Research Fellow (Machine Learning & NLP)

The Institute of Data Science  at National University of Singapore (NUS) is looking for multiple postdoctoral Research Fellows to work on machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) research for indigenous/vernacular languages. The project  is a newly-funded international collaboration between Singapore  and New Zealand  on data science, focusing on multi-lingual Q&A for revitalising and facilitatng indigenous/vernacular languages in Southeast Asia and New Zealand through AI and data science. The NUS team, led by Professors See-Kiong Ng  and Stephane Bressan , will be working closely with the NZ team led by Professors Ruili Wang (Massey University), Michael Witbrock (Auckland University) and Te Taka Keegan (University of Waikato) in this 3-year project. The Research Fellows will be responsible for undertaking novel research in ML and NLP, focusing on multi-lingual Q&A for low-resource languages. The research should lead to publications in top-tier international conferences and journals, new research resources such as well-annotated NLP datasets, and implementations in real-world applications. The initial appointment will be for one year, with the possibility to extend based on performance. Selected candidates will be offered with attractive/competitive salaries and benefits. 

Responsibilities:

• Research and develop new ML-based methodologies and algorithms in NLP for multi-lingual Q&A in low-resourced languages;
• Design and implement data collection for NLP research for regional indigenous/vernacular languages;
• Participate in knowledge exchange and knowledge transfer activities with external partners and collaborators;
• Mentor research engineers and postgraduate students in the team;

Requirements

• A PhD in Computer Science or equivalent, with specialization in machine learning and natural language processing;
• Proven ability to conduct independent research with a strong and relevant publication record;
• Prior experience in computational linguistics or NLP, and state-of-the-art ML techniques such as few-shot learning and transfer learning would be a plus;
• Excellent interpersonal communication and oral presentation skills in English;
• Experienced in working in a team, with people of diverse skillsets and cultural background.

Note:

At NUS, the health and safety of our staff and students are one of our utmost priorities, and COVID-vaccination supports our commitment to ensure the safety of our community and to make NUS as safe and welcoming as possible. Many of our roles require a significant amount of physical interactions with students/staff/public members. Even for job roles that may be performed remotely, there will be instances where on-campus presence is required.

Taking into consideration the health and well-being of our staff and students and to better protect everyone in the campus, applicants are strongly encouraged to have themselves fully COVID-19 vaccinated to secure successful employment with NUS.