Software Engineer for Multimodal Language Research/ Machine Learning

Job description

The successful candidate will evaluate existing and develop new methods for the computational analysis of audiovisual recordings of multimodal language (e.g., speech and gesture). The aim will be to develop a toolkit for the automatic recognition, classification and kinematic analysis of gesture, alongside speech, to help analyze multimodal language data from large video corpora. The focus will be on machine learning applications, in particular deep learning. They will process the department’s data collection with these methods and will create pipelines and workflows that can be used by the researchers involved in the project. 

Requirements

Essential

• A degree in computer science or a related field (minimum requirement is an M.A.) with a focus on machine learning.
• Demonstrated experience in relevant programming languages such as Python.
• Willingness to work together with multimodal language researchers to obtain the best possible results.
• Ability to communicate in written and spoken English. The language of the institute is English, so knowledge of Dutch is not required. 

Desirable

• Experience with computer vision applications.
• Experience with natural language processing.
• Experience working with large video datasets using MediaPipe, OpenPose etc. Ability to create user-friendly interfaces and workflows.
• An explicit interest in, and commitment to, Open Source and Open Science. 

Conditions of employment

• The position is available from early 2023. Precise start date is negotiable.
• Full-time position (39 hours per week), time frame  negotiable. Part-time/job share applications are also welcome.
• We offer an initial 1-year contract with the possibility for further extension (and/or eventually a permanent contract).
• The salary is according to the German TVöD (Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst) and is classified in salary group E13, depending on qualifications and previous experience. Depending on the experience of the applicant, the salary is between
  EUR 4,187.45 and EUR 6,089.52 gross per month, plus a holiday bonus of 8% of the gross salary. This equates EUR 54,269.35 – EUR 78,920.18 gross per year, including holiday bonus.
• 30 holidays per year, based on a full-time employment. In addition, we honor the Dutch and German public holidays.
• All research staff have access to state-of-the art research facilities, including High-Performance-Computing systems, training facilities and a generous conference and travel budget. 

How to apply 

To apply please use our application portal here. There is no application deadline. Shortlisting will begin on February 1, 2023 and rolling recruitment will continue until the post is filled.

Applications should be in .pdf format and should include:

1. A (2-page maximum) cover letter that includes information about your research interests, why you are interested in this post, and why you consider yourself a good match for the post.
2. A CV, which should include a list of publications and the names, email addresses and contact numbers of three referees who would be willing to provide letters of recommendation (referees will not be contacted unless you are invited to interview). 

If you have questions about the post that you wish to discuss before you apply, please email the Department Director Prof. Asli Ozyurek at asli.ozyurek [at] mpi.nl. 

Employer

The Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen is a research institute entirely devoted to the study of language. Our goal is to understand how our minds and brains process language, how language interacts with other aspects of mind, and how we can learn languages of quite different types. We are situated on the campus of the Radboud University, and have close collaborative links with the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior and the Centre for Language Studies at Radboud University.  

We are part of the Max Planck Society, an independent non-governmental association of German-funded research institutes dedicated to fundamental research in the natural sciences, life sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. The Max Planck Society is an equal opportunities employer. We recognize the positive value of diversity, promote equality and challenge discrimination. We therefore welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates, irrespective of gender, disability, marital or parental status, racial, ethnic or social origin, color, religion, belief, or sexual orientation (https://www.mpi.nl/page/equal-opportunities).