The faculty of science at the University of Amsterdam is looking for a postdoctoral researcher with a background in computer vision, machine learning, or applied mathematics for a postdoctoral research position on foundational embodied AI.
The world, however, is highly interactive and highly dynamic. How do we literally teach the machine to perceive the semantics and the physicals aspects of the world, as well as crucially how to interact with it. Surely, one can hardcode knowledge like affordances, ideally, however we would like all this to be autonomously learned by the algorithm; otherwise, we fall back to hand-engineering and manual tuning, that works well for closed-worlds but often fails to generalize. Importantly, by autonomous learning of interactions we can have algorithms that discover novel solutions to new problems or recycle old solutions to new problems (a quite far-fetched but inspirational example: in the absence of a bottle opener, perhaps I could use a fork as a lever).
In this position, we will be focusing on foundational embodied AI, and particularly, how we can make it generalize well to new environments and how to make algorithms that learn autonomously how to interact with the environment.
Tasks
Specific responsibilities include:
- Show independence in achieving research goals and willingness to collaborate and to supervise PhD students working on deep learning and computer vision, dynamical and interactive systems;
- Contribute to a real-world showcase demo along the lines of the challenges in the Embodied AI Workshop 2023;
- Present research results at international conferences, workshops, and journals;
- Become an active member of the research community and to collaborate with other researchers, both within and outside the Informatics Institute;
- Contribute to teaching activities, such as lectures, lab courses, or supervising bachelor and master students.
Salary
- The gross monthly salary, based on 38 hours per week and dependent on relevant experience, ranges between € 2,960 to € 4,670.
- UvA additionally offers an extensive package of secondary benefits, including 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.3%.
- Multiple courses on topics such as leadership for academic staff;
- Multiple courses on topics such as time management and handling stress and an online learning platform with 100+ different courses;
- 7 weeks birth leave (partner leave) with 100% salary;
- partially paid parental leave;
- The possibility of setting up a workplace at home
- A pension at ABP for which UvA pays two-thirds of the contribution;
- A favorable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants.
Job Requirements
The Research Position on Foundational Embodied AI requires candidate have:
- A PhD in either an AI-related field (Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Deep Learning);
- Ability to invent and evaluate novel algorithms and present them orally and in writing;
- Ability to implement and evaluate machine learning algorithms in Python with deep learning toolkits (PyTorch, TensorFlow, and Jax);
- Committed researcher, demonstrated by publications in the top machine learning, computer vision, or other top scientific conferences and journals;
- Ability to work with 3D embodied simulators (or willing to learn);
- Ability to work well in teams and communicate fluently in written and spoken English
Application Process
Applications should include the following information (all files apart from the CV should be submitted in one single pdf file):
- CV (maximum 2 pages): including a list of all publications and preferred starting date, a link to Ph.D. thesis,
- Motivation letter (max 1 page)
- Research statement (maximum of 2 pages)
- Two references from different institutes (no letters needed yet).
To apply for a Postdoctoral Research Position on Foundational Embodied AI, click here.
Deadline: November 25, 2023.
For more information on the Postdoctoral Research Position on Foundational Embodied AI, visit the official site.
