Audio and Acoustic Signal Processing

At Aalborg University two fully funded PhD stipends are now available on the project “Effortless Hearing in Noise by Brain Feedback”. 

One of the most common complaints among hearing aids users is the mental fatigue they undergo after relatively short conversations in noisy situations due to increased levels of listening effort. The overall goal of this research project is to develop a new concept of hearing assistive devices that continuously monitor the brain activity, and adapts the signal processing in the hearing assistive devices in order to minimize the listening effort. The project combines signal processing and auditory neuroscience and include theoretical and experimental research:

• Signal processing algorithms for extracting correlates of listening effort from electroencephalography (EEG).
• Research involving aspects of neuroscience that relates to the functional connectivity of the brain in response to natural speech.
• Acoustically controlled experiments with portable EEG devices in anechoic chambers where real-life acoustic environments can be simulated using arrays of loudspeakers.
• Speech enhancement algorithms that minimize the listening effort.

The project is fully funded by The Independent Research Fund Denmark under the project entitled “Effortless Hearing in Noise by Brain Feedback”. 

The project is a collaboration between the Department of Electronic Systems and the Department of Health, Science and Technology, at Aalborg University, and there will be collaboration with international universities and industry. 

To apply for the positions, please use the following links:
• PhD 1: Acoustic Signal Processing for Minimizing Listening Effort Using Brain Feedback (https://www.vacancies.aau.dk/show-vacancy/?vacancy=1065107)

• PhD 2: Cortical Characterization of Listening Effort (https://www.vacancies.aau.dk/show-vacancy/?vacancy=1065182)

You may obtain further information from Professor (MSO) Jan Østergaard, Department of Electronic Systems, phone: +45 99408693, email: jo@es.aau.dk, or Professor Ole Kæseler Andersen, Department of Health Science and Technology, phone: +45 9940 8816, email: oka@hst.aau.dk concerning the scientific aspects of the stipend. 

Aalborg University wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background or belief.

** Postdoc opening at Johns Hopkins University

A postdoctoral research position is available at Johns Hopkins University to investigate neural and theoretical underpinnings of auditory scene analysis and sound perception in complex listening environments. The position is available immediately for two years, with possibility of renewal.

The ideal applicant will have a doctoral degree in computer science, electrical engineering, applied mathematics, neuroscience, psychology, hearing or brain sciences, with strong quantitative skills.
Johns Hopkins is an outstanding intellectual environment for medical and engineering research. The laboratory is affiliated with the department of electrical and computer engineering as well as the center for speech & language processing and the center for hearing and balance, and has strong research collaborations with the departments of biomedical engineering, psychology and brain sciences, computer science, mechanical engineering as well as the schools of medicine and public health.

Interested applicants should send a brief cover letter, a curriculum vitae with sample publications, and 2 reference contacts to mounya(at)jhu(dot)edu.

The Collaborative Research Centre SFB 1330 Hearing acoustics: Perceptual principles, Algorithms and Applications (HAPPAA) at the Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg is seeking to fill the position of a

Research Associate (m/f/d)

in the Signal Processing Division (http://www.sigproc.uni-oldenburg.de), Department of Medical Physics and Acoustics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. The position is available from January 1st, 2020 until June 30th, 2022 with salary according to TV-L E13 (100 %). The position is suitable for part-time work.

The Collaborative Research Centre aims at a fundamentally better quantitative understanding of the principles underlying the processing of complex auditory and audio-visual scenes, the implementation of this knowledge in algorithms for perceptual enhancement of acoustic communication, and the evaluation of these algorithms for different applications in assistive listening devices. The successful candidate is expected to contribute to project C1 "MIMO acoustic earpiece for combined equalization, feedback cancellation and noise reduction". The long-term objective of this project is to achieve acoustically transparent speech communication and hearing support by means of an active acoustic earpiece with integrated microphones and receivers. The main research questions are how to optimally exploit the availability of multiple microphones and multiple receivers to develop combined solutions for sound pressure equalization at the ear drum, for acoustic feedback cancellation, and for active noise and occlusion control.

