Assistant Professors in Computer Science

3 x Opportunities available 

Based in the School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences – Department of Computer Science 

Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.

Detailed Description 

We are looking for three assistant professors in Computer Science for the Edinburgh campus of Heriot-Watt University. Two of these positions are tied to a particular expertise:

• robotics
• game development, in particular C++, shader coding, optimisation, and low-level game engine design

The third position is for any topic area within which the department is active: artificial intelligence, cyber security and safety, data integration, human-computer and human-robot interaction, knowledge representation, logic, machine learning, natural language processing, parallel computation, programming languages, and visualisation and analytics.

The positions can be either teaching focused (T&S) or research-and-teaching-balanced (T&R), depending on the candidate's preference. In a T&S role you are expected to spend 80% of your time on teaching and 20% on scholarship and teaching leadership, while for T&R there is an even split between teaching and research (both 40%, leaving 20% for community and leadership activities). For both T&S and T&R, career paths to full professorship exist at Heriot-Watt.

Key Duties and Responsibilities 

Reporting to the Head of Computer Science, responsibilities include:

• Leading or taking part in research activity in your area of high-quality research.
• Writing and submitting grant proposals and securing research funding as a Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator. Be responsible for the management and execution of research projects involving academic and other (industrial, public sector, etc.) collaborators, including the School and the University’s wider research programmes. 
• Maintaining a demonstrably high-quality and world-leading research activity by disseminating research findings with publications in top-level journals and with presentations and talks at reputable conferences. Maintaining or building an international research reputation through contributions to the international research community (e.g. by serving as reviewer, referee, expert witness, conference chair, programme committee, editorship of a journal).
• Supervision and guidance of undergraduate, postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers. 
• Teaching undergraduate, masters, and doctoral level courses. When appropriate, leading new teaching initiatives to enhance current provision.
• Academic leadership positions, such as being course leader on internationally taught courses, being programme leader on undergraduate or postgraduate programmes, or leading outreach and recruitment events where appropriate.

Essential Criteria

E1: A PhD in computer science or closely related field

E2: Enthusiasm and ambition to contribute to a world-class academic community.

E3: Good interpersonal and teamwork skills

E4: Track record of teaching well and enthusiastically

E5*: Track-record of good quality publications within your expertise 

Desirable Criteria

D1: Track record in obtaining external funding
D2: The skills to supervise undergraduate and MSc projects
D3**: Track-record of good quality publications within your expertise

* Only if you apply for a T&R role

** Only if you apply for a T&S role

How to Apply

Applications can be submitted up to midnight (UK time) on 1st of April 2024.

Interested applicants must submit via the Heriot-Watt on-line recruitment system: (1) a cover letter describing their interest and suitability for the post, indicating a preference for either a T&S or T&R position; (2) a full CV; (3) a summary of their research and teaching plans and ambitions; and (4) a list of publications.

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