LEDIG STILLING VED UIT NORGES ARKTISKE UNIVERSITET

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Operation Centre Applications for Remotely Controlled Vessels

Deadline: 31.07.2022

UiT The Arctic University of Norway

UiT is a multi-campus research university in Norway and the northernmost university of the world.

Our central location in the High North, our broad and diverse research and study portfolio, and our interdisciplinary qualities make us uniquely suited to meet the challenges of the future. At UiT you can explore global issues from a close-up perspective.


Credibility, academic freedom, closeness, creativity and commitment shall be hallmarks of the relationship between our employees, between our employees and our students and between UiT and our partners.

Faculty of Science and Technology

The position

The Department of Technology and Safety (ITS), has a position as Postdoctoral Fellow vacant attached to the study program of nautical science and the research group Advanced Maritime Operations for appointment earliest from January 2023. The research group has, amongst others, access to state-of-the-art ship simulator labs and several research vessels. The position is affiliated with the Department of Technology and Safety and the UiT Autonomous Ship Program. The position will contribute with guest lectures, research results for further development of the relevant courses, and supervision of masters and PhD students for the relevant study programs.

ITS is organised under the Faculty of Science and Technology. Activities at the department take place in the technology building located at UiT in Tromsø. The department has about 90 employees and has about 500 students in our various programs. The department offers education in the fields of nautical science, aviation, safety-/societal safety and environment.

The position is a fixed term position for a duration of three years. Appointment to the position of Postdoctoral Research Fellow is mainly intended to provide qualification for work in top academic positions. It is a prerequisite that the applicant can carry out the project over the full course of the employment period. No person may hold more than one fixed term position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the same institution.

The position can be assigned teaching and related work for UiT in an amount equivalent to a maximum 25 % of a full-time employment.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.

The project

The main objective in the UiT autonomous ship program is to develop the digital helmsman, i.e. cloned human navigator behavior, as a part of ship intelligence to operate future vessels. That will be done by analyzing real-world shipping navigation data sets collected by the UiT autonomous test vessel. The data analysis process consists of developing a deep learning based neural network to mimic human ship navigator behavior, i.e. real-world navigation data, in a test vessel, supported by an onshore remote operational center. Furthermore, the cognitive ability of such neural networks under various information sources and visualization methods including human, AI, technology and regulation interactions will also be investigated to support this project.

The objectives of the postdoctoral position are to support the first step of this research project and which consists of the development of Remotely Controlled Vessels to collect the required data sets to formulate the digital navigator. The UiT experimental vessel will be instrumented and required data sets will be collected to support the same objectives. Therefore, a candidate with not only higher academic qualifications but also moderate software and hardware development experiences will be expected for this position.

Contact

For further information about the position, please contact:

Qualifications

The position requires a recognized Norwegian PhD or equivalent degree. The PhD degree must be within Information Technology, Computer Science, Cybernetics, Physics, Mathematics, Statistics, Nautical Science, Maritime Technology, Mechanical/ Electrical Engineering or similar. If you’re at the final stages of your PhD, you may still apply if you have submitted your PhD thesis for doctoral degree evaluation within the application deadline. You must submit the thesis with your application. You must have dissertated before the start-up date of the position.

Emphasis will be attached to the applicant’s potential for research as shown by:

  • Doctoral thesis,
  • any other academic works,
  • C++ software development skills including ROS programming knowledge and experiences,

In addition, consideration may be given to work experience or other activities of significance for the implementation of the postdoctoral position.

It is an advantage with knowledge and experience with:

  • Ship manoeuvrability and control systems
  • Instrumentation, installation and sensor configurations and experiences
  • Programming languages such as e.g. LabVIEW, MATLAB, Python and/or C++
  • Machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms
  • Open source artificial intelligence, machine learning, and statistical estimation software tools and big-data frameworks
  • Experience working with ship models or small scale vessels

Very good communication skills in both written and spoken English are required. Nordic applicants can document their capabilities by attaching their high school diploma.

In the assessment the main emphasis will be attached to the submitted works and the project proposal for the qualifying work. Emphasis shall also be attached to experience from teaching, popularization/dissemination and academic policy and administrative activity.

During the assessment emphasis will be put on the candidate’s motivation, potential for research, and personal suitability for the position. We are looking for candidates who:

  • Have good collaboration skills
  • Have good communication and interaction with colleagues and students
  • Wants to contribute to a good working environment

At UiT we put emphasis on the quality, relevance and significance of the research work and not on where the work is published, in accordance with the principles of The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).

Inclusion and diversity

UiT The Arctic University i Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity is a strength, and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.

If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics.

We offer

  • Involvement in an interesting research project
  • Good career opportunities
  • A good academic environment with dedicated colleagues 
  • Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement 
  • Pension scheme through the state pension fund 
  • More practical information for working and living in Norway can be found here: https://uit.no/staffmobility

Application

Your application must include:

  • Cover letter
  • CV
  • Diplomas and transcripts (all academic degrees)
  • Documentation of English proficiency
  • Contact information to 1-3 references
  • PhD and Master thesis, publications
  • Any other academic works you wish us to take into consideration during the assessment
  • Documentation of teaching experience and qualifications, if applicable

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. We only accept applications and documentation sent via Jobbnorge within the application deadline.

Assessment

The applicants will be assessed by an expert committee. The committee's mandate is to undertake an assessment of the applicants' qualifications based on the written material presented by the applicants, and the detailed description draw up for the position.

The applicants who are assessed as best qualified will be called to an interview. The interview should among other things, aim to clarify the applicant’s motivation and personal suitability for the position. A trial lecture may also be held.

General information

The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants.

The remuneration for Postdoctoral research fellow is in accordance with the State salary scale code 1352. A compulsory contribution of 2 % to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will be deducted.

The successful candidate must be willing to get involved in the ongoing development of their department and the university as a whole.

UiT wishes to increase the proportion of women in academic positions. In cases where two or more applicants are found to be approximately equally qualified, women will be given priority.

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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