Research Engineer in Machine Learning/Information Retrieval

The Information Retrieval Lab at the University of Amsterdam’s Informatics Institute is seeking a research engineer with a focus on machine learning and information retrieval. Our lab works on various information retrieval problems with strong machine learning focus, such as search, recommendation, question answering and conversational intelligence, often in close collaboration with industry partners.

What are you going to do?

We are looking for a research engineer with a strong skillset in machine learning and information retrieval to help us with the engineering of heavy areas of our research. Examples are collecting and maintaining large datasets, efficiently implementing ML models for search and recommendation, productionizing models in cloud environments, setting up compute infrastructure for experimentation, and building demonstrators for our research. You will work in close collaboration with our researchers, postdoctoral researchers, PhD students and industry partners, and be a vital part in proving the practical applicability of our research results, upholding good engineering practices, and making sure that our research software is robust and efficient. You will also act as an ICT contact point towards the ICT services of the University for 20% of your time.

What do we require?

Prerequisites:

• Master’s degree in computer science (or a related field);
• basic understanding of machine learning and information retrieval;
• strong programming skills in Python and ML-related libraries (scikit-learn, tensorflow, pytorch);
• experience in data wrangling and large-scale data processing (Elastic, SQL, pandas, Apache Spark, etc.);
• experience with ML deployments in cloud infrastructures (AWS / Azure / GCP);
• ability to quickly build demonstrators.

Not required, but very helpful:

• contributions to open-source projects;
• experience with languages such as Scala/Go.

Our offer

We offer a temporary contract for 38 hours per week, preferably starting as soon as possible for the duration of 12 months. A permanent contract subsequently follows if we assess your performance positive.

The salary, depending on relevant experience before the beginning of the employment contract, will be €2,656 to €4,402 gross per month, based on a full-time contract of 38 hours a week. This is exclusive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus. For this position a visa can not be sponsored. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Take a look here.

Questions?

Do you have questions about this vacancy? Or do you want to know more about our organisation? Please contact:

• Evangelos Kanoulas, Professor
  https://staff.fnwi.uva.nl/e.kanoulas
   
• Maarten de Rijke, Professor
  https://staff.fnwi.uva.nl/m.derijke

About the Faculty of Science and the Informatics Institute

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 7,000, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The mission of the Informatics Institute is to perform curiosity-driven and use-inspired fundamental research in Computer Science. The main research themes are Artificial Intelligence, Computational Science and Systems and Network Engineering. Our research involves complex information systems at large, with a focus on collaborative, data driven, computational and intelligent systems, all with a strong interactive component.

Job application

The UvA is an equal-opportunity employer. We prioritise diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for everyone. We value a spirit of enquiry and perseverance, provide the space to keep asking questions, and promote a culture of curiosity and creativity.

The Informatics Institute strives for a better gender balance in its staff. We therefore strongly encourage women to apply for this position.

Do you recognize yourself in the job profile? Then we look forward to receiving your application by 15 March 2021. You may apply online by using the link below. 

Applications in .pdf should include:

• a motivation letter and CV;
• a list of publications (e.g., the master thesis);
• examples of code written by the applicant (e.g., by providing a link to a github repository.

Please mention the months (not just years) in your CV when referring to your education and work experience.

We will invite potential candidates for interviews in the week of 22 and 29 March 2021.

No agencies please

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