Postdoctoral Fellow in Artificial Intelligence

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About the job

The postdoctoral fellowship position is a temporary position where the main goal is to qualify for work in senior academic positions.

At the Department of Computer Science, we have a vacancy for a Postdoctoral Fellow in Artificial Intelligence for developing and building trust in deep learning models applied to the operation of the power grid. This project is a part of the SFI NorwAI research center. The work will be performed in close cooperation with Statnett, the Norwegian transmission system operator.

The power sector is in rapid development. The green energy transition introduces large amount of power from renewable and intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar. This leads to large, rapid fluctuations in the system, and a need for predictive machine learning models for safe and efficient operation. In particular, Statnett increasingly relies on accurate forecasts on many different timescales.

Deep learning, and in particular transformer models, have been successfully applied to a broad range of problems. These models are particularly successful in large language models but are also increasingly applied to time series forecasting. However, their application remains limited to industrial problems, partly due to limited availability of training data, and partly due to lack of transparency and explainability.

The objective of this position is to further the uptake of deep learning in industrial processes, particularly in the operation of critical infrastructure such as the power grid. The focus will be on methods for building model trust by adding explainability and quantifying uncertainty, as well as studying ways to exploit domain knowledge in combination with observational data, for instance by data augmentation through simulation or by incorporating expert knowledge into the models (e.g. through the use of hybrid models or deep probabilistic models).

The use of transformers for time series forecasting is a natural first application, but other deep learning architectures and other applications such as anomaly detection are also within the scope of this position. In particular, we are interested in explaining anomalies to reduce the number of false positives.

Together with partners in the SFI NorwAI, the fellow will work on methods and develop prototype models. We anticipate the starting date for the fellow to be during autumn 2024 or early 2025.

Your immediate leader is the Director of NorwAI.

Duties of the position

The main duties and responsibilities for the position are:

• Conducting research within deep learning applied to industrial processes and critical infrastructure in collaboration with members of the research group.
• Test and evaluate the solution in simulated and real environments.
• Disseminate results through publications and presentations.
  

Required selection criteria

• You must have completed a Norwegian doctoral degree or corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian PhD in Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related field.
  If you can document that the PhD thesis has been submitted, your application can be assessed even if you have not yet defended your dissertation. Documentation of the obtained doctoral degree must be presented before you can take up the position.
• You must have a professionally relevant background in Artificial Intelligence and published scientific articles at relevant conferences and journals.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Ph.D Candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate.

Preferred selection criteria

• Excellent programming skills.
• Experience with AI projects.
• Good written and oral English skills.
  

Personal characteristics

• Ability to take initiative and work independently.
• A positive and professional attitude as well as being a good team-worker.
• Social adaptability and communication skills.
• Willingness to learn new skillsets.
• Interest in working on cross-disciplinary problems and the operation of the power system.
  

We offer

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Salary and conditions

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK 594 500 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU.

After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to external funding from Statnett in the scope of the SFI NorwAI.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result.

The application must include:

• CV and certificates.
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's-, master's- and PhD degrees. If you have not yet completed your Ph.D, you must provide confirmation on your estimated date for the doctoral dissertation, or that your PhD thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the doctoral thesis. If you are close to submitting, or have recently submitted your thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed doctoral degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Academic works - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 5 items).
• Research plan.
• Name and contact information of three referees.
  

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, please attach this as well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates.

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

General information

Working at NTNU

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is a strength. We want our faculty and staff to reflect Norway’s culturally diverse population and we continuously seek to hire the best minds. This enables NTNU to increase productivity and innovation, improve decision making processes, raise employee satisfaction, compete academically with global top-ranking institutions and carry out our social responsibilities within education and research. NTNU emphasizes accessibility and encourages qualified candidates to apply regardless of gender identity, ability status, periods of unemployment or ethnic and cultural background.

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Benjamin Kille, email benjamin.u.kille@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR, e-mail: hr@idi.ntnu.no

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.

Application deadline: 15.08.24