King's College London

About us

Recently re-founded, the Department of Engineering is rapidly expanding into a world-class research and teaching department. Research currently focuses on information processing systems, robotics, telecommunications, and biomedical engineering, but we are looking to establish new research themes.  

This post will be affiliated with the newly established Centre for Intelligent Information Processing Systems within the department. 

About the role

The Centre for Intelligent Information Processing Systems (CIIPS) led by Professor Bipin Rajendran and Professor Osvaldo Simeone brings together interdisciplinary and diverse expertise synergistically to address future challenges in intelligent information systems, encompassing hardware-software co-design, nanoscale information systems, signal processing, information engineering, and quantum information processing. 

We are seeking a highly motivated and conscientious post-doctoral researcher to join a very collaborative, interdisciplinary, and friendly research group at King's College London led by Professor Bipin Rajendran.

The successful candidate will work on the EPSRC Open Plus Fellowship awarded to Professor Rajendran that focuses on creating a smarter and greener AI. The focus of this researcher will be on developing novel event-driven AI algorithms for trustworthy decision-making motivated by the free energy principle. They will also work in parallel with another researcher who will be building nanoscale devices based on 2D materials and pursue the novel approach of using the undesirable imperfections of nanoscale devices as a resource for efficiently implementing free energy-based AI algorithms in hardware.

The post will be based in the Department of Engineering.  The department is located at the Strand campus of King's, located in the centre of London.

The successful candidate should have a PhD in Neuroscience/Computer Science/Electrical Engineering and s/he should meet the following criteria

• Research experience in machine learning or brain-inspired, spike-based neuromorphic computing
• Research experience or understanding of the biological or statistical foundations of machine learning such as Bayesian inference, free-energy principle, etc.
• Track record of high-quality research publications in peer reviewed journals or conferences

For an informal discussion to find out more about the role please contact Professor Bipin Rajendran via email at bipin.rajendran@kcl.ac.uk. 

This is a full time contract, and you will be offered a one year fixed term contract from the start date.

About you

To be successful in this role, we are looking for candidates to have the following skills and experience:

Essential criteria

1.       PhD awarded in Electrical/Electronic or Computer Engineering or Computational Neuroscience

2.       Research experience in machine learning or brain-inspired, spike-based neuromorphic computing

3.       Research experience or understanding of the biological or statistical foundations of machine learning such as Bayesian inference, free-energy principle, etc.

4.       Track record of high-quality research publications in peer reviewed journals or conferences

5.       Knowledge of Python or other similar programming languages

6.       Ability to work independently and as part of a team on research programmes.

Desirable criteria

1.      Familiarity with hardware optimization for implementing AI algorithms

Downloading a copy of our Job Description

Full details of the role and the skills, knowledge and experience required can be found in the Job Description document, provided at the bottom of the next page after you click “Apply Now”. This document will provide information of what criteria will be assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

* Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. Should the successful candidate be awaiting the award of their PhD, the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spinal point 30 with the title of Research Assistant until confirmation of the award of the PhD has been received. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6, spine point 31.

Further Information

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community.

We are committed to working with our staff and unions on these and other issues, to continue to support our people and to develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King's.

We ask all candidates to submit a copy of their CV, and a supporting statement, detailing how they meet the essential criteria listed in the advert. If we receive a strong field of candidates, we may use the desirable criteria to choose our final shortlist, so please include your evidence against these where possible.

To find out how our managers will review your application, please take a look at our ‘ How we Recruit’ pages.

We are able to offer sponsorship for candidates who do not currently possess the right to work in the UK.