Postdoctoral Research Fellow (speech and language technology, cognitive science)
About
Tampere University and Tampere University of Applied Sciences create a unique environment for multidisciplinary, inspirational and high-impact research and education. Our universities community has its competitive edges in technology, health and society. www.tuni.fi/en
Speech and Cognition research group (SPECOG) is part of Computing Sciences at Tampere University within the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences. SPECOG focuses on interdisciplinary research at the intersection of speech and language technology and cognitive science. We combine advanced signal processing and machine learning methods with empirical large-scale infant data to the study of child language development. We also study how human-like perceptual learning can be applied in artificial intelligence (AI) systems. SPECOG collaborates with several internationally leading research groups within and across disciplinary boundaries, including joint research with psychologists, linguists, phoneticians, and computer scientists.
Job description
We are inviting applications for the position of a postdoctoral research fellow on the topic of computational modelling of child language development. The position is associated with a project titled “Modeling Child Language Development using Naturalistic Data at a Scale (L-SCALE)”, where the aim is to develop new practices to training and evaluation of computational models of infant language learning using realistic infant data. These data may include long-form child-centred audio recordings, infant-caregiver interaction transcripts, and meta-analyses conducted across a range of behavioural experiments. While the job is located in Finland, the project has a notable emphasis on international collaboration with key partners around the world.
The work will be conducted as a member of the SPECOG research group led by Dr. Okko Räsänen. We are looking for candidates who are interested in human and/or machine language processing, and who are willing to contribute to our cross-disciplinary research efforts in understanding language learning in humans through computational means.
In this position, the candidate is expected to:
1) carry out high-quality postdoctoral research on computational modelling of early language development and contribute to the development of ecologically plausible model training and evaluation practice.
2) work in close collaboration with other members of the research group, and
3) advise undergraduate/graduate projects on topics related to your own research (with flexibility according to personal interests and career aspirations).
Requirements
The candidate should hold a doctoral degree (e.g., PhD or D.Sc.) in language technology, psycholinguistics, cognitive science, computer science, or other relevant area. Candidates who have already completed their doctoral research work but have not yet received their doctoral certificate may also apply.
A successful candidate has strong expertise in a) speech and/or language technology or in b) child language development research with quantitative methods (e.g., developmental psychology, psycholinguistics, cognitive science). Fluent programming (at least Python, Matlab, or R) and oral and written English skills are required. Strong motivation towards understanding the underpinnings of human language learning and processing is a must. Experience from computational modelling or use of statistical models in empirical research are considered as an advantage.
Potential candidates must be capable of carrying out independent academic research at the highest international level. Competence must be demonstrated through several existing publications in internationally recognised peer-reviewed journals and conferences.
We offer
The position will be filled for a fixed-term period of up to 3.5 years, but is negotiated according to applicant’s career plans. Starting date is also negotiable, but should not be later than March 2023. A trial period of 6 months is applied to all new employees.
We offer competitive academic salary, typically between 3500–3600 € per month for a starting postdoc, generally depending on experience and merits achieved (the position is placed on job demand levels 5–6 in accordance with the Finnish University Salary System). The position also includes possibilities for short-term researcher mobility to other international research labs. Traveling costs to presenting peer-reviewed work in major international conferences are covered by default. In addition, the position comes with extensive benefits such as occupational healthcare, on-campus sports facilities, flexible working hours, and several restaurants and cafés on the campus with staff discounts. The job is associated with 1612 h annual working time, which translates to approx. 6 weeks of holiday per year.
How to apply
Deadline for applications is 9th of October 2022 at 23.59 (GMT+2). Note that we may start interviewing applicants already before the deadline. We reserve the opportunity to decide to not to fill the position in case a suitable candidate is not found during the process.
The application should contain the following documents (all in .pdf format):
- A free-form letter of motivation for the position in question (max. 1 page)
- Academic CV with contact information
- A complete list of publications
- A copy of doctoral degree certificate
- Potential letters of recommendation (max. 3)