Department of Computer Science

Location:      Egham
Salary:      £35,333 to £41,743 per annum - including London Allowance
Closing Date:      Wednesday 15 May 2019
Interview Date:      To be confirmed

Full-Time, Fixed Term

Outstanding candidates in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence are invited to apply for a post of Research Associate in the Department of Computer Science at Royal Holloway University of London.

The Department, established in 1968 (one of the oldest Computer Science departments in the world), is one of the top departments of Computer Science in the UK. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014), it scored 11th for the quality of our research output, with a third of the publications recognised as world-leading and a further half internationally excellent (87% in total). The Department is home to outstanding researchers in algorithms and complexity, artificial intelligence, machine learning, bioinformatics, distributed and global computing, software language engineering and type theory.

Over the past five years, the department has undertaken an ambitious plan of expansion: fourteen new academic members of staff were appointed, new undergraduate and integrated-master programmes were created, and five new postgraduate-taught programmes were launched. The department is involved in multiple inter/multidisciplinary activities, from electrical engineering to psychology and social sciences.

The position is funded by the two-year Innovate UK grant “Prometheus - A reconfigurable robotic platform(s) with advanced sensing for confined spaces”, held by Dr Sara Bernardini, in the context of the program “Robotics and AI: Inspect, Maintain and Repair in Extreme Environments”. The project will be carried out by a consortium including other universities (University of Manchester and University of Bristol), industry (Headlight AI, Thales UK and Callen Lenz) and end users (Network Rail). The Prometheus project aims at engineering a fully autonomous robot capable of geo-technical surveys in unknown voids for use in the mining, water infrastructure monitoring and offshore industries. This robot will be able to be automatically deployed and recovered through a standard restricted access bore of 150mm diameter, significantly increasing potential use cases over existing systems. Key demonstrations will be carried out during the project in conjunction with Network Rail - to explore and map mine workings that extend under existing rail infrastructure.

The successful candidates will hold a PhD or equivalent, have a strong research record in Robotics or Artificial Intelligence and a strong interest in practice-driven research. Experts in Autonomous Systems, Agent/Multi-Agent Systems, AI Planning, Cognitive Robotics, Autonomous Navigation and Exploration are particularly encouraged to apply. Experience in engaging with industry or contributing to outreach activities would also be valuable. The duties and responsibilities of this post include conducting individual and collaborative research on the themes of the project, developing software based on the needs of the project, and producing high-quality outputs for publication in high-profile journals or conference proceedings.

In return, we offer a highly competitive rewards and benefits package including generous annual leave and training and development opportunities. The post is based in Egham, Surrey/Bedford Square, London where the College is situated in a beautiful, leafy campus near to Windsor Great Park and within commuting distance from London, Europe’s most dynamic technology hub. This is a full-time and fixed term post (extensions are possible), available from May 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter.

For an informal discussion about the post, please contact Dr Sara Bernardini on sara.bernardini@rhul.ac.uk or +44-1784-276792.

To view further details of this post and to apply please visit http://www.cs.rhul.ac.uk/home/sara/projects.html and https://jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk. For queries on the application process, the Human Resources Department can be contacted by email at recruitment@rhul.ac.uk

Royal Holloway recognises the importance of helping its employees balance their work and home life by offering flexible working arrangements. We are happy to consider a request for flexible working for this post including part-time, job share or compressed working hours.

Please quote the reference: 0419-157

Closing Date: Midnight, 15 May 2019

Interview Date: To be confirmed

The College is committed to equality and diversity, and encourages applications from all sections of the community.

We particularly welcome female applicants as they are under-represented at this level in the Department of Computer Science within Royal Holloway, University of London.