Laboratory

Geoinformatics Team,
Domain Intelligence Group
RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project
(Laboratory head: Naoto Yokoya)

Outline of Laboratory

The RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project (AIP) is a leading international hub for state-of-the-art AI research. Centered around three core research groups, - the Mathematical Intelligence Group, the Domain Intelligence Group, and the Physical Intelligence Group - AIP is dedicated to establishing the mathematical foundations of trustworthy AI, advancing AI technologies integrated with diverse scientific domains, and developing embodied intelligence for the real world.

For more information, please refer to the following link:
Geoinformatics Team | RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project

Job title and Job description

Job title

Technical Staff I 1 position

*Technical staff I Conduct discretionary technical support for corresponding departments.

Job description

The successful candidate will work as a technical staff member in the research project “Development and Social Implementation of AI Platform Technologies Supporting Life in a Super-Aged Society” under the Programs for Bridging the gap between R&D and the Ideal Society (Society 5.0) and Generating Economic and Social Value. The position involves technical and research support for the development of AI-based geospatial analysis systems. The primary role of this position is to perform and manage high-quality annotation and preprocessing of remote sensing data, which are essential for training and evaluating machine learning models. In addition, the candidate will support research activities related to large-scale geospatial data analysis and foundation model–based approaches for environmental, sustainability, and/or disaster-response applications. The candidate will also collaborate with researchers and engineers on dataset curation, evaluation pipeline development, improvement of annotation strategies and workflows, and assistance with the implementation and evaluation of machine learning models.

Main responsibilities

• Annotation of remote sensing imagery for tasks such as: semantic segmentation (e.g., land cover, flood extent, building damage) change detection between multi-temporal images alignment and registration of multi-modal imagery (e.g., SAR and optical)
• Preparation and organization of geospatial datasets for machine learning and evaluation
• Quality control and verification of annotation results to ensure consistency and accuracy
• Development and improvement of annotation guidelines and workflows
• Use of GIS tools and annotation software to efficiently generate labeled datasets
• Collaboration with researchers and engineers to refine annotation strategies based on model performance
• Support for dataset curation and benchmark dataset preparation
• Support research activities involving large-scale multi-modal geospatial datasets
• Assist in implementing and evaluating machine learning models for applications such as land cover mapping, environmental monitoring, and change analysis
• Collaborate with researchers to prototype and evaluate multi-modal geospatial methods for sustainability and environmental applications.

The job description may be changed during the contract period or upon contract renewal to the extent described above.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a relevant field
• Hands-on experience with geospatial or remote sensing datasets
• Experience in generating, organizing, and quality-checking annotated datasets
• Familiarity with GIS / remote sensing tools and standard geospatial data formats
• Strong communication skills and ability to follow and refine annotation guidelines in collaboration with researchers
• Strong programming skills in Python, particularly for data processing and scientific or geospatial computing
• Experience or interest in handling multi-modal data (e.g., satellite imagery, climate data, and text) and supporting benchmarking or evaluation of machine learning models

Work location

RIKEN Tokyo Campus (1-4-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo, Tokyo)

RIKEN may order the employee to change work locations, if necessary.

Salary and benefits

• 1.A one-year fixed-term employment contract, renewable based on evaluation, up to March 31, 2029 at the latest.
• 2.RIKEN may adjust the above maximum period of renewability based on a) the employee’s abilities, workload at the time of contract completion, performance and work attitude and b) the continuation of the employee’s center, laboratory or project and RIKEN’s management situation and budget at the time. In principle, employment contracts will not be renewed for individuals older than 70 years.
• 3."BRIDGE: programs for Bridging the gap between R&D and the IDeal society (society5.0) and Generating Economic and social value" projects undergo an annual stage-gate evaluation. If the decision is made not to continue the project based on this evaluation, the contract will not be renewed for the following fiscal year.

In principle, the first two months of employment are considered a trial period.

Salary will be an annual salary based on experience, ability, and performance, and will consist of a base salary and a variable salary. The variable salary will be determined each fiscal year based on experience, ability, and performance.
Discretionary work, commuting and housing allowances will be provided. Social insurance will be applied.

The approximate amount of salary at the time of employment.

The total amount of monthly discretionary work allowance and monthly salary at the time of hiring will be 313,660 JPY or more.

RIKEN has implemented a telecommuting system that allows employees to work from home or other locations permitted by RIKEN.

This position falls under the specialized duties discretionary work system; one working day will be calculated as 7 hours and 30 minutes.

Days off include public holidays, New Year's holidays (Dec. 29 - Jan. 3), and RIKEN Foundation Day.
Paid leave includes annual paid leave (up to 20 days depending on the month of employment), special paid leave (caring for a sick child, family nursing care, etc.), and work-life balance holidays (up to 7 days depending on the month of employment).
There are also additional leave systems such as maternity leave, childcare leave, and family nursing care leave.
Smoking is entirely prohibited on site.
These and other provisions are in accordance with RIKEN regulations.

Mandatory membership in the RIKEN Mutual Benefit Society (RIKEN Kyosaikai).

RIKEN is actively undertaking initiatives to promote gender equality and diversity, and moving forward with the establishment of a diverse and vibrant research environment. If multiple candidates are found to have the same aptitude following a fair assessment, active efforts will be made to recruit female candidates.

The Wako Campus has an on-site daycare, RIKEN Kids Wako. For details, please send an email to kids@riken.jp.

Application and required documents

Required documents

• 1.Photocopies of three major research papers. (if possible)
• 2.A letter of recommendation by the current supervisor
  Note:
  • If you cannot obtain a letter of recommendation from your current supervisor, the same document issued by a third party is acceptable.
  • Please specify the referee’s contact information (Name, affiliation, job title, phone number, and email address)
  • Letters of recommendation must be addressed to: Director of RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project
  • Letters of recommendation must be submitted directly by the recommender, not by the applicant. We will contact the recommender with the URL to which the letter of recommendation should be submitted.
• 3.Achievement and experience in the past and your aspiration for this position (1-2 pages in A4 size)
• 4.Agreement on handling of personal information (Handling of personal information based on the Hiring Privacy Policy, the General Data Protection Regulation, and the UK General Data Protection Regulation)
  Please review the following web page before submitting the consent form.:
  • *Hiring Privacy Policy
  • *The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
  • *Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation)

How to apply

• A)Please access " [HR] Inquiry for public recruitment" and enter your contact information, the Open call ID (26-164) and so on.
• B)Our HR staff will send you an email with instructions on how to submit your application.

Note:
Application documents will not be returned.
We cannot answer any inquiry about information regarding application status or evaluation details prior to, during, or after the evaluation process.

Deadline

Open until the position is filled.

Handling Personal Data

Submitted documents are strictly protected under the RIKEN Privacy Policy and will be used only for the purpose of applicant screening at RIKEN. Personal information will not be disclosed, transferred, or loaned to a third party under any circumstances without just cause.

Selection process

Selection will be made based on application screening and interviews.

Notification of hiring decision

The notification of hiring decision (conditional offer of employment) regarding this selection shall be carried out through the presentation of an Employment Contract or a Conditional Offer of Employment issued by RIKEN.

Start of Employment

As early as possible.

Contact Information

RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project
Email: aip-hr@ml.riken.jp
For inquiries, please send an email.