Data Scientist (28 months fixed term) (112020-394)

4net Technologies and The School of Computing and Digital Technology at Birmingham City University (BCU) are looking to appoint a high calibre graduate for an exciting opportunity in the broad area of Data Science, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML). Birmingham City University is a large and diverse place to study right in the heart of Birmingham City Centre.

The School of Computing and Digital Technology at Birmingham City University (BCU) is partnering with 4net Technologies on a 28 month Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP). 4net Technologies are a Cloud and Managed services company, working with clients to enable digital transformation across their organisation, improving end customers’ experience through innovative use of technology and intelligent services https://www.4net-technologies.com 

This position forms part of the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) programme co-funding by a grant through Innovate UK. It is essential you understand how KTP works with business and the University, and the vital role you will play if you successfully secure this position. KTPs offer a wide range of benefits including access to a £4,667 Personal Development budget to upskill during the project. For more information on KTP please go to https://bcuadvantage.co.uk/innovate/ktp/

When invited for interview, candidates should be prepared to explicitly and effectively communicate how their skill-set and goals are aligned with those of 4net Technologies. This will usually involve some prior preparation in understanding the industry 4net Technologiesis situated within (cloud and managed services, unified communications, etc.), thus allowing the candidate to  demonstrate the value they will bring to the project and its stakeholders. 

The successful candidate will be employed by the University and will be based full time at 4Net Technologies in London (SW1H 9HP) where they will lead on the technical development of the project, supported by academics from BCU’s School of Computing and Digital Technology. Please note that due to the current situation caused by COVID-19 there may be some aspects of flexibility regarding these working arrangements. 

The position is for 28 months. The expected start date is as soon as is practical. Candidates will require high level experience in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).

The Role and Responsibilities

The role requires the successful candidate to develop the following AI-based systems, and apply them effectively in a corporate context.

A Sentiment analysis system for customer/agent interactions.Intelligent framework for identifying customer’s potential requests for more personalised services.An intelligent customer/agent matching (call routing) framework for better customer experience.An intelligent framework for predicting customer feedback for accurate measurement of customers' satisfactionResearch latest techniques in data analytics, ML and NLP and apply them in the context of the KTP to plan system development while meeting milestones and deliverable deadlines.Work closely and effectively with the company's engineering and management staff along with BCU staff, taking a leading role in the development of various AI techniques into a unified solution.Develop a strategic and ambitious long-term plan for the use of AI technology within the company, enabling effective workflows and informed decision making.Help to embed and exploit the knowledge and expertise transferred during the project within the company, and communicate any technical concepts appropriately and effectively to different stakeholders.Lead the deployment, integration and testing of the newly developed AI technology within the company existing platform.Perform administrative tasks relevant to the project, as assigned by the line manager.Write technical reports for all stakeholders showing the progress of the project.Document research output in research papers and contribute to publications of international quality journals/conference during the course of the KTP.The Associate must also be adept at applying their knowledge to commercial projects, driving value and making an impact where possible, with an ability to solve problems and create innovative solutions.

Attributes, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

The Associate must have the following key skills and attributes to ensure the project’s successful completion; 

Personal attributes

Excellent communication skills (in English) with the ability to effectively express ideas orally, graphically, and in written form. The ability to articulate complicated matters between the project stakeholders (e.g. company project team members and the academics).Excellent analytical, problem-solving and computational skills - Strong leadership and project management skills.Desire to develop commercial and business experience.Ability to work independently and with multi-skilled teams.

 Qualifications

Educated to undergraduate degree level in computer science or associated discipline, achieving at least a First Class (or 2:1 Honours)Preference will be given to those with a Masters degree or PhD within a Data Science or Machine Learning related field, or who can demonstrate sufficiently strong industrial experience within these areas.

 Essential skills and experience 

Strong Industrial experience (preferably at least two years) working on developing software systemsProven experience in developing systems via at least one of the more commonly used programming languages within the software development industry (Java, C#, Python, C/C++, etc.) Proven experience and knowledge required in data modelling, software architecture, and design.Experience working with real time applications.Strong experience in Data Science and Machine Learning, especially when applied to Natural Language Processing tasks. Preference will be given to applicants who have either a strong industrial background (especially those with experience in R&D), or sufficient Academic experience in Data Science and Machine Learning at the postgraduate level.Proven understanding of data analysis and visualisation techniques along with associated tools (e.g. using Python Numpy, Pandas, etc).Proven understanding of best practice in data collection, wrangling, pre-processing and feature engineering.Proven understanding of the design, development and evaluation process  of Machine learning models, accompanied by appropriate experience with major ML frameworks and libraries  (e.g. Keras, PyTorch, scikit-learn, etc.)Proven experience of relevant Natural Language Processing techniques, accompanied by knowledge of appropriate libraries and frameworks commonly used within the area (e.g. NLTK, etc.).Prior knowledge, or experience, of transferring ML models from development to production.Understanding of the business communications / unified communications industry

Desirable skills and experience

Understanding of contact centre operations and management.Understanding of deep learning models and artificial neural networks.An awarded [or recently submitted / near completion] Masters or PhD in subject specialism or equivalent.Writing technical documentation.Proven publication record.A Link to your evidence-backed professional portfolio (such as GitHub, Kaggle, etc.) demonstrating any software systems they have written before or analyses they have performed.

For more information on the role please contact Emmett Cooper and Shereen Fouad at:  Emmett.Cooper@bcu.ac.uk / Shereen.Fouad@bcu.ac.uk

CLOSING DATE FOR ADVERT AND APPLICATIONS IS SUNDAY 06 DECEMBER 2020

INTERVIEWS WILL TAKE PLACE ON 15 DECEMBER AND WILL INCLUDE A SHORT PRESENTATION - Candidates will need to be prepared to explicitly and effectively communicate how their current skill-set and goals are aligned with those of 4Net Technologies and to demonstrate prior preparation in understanding the industry 4Net is situated within (cloud and managed services, unified communications, etc.)

Closing Date: 06 Dec 2020
Category: Technical