Candidates are required to have a doctoral degree after obtaining their academic university degree (Master or equivalent) in electrical engineering, hearing technology and audiology, engineering physics or a related discipline, and have shown their ability to perform excellent scientific work, demonstrated by the outstanding quality of their doctoral thesis and their publication record. We are seeking candidates with extensive knowledge in at least two of the following research fields: speech/audio signal processing, acoustics, control systems and auditory perception. In particular, for the envisaged project experience with active noise/occlusion control, adaptive algorithms and real-time implementation is beneficial. Excellent programming (e.g., Matlab, python) skills and English language skills are mandatory.

The Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg is dedicated to increasing the percentage of women in science. Therefore, equally qualified female candidates will be given preference. Applicants with disabilities will be preferentially considered in case of equal qualification.

Please send your application (ref. SP193), including a letter of motivation, curriculum vitae, list of publications and a copy of the university diplomas and grades, to Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Fakultät VI, Abt. Signalverarbeitung, Prof. Dr. Simon Doclo, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany, or electronically to simon.doclo@uni-oldenburg.de. Application by email is preferred. The application deadline is 11.10.2019.

The Collaborative Research Centre SFB 1330 Hearing acoustics: Perceptual principles, Algorithms and Applications (HAPPAA) at the Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg is seeking to fill the position of a

Research Scientist / PhD Student in Acoustical Signal Processing (m/f/d)

in the Signal Processing Division (http://www.sigproc.uni-oldenburg.de), Department of Medical Physics and Acoustics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. The position is available from January 1st, 2020 for 3 years, with salary according to TV-L E13 (75 %).

The Collaborative Research Centre aims at a fundamentally better quantitative understanding of the principles underlying the processing of complex auditory and audio-visual scenes, the implementation of this knowledge in algorithms for perceptual enhancement of acoustic communication, and the evaluation of these algorithms for different applications in assistive listening devices. The successful candidate is expected to contribute to project B2 "Computational Auditory Scene Analysis algorithms for improving speech communication in complex acoustic environments". The long-term goal of this project is to achieve a breakthrough in the theoretical foundation and realization of algorithms for analyzing and processing speech in complex and dynamic acoustic conditions, in order to fundamentally improve speech communication in these conditions for people with hearing difficulties.

Candidates are required to have an academic university degree (Master or equivalent) in electrical engineering, hearing technology and audiology, engineering physics or a related discipline, excellent grades and a solid scientific background in at least one of the following fields: signal processing, acoustics, machine learning. Familiarity with scientific tools and programming languages (e.g., Matlab, python) as well as excellent English language skills are required. In particular, for the envisaged research project experience with simultaneous localization and mapping algorithms, sensor networks and mathematical optimization methods is beneficial. A strong interest in interdisciplinary and application-oriented work is desirable.

The Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg is dedicated to increasing the percentage of women in science. Therefore, equally qualified female candidates will be given preference. Applicants with disabilities will be preferentially considered in case of equal qualification.

Please send your application (ref. SP194), including a letter of motivation, curriculum vitae, and a copy of the university diplomas and grades, to Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Fakultät VI, Abt. Signalverarbeitung, Prof. Dr. Simon Doclo, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany, or electronically to simon.doclo@uni-oldenburg.de. Application by email is preferred. The application deadline is 11.10.2019.

I've recently inherited my father's audio software company, FxSound, and I'm looking to get a paid consultation on DSP and audio as it relates to our software. 

We lost our audio and DSP engineer when my father passed, and I want to bring on a DSP/audio engineer to ensure that we're moving our product in the right direction and bringing real value to our customers.

The first thing I'd be looking for assistant with is developing my understanding of the problems consumers are facing in the audio space, the solutions that are on the market, and how our software FxSound fits in. 

