Postdoctoral Researcher on Machine Learning in Radio Interferometry

The 3-year fixed-term postdoctoral position will be based in the SKAO Global Headquarters located at Jodrell Bank in the UK. At the SKAO we are coordinating a global effort to deliver one of the largest science facilities on the planet. The SKAO telescopes will be next-generation instruments that will help to answer key questions in astrophysics, drive technological innovation and support human capital development. More than a dozen partner countries and over a thousand scientists and engineers around the world are already on board, making the SKA project an international collaboration like no other, and one of the most ambitious science and engineering endeavours of the 21st century. Headquartered in the UK, with telescope sites in Australia and South Africa, the SKAO will be one observatory operating two telescopes, an endeavour spanning three continents. Multinational by design, in early 2021 the SKAO became an intergovernmental organisation, one of only a select handful of science infrastructures to do so worldwide. Our Global HQ is located near the buzzing city of Manchester at the historic Jodrell Bank Observatory, a UNESCO World Heritage site located in the Cheshire countryside. It is home to a rapidly expanding international team of more than a hundred, working in a highly collaborative and inclusive way, in coordination with SKAO teams in Australia and South Africa as part of a global astronomy and engineering community. Being part of Team SKA means contributing to something extraordinary: a uniquely exciting project to advance human knowledge that will last for decades. In return, we offer a diverse multicultural working environment, 30 days annual leave plus public holidays, a generous pension scheme, visa and support with relocation (if applicable), regular social events, a family-friendly environment and much more. Come and join us!

We seek an outstanding postdoctoral researcher with a background in computer science and/or radio astronomy to develop next-generation radio interferometry image reconstruction techniques. We offer a 3-year fixed-term appointment based at the SKAO Global Headquarters in the UK.

The Role

We are seeking to employ a talented and motivated researcher to join an international collaboration on a joint ESO/SKAO-funded project to develop deep-learning-based image reconstruction techniques for radio interferometry. This project will be based on ALMA data, with the aim of extending the developed algorithms for future use with SKA telescopes. The 3-year fixed-term postdoctoral position will be based in the SKAO Global Headquarters located at Jodrell Bank in the UK. An ideal candidate will have expertise in computer vision and radio astronomy (see the mandatory and desired qualifications sections below). We encourage candidates from other domains (for example, MRI/CT reconstruction, remote sensing, computational imaging, inverse problems in physics) to apply. SKAO is committed to providing an inclusive and flexible working environment, meeting the requests of our Colleagues whilst also fulfilling the needs and objectives of the Observatory. This role requires the post holder to work across different time zones and, in line with SKAO policy, flexible working hours will be supported in agreement with the line manager.

Key Responsibilities, Accountabilities and Duties

The successful candidate will work with an international team of researchers based across Europe and North America. The candidate will draw on their experience, and building on the outcomes of the ALMA BRAIN project, to develop a prototype high-performance imaging pipeline with a built-in anomaly-detection module for the ALMA radio telescope using deep learning methods like Visual Transformer and Metadata-Aware Transformer.

Mandatory Knowledge, Skills and Experience

The ideal candidate will have

• A University PhD degree in Radio Astronomy, Computer Science, another closely related and relevant field, or equivalent qualification.
• Demonstrated expertise in Deep Learning with PyTorch / JAX / TensorFlow.
• Experience with CNNs, Transformers, Diffusion models, self-supervised / unsupervised learning, handling high-dimensional data, and distributed computing.
• Effective oral and written communication skills in English to be able to represent SKAO at meeting/ conferences or engage with external partners.
• Good organisational, communication and collaborative skills
• Flexibility and adaptability to change.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Experience working with computer vision problems using 3D data, sparse reconstruction, and generative models.
• Expertise in radio astronomy calibration and imaging techniques
• Experience working in large collaborative projects.

Equality Diversity and Inclusion Statement

SKA Observatory recognises that our diversity is a strength. We aim to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where everyone feels they belong, and diverse perspectives and ideas thrive. As such, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion are at the core of SKA Observatory’s agenda. Our aim is to recruit and retain the most talented individuals, regardless of gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, nationality or background. Women have traditionally been under-represented in the fields of science and engineering; SKA Observatory welcomes and encourages female applicants. Where applicants with a disability need facilities or adjustments to enable them to participate in the recruitment process, these will be provided. SKA Observatory welcome all candidates, especially those from member countries. The “How to Apply” information contained within the SKA Observatory recruitment portal provides more detail regarding our application and selection approach.