Postdoctoral Researcher - Language Technology,

*Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics**, Data Science Institute,*

*Ref. No. University of Galway 060-24 *

Applications are invited from suitable candidates for a full-time, fixed-term position as Postdoctoral Researcher with the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics at the Data Science Institute https://www.universityofgalway.ie/dsi/work_with_us/ (DSI), College of Science and Engineering at the University of Galway.

This position is funded by the Insight SFI Research Centre https://www.universityofgalway.ie/dsi/sfi_research/ for Data Analytics and is available from 1st June 2024 to 30th December 2025 (18-months).

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SFI Research - University of Galway https://www.universityofgalway.ie/dsi/sfi_research/

Data Science Institute https://www.universityofgalway.ie/dsi/work_with_us/

*Job Description:*

This postdoctoral position is in the area of Insight Research Challenge 4 on “Multimodal Data Analysis” and will focus on the combination of natural language processing and multimodal machine learning. In addition, the project will focus on the use of these technologies to improve NLP for equality, diversity, inclusion, and under-resourced languages. There has been an elevation in hate speech or abuse, and this position will focus on the LGBTQIA+ community. Due to the shortage of resources in the said study area, more research is needed. The Postdoctoral position will focus on improving the research by creating more data and creating novel NLP models to identify homophobic or transphobic comments in social media. In the context of this funded position, we will also look at the area of cultural analytics, which will involve the development of methods for the analysis of multimodal data (e.g. textual data and image data) from different cultural perspectives.

The tasks of the successful candidate include the organization of an annotation effort, in which various types of hate and culturally specific attributes are annotated in a crowdsourcing setting. Based on this novel resource, the candidate will develop new methods for the detection of hate speech against minorities and create language and multimodal technologies for equality, diversity, and inclusion. This will also continue to improve the development of novel methods that advance the state of the art in relation to equality, diversity, inclusion and other bias mitigation areas.

The postdoctoral position will focus on research work, however, the candidate will also be expected to contribute to the activities of the institute, in particular, through writing grant applications, assist in supervising PhD and MSc students and in public engagement activities as appropriate.

The successful candidate will be based at the Data Science Institute and will be part of the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics at the University of Galway. The candidate will be supported in their professional development, be able to avail of a range of career level focussed training opportunities and have the potential to publish research findings in leading journals and international events.

*Duties:*

· Research, design, and develop foundation models in the field of NLP and Multimodal Learning, based on the latest advancements.

· Conduct a specified programme of research and scholarship under the supervision and direction of the Principal Investigator.

· Establish principles and tools to support best practices for data and NLP models in collaboration with the European data and AI communities.

· Plan, coordinate, and implement the described research project (this may include managing a small research team/coordinating other researcher activities).

· Assist in the attraction of funding.

· Keep up to date with research related methods and techniques, in particular, developments in the specific research area.

· Collaborate with colleagues on areas of shared research interest.

· Present on research progress and outcomes e.g. to bodies supervising research; conferences, steering groups; other team members, as agreed with the PI/project leader.

· Produce top-quality journal and conference publications in collaboration with students and PI.

· Mentor and assist, as appropriate and as directed, the research graduate students in the institute.

· Engage in Education and Public Engagement (EPE) activities of the institute.

· Any other duties assigned commensurate to this level of post

*Qualifications/Skills required: *

*Essential Requirements: *

· PhD in Natural Language Processing, Computer Vision, Computer Science or Linguistics

· Published at top conferences in the field or in high impact factor journals.

· Excellent understanding of experimental design and scientific methodologies

· Strong command of oral and written English

· Good programming skills

*Desirable Requirements: *

· Strong knowledge of NLP / language technology for equality, diversity, and inclusion

· Knowledge of debiasing techniques in NLP tasks

· Knowledge of multimodal learning approaches

· Programming experience with deep learning in Python

· Experience in writing grant proposals

*Salary*: Postdoctoral Researcher Point 1 €42,783 to Point 10 €54,965 per annum, pro rata for shorter and/or part-time contracts (public sector pay policy rules pertaining to new entrants will apply), depending on qualifications.

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). https://www.universityofgalway.ie/human-resources/recruitment-and-selection/recruitment-and-selection/researchsalaryscales/

*Start date*: Position is available from 1st June 2024.

*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 http://www.nuigalway.ie/rdc for further information.

Further information on research and working at University of Galway is available on Research at University of Galway http://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/

For information on moving to Ireland please see www.euraxess.ie

*Informal enquiries* concerning the post may be made to:

Dr. Bharathi Raja Chakravarthi bharathi.raja@universityofgalway.ie

*To Apply:*

Applications to include a covering letter, CV, and the contact details of three referees should be sent, via e-mail (in word or PDF only) to Dr. Bharathi Raja Chakravarthi bharathi.raja@universityofgalway.ie

Please put reference number *University of Galway 060-24 *in subject line of e-mail application.

*Closing date for receipt of applications is 5.00 pm (Irish Time) 31st March, 2024*

We reserve the right to re-advertise or extend the closing date for this post.

University of Galway is an equal opportunities employer.

All positions are recruited in line with Open, Transparent, Merit (OTM) and Competency based recruitment

Dr. Bharathi Raja Chakravarthi, Assistant Professor / Lecturer-above-the-bar School of Computer Science, University of Galway, Ireland Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics, Data Science Institute, University of Galway, Ireland E-mail: bharathiraja.akr@gmail.com , bharathi.raja@universityofgalway.ie bharathiraja.asokachakravarthi@universityofgalway.ie Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=irCl028AAAAJ&hl=en Website: https://www.universityofgalway.ie/our-research/people/computer-science/bhara... https://www.universityofgalway.ie/our-research/people/computer-science/bharathiraja/