Research Assistant / Associate - Conversational Engineering

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Research Assistant / Associate to undertake work in the software engineering of conversational agents, as part of the Dementia Research Institute. You will be working with Prof Rafael Calvo and Prof Ravi Vaidyanathan on developing text and voice-based conversational agents that support people living with dementia, their carers and a clinical team overseeing their wellbeing. This research will build on research in psychology and design practice and help build your research portfolio with contributions beyond software and in leading health technology journals. Responsibilities and duties include developing scalable, safe software that uses behavioural tracking data from over 100 smart homes (with sensors in doors, beds, watches, etc) to support conversational agents that provide appropriate support to the different actors. Your role will include the development of chatbots using LLMS, and will also include developing back-end (., analysis of the conversations), integrating with APIs (. Twilio and LLMs) and possibly some front end-development (., platforms like WhatsApp, or mobile apps in Flutter). You will also be expected to write presentations and publications.

We are looking for someone who holds a PhD or is working towards a PhD in computer science software or design engineering and has practical experience within a research environment and / or publication in relevant and refereed journals. You should be experienced in developing :

• software for message processing
• LLM applications using LangChain
• in Python
• for Flutter or React Native
• with Twilio or other messaging platforms, You should also have advanced computer and statistical skills in using tools like SPSS or R, and knowledge of research methods and statistical procedures.
  
  Opportunity to continue your career at a world-leading institution and be part of our mission to continue science for humanity
• Benefit from and (including 39 days off a year and generous pension schemes)
• Access to a range of workplace including a flexible working policy from day 1, generous family leave packages, on-site leisure facilities, a cycle-to-work scheme, or an interest-free season ticket loan schemes for travel
• Being part of a diverse, inclusive, and collaborative work culture with various and resources designed to support your personal and professional .