Research Fellow in AI and Data Science - School of Government - 107081 - Grade 8 in Birmingham

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £47,389 to £56,535 with potential progression once in post to £63,606

Grade: 8

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to June 2028

Closing date: 14th May 2026

Background

People are at the heart of what we are and do. We want to attract outstanding, inspirational, and talented people, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success. Working at the University of Birmingham gives you access to the best financial and physical resources, a beautiful campus, and an intellectually stimulating and diverse community. Our sector leading development programmes have made this a place where staff can thrive and recognition by Athena Swan, Stonewall, and Two Ticks demonstrates our commitment to supporting talented people from all backgrounds.

Role Summary

The post-holder will join NeuroCognitive Shield, a UKRI-funded interdisciplinary project examining how neurocognitive, social and technological factors shape vulnerability and resilience to misinformation. Working across the School of Government, the Institute for Data and AI (IDAI), the Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Government (CAIG), and the Centre for Human Brain Health (CHBH), the role will focus on developing novel, adaptive AI methods, multimodal data pipelines and deployment-ready prototype systems.

Main Duties

• Conduct innovative research in Data Science and AI, contributing to the advancement of state-of-the-art methods and tools with particular focus on the development of Neuro-Adaptive AI Models with applications to neurosciences.
• Pursue personal research including developing research ideas and winning support, including financial support.
• Plan, publish and execute high-quality research.
• Project-manage research activities and supervise other research staff.
• Present findings in high-quality publications and conference proceedings.
• Contribute to the administration/management of research.
• Apply knowledge in a way that develops new intellectual understanding.
• Actively manage equality, diversity and inclusion through monitoring and evaluation and actively challenging unacceptable behaviour.
• Supervise PhD students.
• Contribute to the Department/School through management/leadership.

Person Specification

• PhD, or near completion, in Computer Science, AI, Machine Learning, or a closely related field.
• Strong technical research record in AI, machine learning, natural language processing, or related areas.
• Proven competence in Data Science and Data Engineering.
• Proven ability to work confidently across disciplinary boundaries, including collaborating with discipline scientists.
• Evidence of high-quality research and ability to contribute to publications and collaborative project delivery.
• Interested in both high-quality research and practical system development.
• Extensive experience of applying and/or developing and devising successful models, techniques and methods.
• Extensive programming experience in Python / R.
• Extensive experience in advanced statistical methods and data visualisation techniques.
• Extensive experience and demonstrated success in planning, undertaking and project managing research to deliver high-quality results.
• Extensive experience and achievement in knowledge transfer, enterprise and similar activity. Experience and achievement reflected in a growing reputation.
• Experience of championing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in own work area.
• Ability to monitor and evaluate the extent to which equality and diversity legislation, policies, and procedures are applied.
• Ability to identify issues with the potential to impact on protected groups and take appropriate action.

Informal enquiries to René Lindstädt, email: R.Lindstaedt@bham.ac.uk

Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website.