Postdoctoral Researcher/Project Researcher positions in speech

Two Postdoctoral Researcher/Project Researcher positions in speech processing

The University of Eastern Finland, UEF, is one of the largest multidisciplinary universities in Finland. We offer education in nearly one hundred major subjects, and are home to approximately 15,500 students and 2,500 members of staff. We operate in Joensuu and Kuopio. In international rankings, we are ranked among the leading universities in the world.

The Faculty of Science and Forestry operates on the Kuopio and Joensuu campuses of the University of Eastern Finland. The mission of the faculty is to carry out internationally recognised scientific research and to offer research-education in the fields of natural sciences and forest sciences. The faculty invests in all of the strategic research areas of the university. The faculty’s environments for research and learning are international, modern and multidisciplinary.  The faculty has approximately 3,800 Bachelor’s and Master’s degree students and some 490 postgraduate students. The number of staff amounts to 560. http://www.uef.fi/en/lumet/etusivu

We are now inviting applications for 

two Postdoctoral Researcher/Project Researcher positions in speech processing funded by the Academy of Finland at the School of Computing, Joensuu Campus.

• One position in machine learning for speaker modelling (e.g. speaker verification, voice anti-spoofing, voice conversion, text-to-speech, or similar)
• One position in perceptual and/or acoustic speaker characterization (e.g. phonetics/linguistics, speech modelling, statistical methods)

Both positions are filled in the Academy of Finland funded NOTCH research project (NOn-cooperaTive speaker CHaracterization), led by Associate Professor Tomi H. Kinnunen. The project aims at advancing the state-of-the-art in automatic speaker verification (defence) and voice conversion (attack) under a generic umbrella of non-cooperative speech, whether being induced by spoofing attacks, disguise, or other less expected intentional voice modifications. The NOTCH project applies multi-disciplinary research methods. The ideal candidate for the first position will have a background in machine learning or signal processing for speaker modelling and characterization. You may have a background in recognition, conversion or synthesis methods, as long as you are seasoned in state-of-the-art machine learning theory and practice (especially deep learning). The ideal candidate for the second position will have a background in acoustic-phonetic or perceptual methods for speaker characterization and will be fluent in devising novel statistical analysis methods such as linear mixed effect models. For both positions, multi-disciplinary thinking and willingness to contribute to both themes is considered a plus.

The Computational Speech Group of the School of Computing (https://www.uef.fi/web/speech/) , formed officially in 2018, works in the facilities of Joensuu Science Park, provides access to a modern research infrastructure and is a strongly international working environment. We are a group of dedicated individuals who do not want to follow a linear research path – we keep our mind open to high-risk new directions and collaborations. We hosted the Odyssey 2014 conference, were a partner in the H2020-funded OCTAVE project, and are known as a co-founder of the Automatic Speaker Verification and Countermeasures (ASVspoof) challenge series (http://www.asvspoof.org/). Joensuu, a friendly city “in the middle of KNOWhere” (as one of UEF’s slogans say) of about 115,000 inhabitants, is compact and contains all the necessary services within walking distance, with low living expenses and excellent opportunities for many outdoor activities. Despite its remote location, Joensuu is very international thanks to many of UEF’s international collaboration programmes and a vibrant student community.  

A person to be appointed as a postdoctoral researcher shall hold a suitable doctoral degree that has been awarded less than five years ago. If the doctoral degree has been awarded more than five years ago, the post will be one of a project researcher. The doctoral degree should be in spoken language technology, electrical engineering, computer science, machine learning or a closely related field. Researchers finishing their PhD in the near future are also encouraged to apply for the positions. However, they are expected to hold a PhD degree by the starting date of the position. We expect strong hands-on experience and a creative, out-of-the-box problem solving attitude. A successful applicant needs to have an internationally proven track record in topics relevant to the project he or she applies to.

English may be used as the language of instruction and supervision in these positions.

The positions will be filled from earliest April 1, 2019 for a minimum period of 12 months. The continuation of the positions will be agreed separately. The positions will be filled for a fixed term due to them pertaining to a specific project (positions of postdoctoral researcher shall always be filled for a fixed term, UEF University Regulations , Section 31).

The salary of the positions is determined in accordance with the salary system of Finnish universities and is based on level 5 of the job requirement level chart for teaching and research staff (€2,903.61/ month). In addition to the job requirement component, the salary includes a personal performance component, which may be a maximum of 50.0% of the job requirement component. The salary of a postdoctoral researcher is in the beginning around 3,300.00 - 3,500.00 euros.

For further information on the position, please contact (NOTCH): Associate Professor Tomi Kinnunen, email: tkinnu(a) cs.uef.fi, tel. +358 50 442 2647. For further information on the application procedure, please contact: Executive Head of Administration Arja Hirvonen, email: arja.hirvonen(a) uef.fi, tel. +358  29 445 3002.

A probationary period is applied to all new members of the staff.

You can use the same electronic form to apply for both research projects. The electronic application should contain the following appendices:

• a résumé or CV
• a list of publications
• copies of the applicant's academic degree certificates/ diplomas, and copies of certificates / diplomas relating to the applicant’s language proficiency, if not indicated in the academic degree certificates/diplomas
• motivation letter

The application needs to be submitted no later than February 28, 2019 (by 24:00 EET) by using the electronic application form.

Apply here.