Geospatial Artificial Intelligence Research Scientist

Job Purpose

To make a leading contribution to the growing research in Geospatial Data Science at the College of Science and Engineering, the researcher will work with Professor Ana Basiri and the Geospatial Data Science Group, at the University of Glasgow.

The successful candidate will make a leading contribution to the development of cutting-edge geospatial AI tools, deliver world-leading research, develop their career and team through delivering high-impact outputs, submission of research proposals to develop their team and research, supervision of PhD and MSc students, and presenting at conferences, seminars and workshops in the relevant areas as opportunities allow.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1. Develop innovative GeoAI solutions by combining geospatial data with OpenAI's and/or similar API offerings, such as GPT, Codex (or similar) to leverage these tools for geospatial data tasks and use these APIs to automate data processing, generate insights, and develop AI-driven geospatial applications.
2. Study and develop applications using existing Large Language Models through fine-tuning, information retrieval, and integration into wider software projects.
3. Study and use relevant techniques including prompt engineering, data ingest and transformation techniques.
4. Collaborate with the growing Geospatial Data Science Team at the University of Glasgow and the collaborators across industry, Government, and third sector.
5. Maintain and enhance your research profile and reputation and that of The University of Glasgow and research team, including contributing to publications of international quality in high profile/quality refereed journals, enhancing the research impact in terms of economic/societal benefit, and gathering indicators of esteem.
6. Presentation of work at international and national conferences, at internal and external seminars, colloquia and workshops to develop and enhance our research profile.
7. Supporting and contributing to FAIR principles, i.e. findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability of research in geospatial data science within the school and the college by, for example, making data and code repositories available and reproducible, writing blogs, drafting technical/progress reports and papers as appropriate.
8. Engage in personal, professional and career development to enhance both specialist and transferable skills in accordance with desired career trajectory.
9. Undertake any other duties of equivalent standing as assigned by the PI.

Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Knowledge/Qualifications

Essential:

1. An awarded PhD, Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 12, or equivalent professional qualifications in relevant academic/research discipline, and experience of personal development in one of the areas of computer science or similar disciplines.
2. Extensive knowledge of foundations of AI including prompt engineering, data ingest and transformation techniques, and fine-tuning models.
3. Deep understanding of OpenAI's and/or similar API offerings, and how to leverage these tools for geospatial data tasks. Proficiency in using these APIs to automate data processing, generate insights, and develop AI-driven geospatial applications.

Skills

Essential:

1. Research creativity and cross-discipline collaborative ability as appropriate.
2. Excellent communication skills (oral and written), including public presentations and ability to communicate complex data/concepts clearly and concisely.
3. Excellent interpersonal skills including team working and a collegiate approach.
4. Appropriate workload, time, project, budget, and people management skills.
5. Self-motivation, initiative and independent thought/working.
6. Problem solving skills including a flexible and pragmatic approach.
7. Capability to design and implement innovative solutions to address geospatial challenges through AI and multimodal learning approaches.

Experience

Essential:

1. Sufficient relevant postdoctoral experience or equivalent.
2. A deep understanding of multimodal machine learning techniques, including the integration and fusion of data from various sources (e.g., images, text, sensor data).
3. Experience with machine learning frameworks and libraries.
4. Proven ability to deliver quality outputs in a timely and efficient manner.
5. Evidence of an emerging track record of publications in a relevant field.
6. Ability to conduct research and stay updated with the latest advancements in geospatial AI and multimodal learning.

Desirable:

1. Experience with collaborating with or working at international academic environments of the highest national or international quality.
2. Experience with identifying and developing funding applications as appropriate.
3. Support of less experienced members of the project team e.g. postgraduate and project students.

Closing date: 1 October 2024

Terms and Conditions

Salary will be Grade 7, £39,347 - £44,263 per annum. This post is full time, and has funding for up to 2 years.

As part of Team UofG you will be a member of a world-changing, inclusive community, which values ambition, excellence, integrity and curiosity.

The University of Glasgow has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK. If you require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the UK, you will be required to meet the eligibility requirements of the visa route to be assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship.

Please note that this post may be eligible to be sponsored under the Skilled Worker visa route if tradeable points can be used under the Skilled Worker visa rules. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

1. A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared.
2. An excellent employment package with generous terms and conditions including 41 days of leave for full time staff, pension - pensions handbook, benefits and discount packages.
3. A flexible approach to working.
4. A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/.

We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under-represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/.

We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.

We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.

Vacancy Ref: 148348 Close Date: 01-Oct-2024 23:45