proposals for new funding;
• Any other duties assigned commensurate to this level of the post

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

 Essential Requirements:

• BSc or MSc in Computer Science or a related field (candidates can be considered if they have completed their studies and are awaiting the official award of the degree, copy of exam results must be provided);
• Demonstrated ability to write high-quality technical prose, such as a high-quality dissertation;
• Excellent coding skills;
• Ambition to tackle big, unsolved problems in

Desirable Requirements:

• Training or experience in evolutionary computation and/or program synthesis;
• Training or experience in neural networks;
• Training or experience in collaborative software development;
• Demonstrated teamwork

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

 Continuing Professional Development/Training:

Researchers at University of Galway are encouraged to avail of a range of training and development opportunities designed to support their personal career development plans. University of Galway provides continuing professional development supports for all researchers seeking to build their own career pathways either within or beyond academia. Researchers are encouraged to engage with our Researcher Development Centre (RDC) upon commencing employment – see HERE for further information.

Further Information/Links

 To apply: Jobs – University of Galway. Applications must be submitted

How to apply guide

• For informal enquiries, please contact Principal Investigator Dr James McDermott, Email mcdermott@universityofgalway.ie
• University’s Strategic Plan
• Working in Research at University of Galway
• Moving to Ireland (Euraxess)
• Applicant Information
• We reserve the right to re-advertise or extend the closing date for this
• University of Galway is an equal opportunities
• All positions are recruited in line with Open, Transparent, Merit (OTM) and Competency based