Simula Research Laboratory AS

Simula Research Laboratory AS is a publicly owned research lab located in the center of Oslo, Norway. Simula conducts Information and Communication Technology (ICT) research in the fields of scientific computing, software engineering, communication systems, machine learning, and cybersecurity.

Simula's main objective is to create knowledge about fundamental scientific challenges that are of genuine value to society. This is achieved through high-quality research, education of graduate students, industry collaboration, technology transfer, and commercialization. Since 2001, scientific evaluations conducted by the Research Council of Norway have repeatedly placed Simula at the forefront of international research in ICT. The most recent in-depth evaluation was published in 2017, grading the full range of research at Simula as “excellent”.

Simula appreciates diversity. We currently employ approximately 200 individuals from 35 countries and strive to create a family-friendly working environment. We are an equal opportunity employer and encourage women to apply.

Simula collaborates closely with leading universities in Norway and abroad, both in terms of research and education, and facilitates extended research stays abroad. Our Master's and Ph.D. students conduct their research at Simula, attend courses and receive their degrees from university partners.

Norway is famous for its outdoor scenery, with gorgeous fjords, waterfalls, and mountain ranges. Moreover, Norway is a safe and peaceful country with a thriving economy, offering a high standard of living and all the benefits of a social-democratic welfare state, such as social security and universal public healthcare.

Learn more about Norway: Official travel guide to Norway

Job description

A position as a Postdoctoral researcher in Biologically inspired neural networks for artificial intelligence (Bio-AI) is available at Simula Research Laboratory. The candidate may start immediately if offered the position, preferably before October 2022, however, a later starting date can be agreed upon. The candidate is hired for three years.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are transforming society, opening unprecedented opportunities for innovation and new fundamental understanding. While AI systems are inspired by neural networks in the brain, they are far from reaching the brain’s robustness, flexibility, small need for training data, and low energy expenditure. Bio-AI aims to implement brain principles into AI systems to inspire new solutions that are more robust when facing adversarial attacks and more flexible in transferring learning from one context to another, allowing systems to continuously learn new tasks while reducing the energy demands. Parallel studies in neuroscience and AI will open for improved explainability, an important societal challenge. Depending on their background, the Postdoctoral researcher will work on fundamental problems in AI such as robustness and representations, explainability, transfer learning, continual learning, causal representation learning, or similar.

The project is interdisciplinary, including computer science, computational physics, computational neuroscience, and experimental neuroscience aiming to use insights from biological neural networks to improve methods and algorithms for artificial neural networks. There are also opportunities to work closely with neuroscientific data relevant to both healthy and diseased brains in collaboration with the Center for Integrative Neuroplasticity (CINPLA), University of Oslo (UiO).

The core team working on the project will consist of about 10 Ph.D. students, one Research Scientist at Simula Research Laboratory, Mikkel Elle Lepperød, and Professors Anders Malthe-Sørenssen and Marianne Fyhn at Simula and CINPLA, UiO. The Postdoctoral researcher is expected to serve as a co-supervisor for Ph.D. students and take part in project design.

Keywords

Postdoctoral Researcher, Scientific Computing, Simula, Machine Learning, Computational Neuroscience, Applied Mathematics.

Candidate Profile

We are looking for interested candidates with a Ph.D. in machine learning, computational neuroscience, statistics, applied mathematics, physics, scientific computing, or a similar subject. The candidate should be familiar with programming, mainly using python.

Simula Offers

• Excellent opportunities for performing high-quality research as part of a highly competent and motivated team of international researchers and engineers;
• An informal and inclusive international working environment;
• Generous support for travel, and opportunities to build international networks through established collaboration with industry, exchange programs and research visits with other universities, and funding to attend conferences.
• Modern office facilities are located in the center of Oslo.
• A competitive salary. Starting salary from NOK 543.500
• Numerous benefits: access to company cabin, BabyBonus arrangements, sponsored social events, generous equipment budgets (e.g., computer, phone, and subscription), subsidized canteen meals, comprehensive travel/health insurance policy, etc.
• Relocation assistance: accommodation, visas, complimentary Norwegian language courses, etc.
• Administrative research support: e.g., quality assurance process for grant proposals (including RCN and EU programs).
• Wellness and work-life balance. Our employees’ health and well-being are a priority, and we encourage them to use our flexible work arrangements to help balance their work and home lives efficiently.

Application Requirements

Interested applicants are requested to submit the following:

• Curriculum vitae: summarize your educational background, working experience (in particular, any relevant academic or industrial work), list of scientific publications, etc.
• Cover letter: outline your motivation for applying, relevant experience and qualifications, research interests, and how/why you are qualified for the position and preferred starting date.
• Relevant documentation to show completion of the doctoral degree.
• Contact information of two references, including Ph.D. supervisor(s).

Application deadline: July 1, 2022

Candidates will be continuously screened, and the position is open until the position has been filled preferably before October 2022, however, a later starting date can be agreed upon.

Contact

Additional inquiries regarding the position can be addressed to:

• Mikkel Elle Lepperød, [email protected] +4792216758

Simula Research Laboratory uses Semac´s background check in our recruitment process.

According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova), information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

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