Division/School School of Modern Languages
Contract type Open Ended
Working pattern Full time
Salary £33,199 - £37,345 per annum
Closing date for applications 10-Jul-2019

The School of Modern Languages at the University of Bristol is seeking to appoint a Research Associate with expertise in translation technology. The researcher will contribute to the project ‘Improving Products and Processes in Translation Technology Use’ (IMPETUS), funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (UK). The project will build a body of empirical evidence on several aspects of professional translation practice. It will explore topics including use of neural machine translation and longitudinal perceptions of translating productivity. The job will involve conducting workplace experiments, analysing data, writing research papers and giving conference presentations under the direction of Dr Lucas Nunes Vieira (PI) and in collaboration with Professor Michael Carl (Kent State University, USA), Dr Elisa Alonso (Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Spain) and industry partners. The post will also encompass research impact duties including participation in industry events and collaboration with translation companies.

The following skills and qualifications are essential for the role:

• A PhD, or equivalent qualification/experience, in translation studies, natural language processing or a related field
• Experience with methods of data collection and analysis used in translation process research, user studies and/or machine translation evaluation
• Fluent English, both spoken and written
• Well-developed analytical skills
• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues, including academic researchers, professional translators and industry partners
• Ability to use initiative, and apply creativity, to solve problems that are encountered in the research context
• Ability to organise their own time and work, to meet deadlines, and manage competing priorities
• Organisational and planning skills
• Excellent team-worker
• Ability to work independently

The following is highly desirable:

• Experience with the computer-assisted translation tool Trados Studio
• Experience with eye trackers
• Experience with the statistical package R
• Knowledge of one or more languages out of Chinese, German, Hindi, Russian or Spanish
• A track record of high-quality peer-reviewed publications

The start date is 1 September 2019 and the position has funding for 1.5 years in the first instance.

Informal enquiries (not applications) to Dr Lucas Nunes Vieira, l.nunesvieira@bristol.ac.uk, tel +44(0)117 928 8610.

The University is committed to creating and sustaining a fully inclusive culture. We appreciate and value difference, seeking to attract, develop and retain a diverse mix of talented people that will contribute to the overall success of Bristol and help maintain our position as one of the world’s leading universities.

We welcome applications from all members of our community and are particularly encouraging those from diverse groups, such as members of the LGBT+ and BAME communities, to join us.