Research Fellow (Learning and Autonomous Skills & Human-AI Collaboration for Advanced Manufacturing Ecosystems) - School of Computer Science - 107781 - Grade 7 in Birmingham

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822

Grade: 7

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to October 2029

Closing date: 3rd September 2026

Background

Co-AIMS is a £13.7 million national research hub funded by the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC). It unites seven universities and High Value Manufacturing Catapult centres with over 50 partners from industry, innovation, and government to position the UK as a world leader in AI-powered sustainable manufacturing. Combining pioneering research with industry-led flagships, the hub’s vision is to deliver robust, trustworthy AI systems that boost productivity, resilience, and environmental performance. The hub-and-spoke model connects universities as research “spokes” to address real-world challenges across priority sectors. This is a timely, transformative initiative: leveraging cutting-edge AI to reduce waste and emissions while empowering workers and businesses to adapt sustainably in the face of global disruptions. Co-AIMS offers a unique opportunity to drive UK leadership in human-centred, ethical AI for manufacturing.

Co-AIMS is looking to recruit one Postdoctoral Research Fellow who will play a critical role in one of the priority research areas, namely, Learning Autonomous Skills: Adaptive Skill Learning and Human-AI Collaboration for Advanced Manufacturing Ecosystems.

Role Summary

We are seeking a highly motivated researcher with strong technical background in robotics, machine learning and computer vision. The successful candidate will actively participate in the Co-AIMS mission to drive impactful research in the context of research priority area of Adaptive Skill Learning and Human-AI Collaboration for Advanced Manufacturing Ecosystems, by:

• Conducting high-quality research,
• Collaborating with project partners and developing new project proposals centred on human-AI collaboration,
• Engaging with stakeholders across the hub’s academia and industry and beyond,
• Developing recommendations to help the shaping of research priorities, both internally and to funders, through co-authoring and co-editing research vision and policy documents,
• Contributing to licensing or spin out deals with demonstrated commercial success (such as revenues, asset or company sales, IP generated) and/or public understanding of the discipline.

Main Duties

The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below:

• Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, in alignment of Co-AIMS objectives
• Contribute to writing bids for research funding
• Analyse and interpret data/experiments
• Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
• Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
• Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods
• Undertake management/administration arising from research
• Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration
• Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader
• Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews
• Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters
• Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research
• Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines
• Promote equality and value diversity acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.

Person Specification

Essential:

• Successful candidate will hold a bachelor and/or master degree in computer science, physics, engineering or related field, a PhD (or near to completion) on a relevant topic or equivalent and, preferably, a proven record in robotics, machine learning/deep-learning, and computer vision
• Strong publication record in relevant areas, e.g., published works at ICRA, IROS, NeurIPS, CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, ICML, ICLR, IEEE Trans on PAMI, IEEE Transactions on Robotics, Robotics: Science and Systems, etc
• Strong analytical skills and experience in developing and implementing machine learning/AI solutions using relevant languages and frameworks
• Proficiency in scientific software and programming languages (Python, etc.) is required, as well as experience with machine learning frameworks such as PyTorch and JAX
• The candidate should have experience with ROS
• Enthusiasm for interdisciplinary experimental research, teamwork and a drive to learn new skills are essential for this position.
• Excellent communication skills and proven ability to collaborate with diverse stakeholders
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly
• Technology and research horizon scanning skills
• Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively
• Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes
• Contribute to the planning and organising of the research programme and/or specific research project
• Co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort
• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day-to-day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly

Desirable:

• Experience in securing research funding
• Experience in stakeholder engagement
• Some background in developing ethical and responsible AI solutions
• Knowledge transfer and enterprise experience

Informal enquiries to Ales Leonardis, email: a.leonardis@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.