PDRA in AI for Autonomous Systems

By 2050, the planet could be using twice as much electricity compared to today. Are you interested in contributing and helping to shape the future of the world’s energy?

Fusion, the process that powers the Sun and Stars, is one of the most promising options for generating the cleaner, carbon-free energy that our world badly needs. UKAEA are at the forefront of realising energy from fusion, working with industry and research partners to deliver the ground-breaking developments that will underpin tomorrow's fusion power stations with the aim of bringing fusion electricity to the grid. As we work towards our mission and goals, UKAEA has devised values (Innovative, Committed, Trusted and Collaborative) that capture the spirit of how we work.

Who are we looking for?

The Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE) Department is looking for a Postdoctoral Research Assistant. You will hit the ground running and provide research in artificial intelligence, particularly relating to autonomous systems, multi-agent systems, agent-based systems and artificial intelligence planning.

You will be working in partnership with the GOALS team at the Oxford Robotics Institute (ORI) with a focus on decision-making, and mission planning, for single and multi-robot systems operating in uncertain environments and around humans, with a particular emphasis on applications in nuclear fusion environments. Part of your role will be to contribute to our international portfolio of research in robotics for extreme environments, which includes testing of hypotheses, and analysis of data from a variety of sources, reviewing and refining working hypotheses as appropriate and engaging across discipline boundaries to apply your work.

Responsibilities 

• Managing own academic research and administrative activities. This involves small scale project management to coordinate multiple aspects of work to meet deadlines

• Contributing ideas for new research projects

• Developing ideas for generating research income, and present detailed research proposals to senior researchers

• Collaborating in the preparation of scientific reports and journal articles and present papers and posters

• Acting as a source of information and advice to other members of the group on own area of expertise

• Engaging with industrial stakeholders to understand needs and disseminate results

• Organising and deliver autonomous system trials and demonstrations at internal and external sites

Essential Background

• Possess sufficient specialist knowledge in decision making under uncertainty, probabilistic modelling, formal methods for robotics, control, learning or human-machine collaboration, to collaborate with the GOALS research group

• Hold a relevant PhD/DPhil (or submitted your PhD thesis), together with relevant experience

Desirable Background

• Knowledge of working with robots and the Robot Operating System (ROS)

• Expertise in running or analysing experiments with human participants

• Experience of independently managing a discrete area of a research project

• Sufficient knowledge of actively collaborating in the development of research articles for publication

What we offer

Our comprehensive benefits package includes an Employee Assistance Programme and trained Mental Health First Aiders, Flexible working options, Emergency paid leave, Generous annual leave allowance (30.5 days) increased with length of service, outstanding defined benefit pension scheme; Corporate bonus scheme and a Relocation allowance (if eligible).

We welcome applications from under-represented groups. The Executive team, with support from Inclusion Ambassadors, is actively promoting EDI and taking steps to increase the diversity of our people and revaluating approaches where it is clear we can remove barriers to success.

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