Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of Auckland

The University of Auckland is New Zealand’s leading university, with a turnover of $1.3bn, including research revenue of over $300m generated across eight diverse faculties and two research institutes. We employ more than 5400 academic and professional staff to support over 45,000 students, making us one of NZ’s largest employers.

Our mission and values place strong emphasis on both our student body and our scholarly community, and we work with both community and enterprise to advance the well-being of the peoples of Auckland and New Zealand, with a clear commitment to pursuing sustainability.

Te Whiwhinga mahi | The opportunity

We are seeking a Research Programmer to join our School of Computer Science, you will provide specialist development support to academic staff, students and stakeholders of the AION Strategic Initiative for Artificial Intelligence for research or commercialisation opportunities that require bespoke software or hardware systems.

You will also provide general support to research and teaching within the AION Initiative through development of specialist software systems.

AS our newest Research Programmer, you will be involved in a variety of activities as outlined in detail in the Position description but your core focus will be related to developmental and research support. Below is an overview of your key areas of focus.

This is a fixed-term, research funded opportunity due to run for 19 months. 

Research programming

• Collects research outputs of the AION initiative such as software, data and documentation. Works to improve the quality, maturity and accessibility of these outputs.  
• Identifies opportunities to apply existing AION outputs to new applications. Can also develop entirely new approaches or bespoke methods.
• Contribute actively to the relevant community, contributing to specialist publications or to national and international meetings as appropriate.

On-line systems

• Design and develop on-line systems for research or other applications.
• Request and set up on-line resources and infrastructure.

Specialist hardware       

• Manage and support AION specialist equipment and computational hardware such as GPU clusters.

Project Development and implementation         

• Propose and implement approved design approaches to successfully achieve project goals in agreed timelines.
• Provide expert input to research programming project planning, working with AION stakeholders and the Technical Manager.

Compliance Requirements

• Ensure that University policy, rules and best practices regarding computer security, licencing, privacy and ethics are observed.

For more detailed information, please refer to the Position Description.

Mō tō mātou rōpū | About the team

Primarily, this position is part of the wider School of Computer Science which is New Zealand’s leading computer science department with over 40 academic staff including 8 full professors. It performs research in a wide range of computing fields including: data science; software engineering; cyber security; theory; communication and information technology; and systems development and evaluation. It teaches into undergraduate programmes in Science and Engineering as well as supporting a vibrant postgraduate programme which attracts quality Masters and PhD candidates. Currently, the School boasts over 600 undergraduate students and 115 postgraduate students.

He kōrero mōu | About you

It is essential that you have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field such as Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, Mathematics or Philosophy (Logic and Computation).

Your application will stand out if you have a Masters or PhD degree in a relevant field but this is not essential.

Essential skills and experience:

• Research experience or a software development background in one or more of the computer science fields such as Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision & Graphics, Data Science, High-Performance computing, Natural Language processing, Software Engineering or Robotics.
• Professional experience with languages used in research programming projects such as Java, Python, C++, Ruby, Rust, or Prolog.
• Can work with all major programming paradigms and has the ability to switch languages for different projects.
• Ability to master new paradigms, technologies, platforms and tools.
• Experience with online systems & web development ( HTML, JavaScript, PhP, etc.).
• Applies a structured approach to software development.
• Has experience and familiarity with DevOps.

Preferred skills and experience:

• Able to develop for various environments; MS Windows, Mac OS, UNIX/LINUX and mobile platforms such as Android and iOS.
• Understands key Machine Learning techniques such as Neural Networks.
• Has experience with Tensorflow and Pytorch.
• Has used professional development tools such as version control (Git), issue tracking (e.g. Jira) and build servers (e.g. Jenkins).
• Has setup cloud infrastructure such as Virtual Machines and Databases.
• Has knowledge about High performance systems & computing (Parallel Software, Computational Cluster, GPUs, CUDA, etc.) 

Me pēhea te tuku tono | How to apply

Applications must be submitted online, by the closing date of 4th October 2021 to be considered. Please include your cover letter and CV highlighting how you can meet the skills and experiences detailed above.

Please reach out to Neil Constable via [email protected] for a confidential conversation. Please note we are happy to answer your questions but we do not accept applications by email. 

In accordance with our commitment to equitable recruitment, the University welcomes applications from all suitably qualified and experienced candidates. In response to COVID-19 the New Zealand Government has imposed a travel ban and are currently only allowing New Zealand Residents, Citizens and visa holders meeting a strict exception policy to enter the country, all of whom must currently enter Government approved quarantine for two weeks on arrival.

It is uncertain when these border restrictions will change, and this may impact the degree to which an off-shore candidate can engage in the interview process; or be available to commence in a new position. For more information and updates on the border restrictions visit the Immigration New Zealand website or the New Zealand Government’s official Covid-19 website.

The University is committed to meeting its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi and achieving equity outcomes for staff and students in a safe, inclusive and equitable environment. For further information on services for Māori, Pacific, women, LGBTQITakatāpui+, people with disabilities, parenting support, flexible work and other equity issues go to equity.auckland.ac.nz.