Research Associate / Research Fellow / Senior Research Fellow in Future Communication Systems
School of Computing and Digital Technology
Location:     Birmingham, City Centre Campus
Salary:     £30,831 to £50,408 Per annum (dependent on grade)
Closing Date:     Sunday 20 June 2021
Reference:     052021-225

Located in a modern £300M campus in the heart of Birmingham, the School of Computing and Digital Technology is a thriving, vibrant, and inspiring learning community committed to excellence in research, high quality teaching and impactful industrial engagement. Building on continuous success in student growth and in sustained advancement of research activities, the school has embarked on a programme of extensive expansion funded by substantial long-term investments. This has led to state-of-the-art facilities for students, staff and researchers, the latest of which is the £60M STEAMhouse, the new home for our department of Networks and Cybersecurity.  

Research Assistant/ Research Fellow and Senior Research Fellow positions are available in future communications systems field to work in the Department of Networks and Cybersecurity at the School of Computing and Digital Technology. 

Research Assistant - £30,831 to £33,512 per annum
Research Fellow - £37,505 to £40,766 per annum
Senior Research Fellow -£46,376 to £50,408 per annum

We invite applicants with research interests in a broad topics of future communications systems. Particular areas of interest to the department include, but are not limited to, network intelligence and analytics, communication network system design, Smart communication systems , IoT, machine-learning techniques for wireless and wired systems, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, low power communications, mobility management, and softwarisation technologies. In addition to core expertise in communications, we welcome candidates with strong interest in cross-disciplinary research in urban computing, healthcare, smart city, transportation networks, or industrial manufacturing, with communications elements. 

Applicants must be qualified to a PhD level and have evidence of strong research experience in their own technical areas. In addition, applicants will need to be able to demonstrate their ability to critically engage with a range of complex systems; engage in conceptual thinking and brain storming activities; meet deadlines and work within interdisciplinary teams of researchers and academics.

Our school offers a highly stimulating environment for career development and progression, and you will be exposed to a range of training and career development opportunities over the course of this post. 

The situation regarding COVID-19 is still developing and BCU is keen to ensure the wellbeing and safety of people across BCU. Until further notice, currently, we are expecting all interviews will be conducted remotely.

Main Duties and Responsibilities - Research Assistant

• Carry out research work, design and development within the broad areas of communications systems
• Contribute to planning and leading writing bids for research funding.
• Participate in research collaborations activities both within and external to the university.
• Deliver high-quality research to support the department through producing internationally excellent quality
• Plan, organize, and participate in project workshops, seminars, dissemination, and outreach events
• Contribute to publication of research findings in high quality international Journals & Conferences.
• Any other duties appropriate to the position as directed by the department lead.

Main Duties and Responsibilities - Research Fellow/ Senior Research Fellow

• Lead research work, design and development within the broad areas of communications systems
• Plan and lead writing bids for research funding. You will also be encouraged to apply for Fellowship funding
• Develop new research facilities and/or capabilities at BCU, to complement those in existing laboratories and enable analysis, modelling, design and testing in their field of research
• Create, lead and participate in research collaborations activities both within and external to the university
• Initiate, plan and deliver high quality research to support the department through producing internationally excellent quality
• Plan, organise and participate in project workshops, seminars, dissemination and outreach events
• Write high quality reports for funding bodies
• Manage and contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration
• Supervision of the PhD positions provided to support the candidate’s research
• Any other duties appropriate to the position as directed by the department lead. 

