Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineer - KTP Associate (Fixed term 24 months)

Closing Date: 23.59 hours BST on Sunday 14 April 2024

Interview Date: See advert

JCR Group Limited T/A Bodyswaps and The College of Computing at Birmingham City University (BCU) are seeking to appoint an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineer Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Associate in the broad area of Generative AI and Large Language Models (KTP Associate).

The successful candidate will be employed by Birmingham City University and situated on-site at Bodyswaps (London). Bodyswaps is an award-winning VR platform that brings realistic simulations and AI-enabled feedback to soft skills training. Here, learners can practise and fail safely without repercussions, while building the communication, teamwork and leadership skills needed for successful careers. Since 2019, London-based Bodyswaps has helped a wide range of educational institutions and corporate clients to unlock human potential in the workplace. For more information, please go to: https://bodyswaps.co/

This KTP will be to help develop new cutting-edge communication skills training simulations - driven by AI and language models. This project will investigate Bodyswaps’ pedagogy and leverage advances in Generative AI and Large Language Models to enable trainees to practise conversations with lifelike AI avatars inside highly customisable scenarios. During training, the learner will receive highly personalised feedback in order to boost their performance.

This position forms part of the Knowledge Transfer programme (KTP), co-funded by grant from Innovate UK and Bodyswaps.  It is essential you understand the fundamentals of how a KTP works between a business and the University and the vital role you will play if you successfully secure this position. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineer KTP Associate will have access to a wider range of benefits including a personal development budget of £4,000 to upskill during the project. For more information, please go to:  http://bcuadvantage.co.uk/funding/knowledge-transfer-partnerships.

The successful candidate recruited for this position will be employed as an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineer (KTP Associate). This position presents an exciting opportunity to work in collaboration with leading academics at Birmingham City University (BCU) to apply knowledge and technical innovation, delivered on site at the company. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineer (KTP Associate) should have a minimum 2.1 University qualification and graduated within the last five years and hold at least an undergraduate degree in a relevant subject area.

Location and Reporting:

• The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineer (KTP Associate) will be based at the Bodyswap's site.
• The successful candidate will have full access to Birmingham City University's resources such as offices, labs, and library to complete the KTP project (a workplan has already been written with KPIs and outcome deliverables)
• The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineer (KTP Associate) will be supervised and mentored by both a lead academic and academic supervisor, academics from BCU's College of Computing, as well as a company supervisor located at Bodyswaps who's aim is to assist the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineer (KTP Associate) to deliver the knowledge into Bodyswaps and successfully deliver the 24 month KTP project on behalf of Bodyswaps and Birmingham City University 

Main activities and responsibilities

• Establish the organisation's requirements and aligning these to the project goals
• Develop, finetune and integrate ML models (including GenAI + LLMs) that can be used in VR/AR environments
• Work with datasets to train and test machine learning models
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including designers, artists, and developers to build customisable training simulations
• Optimise LLMs for performance and accuracy either through RAG, constraints, or fine tuning
• Stay up to date with the latest developments in LLMs, Multimodality and VR/AR technologies
• Manage GenAIOps, LLMOps, DataOps, ModelOps, MLOps and RAGOps for the entire project lifecycle  
• Design and facilitate workshops to share and transfer knowledge

Skills and experience

Person Specification: 

You should have a good first degree and postgraduate degree in Computer Science or Data Science, or a related discipline, excellent programming skills, and great communication skills and experience of successfully working as part of a team. We expect the post holder to have the following technical knowledge and personal skills: 

 Essential 

• A master's degree or PhD (awarded, recently submitted, or near completion) in computing or a closely related discipline.
• Proven work experience in designing, developing, and implementing GenAI and Large Language models into real-time systems
• Proven work experience with the development of ML models and frameworks (e.g., Scikit-Learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch). 
• Experience in data pre-processing techniques, feature engineering, and model evaluation metrics.
• Design, implementation and utilisation of network APIs
• Experience with version control tools (e.g. Git)
• Typescript, Node, front-end frameworks like React/Vue

Desirable

• C# Unity experience - character rigging/animation, shaders etc
• Experience with Vector Databases (e.g., Activeloop Deep Lake, Pinecone, Chroma)
• Proven work experience with cloud computing platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and their services
• Experience of projects with LLMs or GenAI (ideally with relevance to VR/AR)
• Experience in utilising Design Thinking and facilitating workshops

Personal Skills:

Essential:

• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to work with and convey technical concepts to academics and non-technical stakeholders
• Able to work effectively under pressure and meet targets and delivery outputs within time and budget
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment, as well as independently on projects
• Excellent problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities, with a keen eye for detail
• Able to undertake independent research and to communicate this research comprehensively and accurately through journal papers, conferences, workshops/seminars
• Enthusiastic, self-motivated and able to take a proactive role in delivering the proposal's work plan successfully
• Practical interpersonal skills to establish good working relationships with colleagues, stakeholders and industrial partners
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and computational skills, along with being Adept at applying knowledge to commercial projects, driving value, and making an impact where possible
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment, as well as independently on projects

Interviews to take place week commencing 29th April 2024

For more information please contact Iain Rice, iain.rice@bcu.ac.uk or Nouh Elmitwally, nouh.elmitwally@bcu.ac.uk 

Further details:   

Job Description    

OUR VISION

Birmingham City University is growing in quality and standing, with an academic STEAM agenda at the heart of our ambitions. We are transforming the lives of students and their communities, and want outstanding people to join us in taking us on the next stage of our exciting journey.  