The second thing we will be looking to hire for in the coming months is a DSP engineer with C programming experience to help us develop the next version of our software.

So long as you can assist with at least the first ask, I'd be happy to chat with you!  

We've served over 100,000 customers over our 20 years and business and our software has been installed over 10M times. You can find our software (and try it for free) at www.fxsound.com.

Thank you, 
James

Audience:  Fresh PhD who want to apply their ML skill to develop innovative applications in audio and music, with direct implementation within a commercialized product, and an ambitious technological roadmap for the years to come.

Job description: full time job within a team of 4 engineer / researchers / developers, completely integrated with the 12 members of the company.

NoMadMusic (www.nomadmusic.fr) is a classical, jazz and world music record label focused on offering interactive music through audio source separation methods and interactive scores.

The application NomadPlay (https://nomadplay-app.com/) gives to every musician the opportunity to play with famous orchestras and artists.

The project has been awarded the Paris Innovation Grand Prix in 2018, the Art Tech Prize 2018 in Geneva and the Music Education Prize by the Chambre Syndicale des Editeurs de Musique de France.

In 2018, after 5 years of development, NoMadMusic has raised funds from private and public investors in order to develop its catalog, its technology and to be ready for a go to market in September 2019.

Today, NoMadMusic is recruiting a AI research engineer to join its team based in Paris, France. 

Among the R&D team, your main tasks will be:
- Developing and improving audio processing and source separation algorithms
- Tests and validation of code
- Production of multitracks music using developed source separation algorithm
- Bibliographic research and attending scientific conferences 
- Contributing to the design of innovative musical solutions

Your profile

- PhD in machine learning/source separation
- Experience in algorithms development of programming for audio processing
- Knowledge of neural networks, non-negative matrix factorisation, principal component analysis, 
   bayesian methods, music information retrieval, speech processing 
- Technical environment: Python, Matlab. Linux, Bash, Git are a plus
- Fluent in English
- Interest in music would be a plus but is not required

When? 

Starting Q4 2019
Salary depending on the profile, degree and experience. 
Please send your application to: thomastassin@nomadmusic.fr

The Signal Processing and Knowledge Technology research groups at the Universität Hamburg are hiring a research associate (PhD candidate) for the project "Ego-Noise Reduction for Interactive Robots".

Speech-controlled assistants such as robots, smartphones and smart speakers are gaining increased popularity. Users expect these devices to also work well in noise. Thus, speech enhancement algorithms are required to improve automatic speech recognition performance. For robots, a particular problem is that motors and cooling fans produce noise themselves, so-called ego-noise. This project aims at finding novel solutions for speech enhancement by taking the ego-noise of robots into account. For this, modern methods from signal processing and neural networks are to be  applied.

Please find the full job announcement with all details here
https://www.inf.uni-hamburg.de/en/inst/ab/sp/job-offer.html

The Signal Processing research group at the Universität Hamburg (http://uhh.de/inf-sp) is hiring a PhD student or a postdoctoral researcher for 33 months for the project "Crossmodal Processing of Audio-Visual Signals".

Please find further information here:

https://www.inf.uni-hamburg.de/en/inst/ab/sp/job-offer.html

The candidate will work in the Signal Processing group and will do research on modern methods for speech and audio-visual processing. The focus of the group is on developing novel methods for processing speech signals with applications in speech communication devices such as assistive listening, mobile telephony, and voice-controlled assistants. Typically, the performance of these devices drops drastically when interfering noise sources are present. To mend this undesired behavior, noise reduction is applied.
The goal of the successful candidate is to improve noise reduction and source separation systems by incorporating visual information captured by a camera. For this, modern methods from signal processing and machine learning are to be applied. Besides developing new concepts and implementing new algorithms, the typical tasks include experiments to test the methods, writing scientific publications, and traveling to conferences and workshops to present the work. We are interested in a highly motivated person who is interested in working with us on cutting edge research in a pleasant working atmosphere.

