Machine Learning in Computer Vision

P2IRC Computer Science Research Positions

Posted: August 2, 2019

The Plant Phenotyping and Imaging Research Centre (P2IRC) is a computational and agricultural research centre managed by the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) and located at the University of Saskatchewan. P2IRC was established thanks to funding awarded to the University of Saskatchewan by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund award, Designing Crops for Global Food Security.  GIFS (www.gifs.ca) was founded in 2012 to perform research that will help deliver transformative innovation to agriculture in both the developed and the developing world. The Department of Computer Science is the home of 26 faculty, 10 staff, and more than 130 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows working in diverse areas of computer science.

P2IRC’s seven-year transdisciplinary program will transform crop breeding through research in phenomics, genomics, imaging, and data analysis in order to transform plant breeding and agricultural practices. P2IRC (http://p2irc.usask.ca/) is a major research centre with partners located on campus, across Canada, and internationally.

Salary Information:

Salaries will be based on training, education, and experience, but will fall within the following ranges:

• Graduate Students: $20,000 - $23,000 per year
• Post Doctoral Fellows: $50,000 - $60,000 per year
• Research Associates: $40,000 - $90,000 per year

Primary Purpose:

We are searching for bright and enthusiastic individuals to join our team as a graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, or programmers in the areas of machine learning, computer vision, data science, data management, software development and web development. You will join a large team of researchers developing state-of-the-art computational techniques and tools that will transform agriculture and plant breeding over the next decade.

The ideal candidates will have strong computer programming skills and a keen interest in the application of computer science to agriculture and plant or soil science. We are looking for new members to join data and image analysis efforts in the Flagship research projects, as well as data management and software tool development to support P2IRC researchers.

Application procedure:

1. Complete an application form: https://bit.ly/31bmaDz
2. Send an email indicating your interest and experience, a CV, and a pdf of your transcripts to: p2irc.compsci@gmail.com

Nature of Work/Research:

We are hiring for the following positions

• Machine learning and computer vision
• Machine learning and data science
• Databases and data management
• Frontend web development
• Software Engineer/Developer

Accountabilities:

Activities are dependent on the position area, but generally will include:

• Research into state-of-the-art computational techniques for data analysis and/or data management;
• Collaborate closely with plant and soil science researchers within and external to P2IRC;
• Develop professional-level software with modern software development practices; and
• Written communication for research publications and software documentation.

Education: Graduate student and RA applicants require a Bachelor’s degree in computer science or data science. Postdoctoral Fellow applicants require a PhD in computer science or related field, awarded within 5 years immediately preceding the appointment.

Experience: Previous experience with machine learning, convolutional neural networks, and/or large software development projects is required. Previous experience working in plant/soil science and agricultural application domains is an asset.

Skills:

• Research motivation, good command of English, and excellent communication
• Excellent programming skills and ability to rapidly understand different data analysis approaches; experience contributing to large software platforms is a plus
• Knowledge of Python and deep learning frameworks
• Familiarity with data repositories of genomic and phenotypic information

Start date and duration:

Expected start date is September 1, 2019. Expected duration is 12 months, renewable for up to 3 years.

Supervision and Academic Unit:

Positions will be held with the Dept. of Computer Science and supervised by P2IRC and Computer Science investigators.

Application Timeline:

The application deadline is 19 August 2019. We will continue to review applications after 19 August 2019 until all positions are filled. Only successful candidates will be contacted.