Our students learn through doing. They are empowered throughout their educational journey, achieving significant educational gain and personal transformation.  

There has never been a better time to join us. Come and be part of the next exciting stage of our journey.

ABOUT BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY

At the heart of our 2025 Strategy is our mission is to enable our students to transform their lives and to achieve their potential. Through our education and research, and the roles our graduates go on to play in the world, we not only support individuals to transform their lives, but we also play a part in transforming society.

Located in the centre of the UK’s second city, we are a university with a long heritage of innovation and of making, dating back to our origins in 1843 when we were founded as the Birmingham Government School of Design.  

Our heritage of making through innovation and its application through knowledge exchange, and of creative research and practice, today finds it expression in our STEAM agenda, in our research and enterprise, and in our commitment to challenge-based learning. Working across disciplines, and delivering impactful research and enterprise, interdisciplinarity is at the heart of the continuing transformation of our academic portfolio. 

OUR STAFF COMMUNITY 

Birmingham is home to a rich and diverse range of communities. Our students reflect this rich cultural mix, and we are continuing to work to make sure that this is also reflected in our broader university community. 

Birmingham City University values the quality and diversity of our staff. Our staff and student community is defined by our core values, which outline who we are as a University and how we work with each other. Our core values are we create opportunity, we think differently, and we build community. 

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, continuously reviewing and improving our policies, practices, and procedures to ensure that we are promoting these in all aspects of our operations. We believe that by working together, combining our many different backgrounds and life experiences, we will empower each other to reach our full potential. 

We hold an Athena SWAN Bronze award in recognition of our commitment to improving employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.

Our University is located in one of the most culturally rich and diverse Cities in the UK, and it is our ambition to be the University for Birmingham and the surrounding region. The events of 2020 have highlighted the stark inequalities that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities face and we are committed to removing the institutional barriers that our staff and students face and improve the representation, progression and success of staff and students from all backgrounds within higher education. To demonstrate this, we have signed up to the Race Equality Charter to show our commitment.

Birmingham City University has been recognised for its progress on LGBT+ equality with a Gold award in the Stonewall Index and have entered the Top 100 Employers 2023 for LGBT+ inclusion. Meanwhile, we are Disability Confident (Committed) and are on an exciting journey to advance our University to progress through the Disability Confident scheme.

We are also a Mindful Employer, which means we are committed to supporting the mental health and well-being of our staff, and we have also signed up to the Mental Health Charter led by student mental health charity Student Minds. Furthermore, we are signed up to The Technician Commitment - a university and research institution initiative supported by the Science Council and Gatsby Foundation – aiming to ensure visibility, recognition, career development and sustainability for technicians working in higher education and research. 

WORKING AND LIVING IN BIRMINGHAM

The youngest city in Europe with under-25s accounting for nearly 40% of the population, Birmingham is a city full of energy and enthusiasm and is a great place to live and work.

Based in the heart of England, the city is easily accessible by road, rail and air. Birmingham New Street station has recently undergone major redevelopment, while the city is at the heart of the high-speed rail network, HS2. HS2 will provide new rapid rail travel connecting Birmingham City Centre to London and the rest of the network from the new Curzon Street Station – adjacent to Birmingham City University’s City Centre Campus – and will be one of the most environmentally friendly stations in the world.

The city’s appetite for progression is boundless, and it has been championing innovation since the earliest days of the Industrial Revolution, reflected in Birmingham City University’s new STEAMhouse building which opened in October 2022 and is home to an inter-disciplinary community of entrepreneurs, businesses, academic researchers, and students offering a wealth of support to companies of all sizes to boost growth through innovation to address commercial and societal challenges.

Birmingham is brimming with great theatres, museums, the world-famous Birmingham City University Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, as well as beautiful historical buildings and the iconic Library of Birmingham. It also has amazing concert and sporting venues including Edgbaston Cricket ground, which Birmingham City University has a long-standing partnership with. It is also home to the Alexander Stadium, which is the stunning new home for Birmingham City University’s sport courses. The Stadium was one of the main event spaces for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022, which saw the eyes of the world on the city, and Birmingham City University staff and students played pivotal roles - including designing the official medals for winning athletes. 

Birmingham’s vibrant dining scene offers something for all tastes, including Michelin star restaurants, Spiceal Street at the Bullring, the Chinese Quarter, and the famous Balti Triangle.

The city also provides a great place to shop, being home the Bullring and Grand Central, the luxurious Mailbox Birmingham and the world-famous home of British bling - the Jewellery Quarter, which is home to Birmingham City University’s School of Jewellery.

From Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and the beautiful arcades and independents, to the city’s historic markets in Digbeth, the shops in Birmingham offer a plethora of choice.

BCU Values underpin how we work in achieving the ambitions set out in our Strategy and Priorities, and are the principles that unite the way we work together and for our students.