The cluster of excellence Hearing4all at the Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg is seeking to fill the position of a

Postdoctoral Researcher

in the Department of Medical Physics and Acoustics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. The position is available from November 1st, 2019 until October 31th, 2022. Salary will be according to TV-L E13 (100%). The position is suitable for part-time work.

In the framework of the cluster of excellence Hearing4all (hearing4all.eu/EN/) the successful candidate is expected to contribute to the research goals of Research Thread II “IT-based diagnostics and rehabilitation” by developing and evaluating individualized signal processing solutions for virtual and real hearing devices. More in particular, in the envisaged project the main objective is to automatically optimize the parameter settings of acoustical signal processing algorithms for the individual user.

Candidates are required to have a doctoral degree after obtaining their academic university degree (Master or equivalent) in hearing technology and audiology, electrical engineering, physics or a related discipline, and have shown their ability to perform excellent scientific work, demonstrated by the outstanding quality of their doctoral thesis and an excellent publication record. We are seeking candidates with extensive knowledge in at least two of the following research fields: acoustics, speech/audio signal processing, machine learning and auditory perception. In particular, for the envisaged project experience with hearing aid algorithms, mathematical optimization and subjective listening experiments is beneficial. Excellent programming (e.g., Matlab, python) skills and English language skills are mandatory.

The Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg is dedicated to increasing the percentage of women in science. Therefore, equally qualified female candidates will be given preference. Applicants with disabilities will be preferentially considered in case of equal qualification.

Please send your application (ref. SP191), including a letter of motivation, curriculum vitae, list of publications and a copy of the university diplomas and grades, to Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Fakultät VI, Abt. Signalverarbeitung, Prof. Dr. Simon Doclo, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany, or electronically to simon.doclo@uni-oldenburg.de. Application by email is preferred. The application deadline is 10.07.2019.

The cluster of excellence Hearing4all at the Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg is seeking to fill the position of a

Postdoctoral Researcher

in the Signal Processing Division (http://www.sigproc.uni-oldenburg.de), Department of Medical Physics and Acoustics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. The position is available from November 1st, 2019 until October 31th, 2022. Salary will be according to TV-L E13 (100%). The position is suitable for part-time work.

In the framework of the cluster of excellence Hearing4all (hearing4all.eu/EN/) the successful candidate is expected to contribute to the research goals of Research Thread IV “Hearing devices of the future” and Research Thread II “IT-based diagnostics and rehabilitation” by developing and evaluating machine learning-based speech enhancement algorithms for hearing devices. More in particular, in the envisaged project the main objective is to enhance the speech quality and intelligibility for the hearing device user by using machine learning-based algorithms for noise reduction, dereverberation and computational acoustic scene analysis.

Candidates are required to have a doctoral degree after obtaining their academic university degree (Master or equivalent) in hearing technology and audiology, electrical engineering, physics or a related discipline, and have shown their ability to perform excellent scientific work, demonstrated by the outstanding quality of their doctoral thesis and an excellent publication record. We are seeking candidates with extensive knowledge in at least two of the following research fields: speech/audio signal processing, machine learning, acoustics and auditory perception. In particular, for the envisaged project experience with speech enhancement algorithms, deep learning and auditory models is beneficial. Excellent programming (e.g., Matlab, python) skills and English language skills are mandatory.

The Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg is dedicated to increasing the percentage of women in science. Therefore, equally qualified female candidates will be given preference. Applicants with disabilities will be preferentially considered in case of equal qualification.

Please send your application (ref. SP192), including a letter of motivation, curriculum vitae, list of publications and a copy of the university diplomas and grades, to Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Fakultät VI, Abt. Signalverarbeitung, Prof. Dr. Simon Doclo, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany, or electronically to simon.doclo@uni-oldenburg.de. Application by email is preferred. The application deadline is 10.07.2019.