Skills and Experience

Essential

• A firm grounding in wireless and wired communications (including computer networks, artificial intelligence or optimisation)
• Excellent publication record in peer-reviewed journals or conferences
• Proven track record of attracting funding from variety of sources with substantial experience of developing research proposals to external funding bodies
• Proficient in programming or scripting languages, including Python, C++ and Java Script
• Ability to work independently on multiple streams of research and collaboratively across multi-disciplines
• Possess strong skills in analytical and quantitative research in the focus areas 
• Excellent communication skills and a collaborative attitude
• Ability to adhere to deadlines, achieve and deliver important project milestones 

Desirable

• Experience in advanced technologies such as MIMO, mmWave and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces
• Knowledge of Software Defined Networking (SDN), Networked Functions Virtualisation (NFV) and artificial intelligence techniques in communications
• Knowledge of 5G and beyond networks, network management principles and network slicing
• The ambition and ability to learn rapidly and to adapt to new areas of research beyond your current skills and expertise
• Prior working experience within funded research projects
• Relevant industrial experience
• Experience of postgraduate and/or research supervision
• Established relationships with UK and International collaborations
• Ability to communicate projects/concepts to a range of audiences

The specific requirements for each role are detailed in the relevant job descriptions so applicants are advised to review these carefully before making an application.

This is a highly exciting and rewarding role within a research area of high academic and industrial interest for applicants looking to develop their research career. Further details of responsibilities are available in the job description.

For informal discussion of the post, and the technical knowledge requirements please contact Dr Adel Aneiba (adel.aneiba@bcu.ac.uk).

The University Core Values are Excellence, People Focused, Partnership Working and Fairness and Integrity. These values underpin our working practices and student and staff community so applicants need to demonstrate these values during the application process. 

Benefits

In return for your dedication and hard work, can expect great ongoing personal and professional development plus the following main benefits;

• Generous annual leave entitlement – 40 days including bank holidays and Christmas/New Year closure
• Sickness/absence entitlement
• Teachers’ Pension scheme
• Library facilities on all campuses
• Life Assurance
• Personal Accident
• Travel card scheme
• Car parking
• Cycle to work scheme
• Car share scheme
• Catering facilities 

With around 24,000 students from 80 countries, Birmingham City University is a large and diverse place to study. We put students at the heart of everything we do, giving them the best opportunities for future success. The University has an enviable reputation for providing quality, student-focused education in a professional and friendly environment. Our superb courses, state-of-the-art facilities, first-rate staff, and focus on practical skills and professional relevance is producing some of the country’s most employable graduates.

We put £270 million into the regional economy and support thousands of jobs in the area. We're investing £260 million in our estate, including a major expansion of our city centre campus at Eastside, providing students with an enviable range of facilities. The Complete University Guide ranked us as a top 30 UK university for spending on facilities in 2015.

If you want to be a part of this amazing opportunity, are passionate about education and want to join our richly diverse community, please apply today as we could be part of your future.  Complete the online application and upload a copy of your CV.  Candidates are advised to remove personal information, including name, to ensure a fair and transparent recruitment process.

The University is committed to internationalism and diversity and welcomes applications from all countries, faiths and backgrounds.

It is each individual successful applicants responsibility to ensure that they have permission to work in the UK. Some applicants may require sponsorship from the University and a visa from UKVI to take up the role if successful. More information on this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa

Some roles are not capable of sponsorship because they do not meet the UKVI criteria relating to skill and salary level. If you are unsure as to whether you would require sponsorship if successful, or whether the role is capable of sponsorship, please contact us: RTinbox@bcu.ac.uk 
 
Please note on occasions where we receive a large number of applications, we may close the advert ahead of the publicised closing date. If this does happen, we will contact all candidates via email who have started but not yet completed their application, giving 48 hours’ notice.  We would therefore advise that you submit your completed application as soon as possible.

At Birmingham City University we are proud to be an equal opportunities employer.  All staff are expected to understand and enact the University’s commitment to ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion in our employment practice and in all that we do . This commitment is enshrined in our Core Values and is detailed in our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Employment Policy. The University values and celebrates the diversity of our staff and students; we welcome people from the many  different backgrounds and life experiences that reflect the students and the citizens we serve.  We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and actively encourage unique contributions, in particular from under-represented groups in respect of age, disability, sex, gender or gender identity, ethnicity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender status

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