Seeking a Research Scientist or a Postdoctoral Researcher (26-668)

Laboratory

Adaptive Bayesian Intelligence Team
Mathematical Intelligence Group
RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project
(Team Director: Mohammad Emtiyaz Khan)

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.

The Adaptive Bayesian Intelligence team is focused on designing sustainable and transparent AI systems that can adapt quickly, just like humans and animals. The team hosts machine learning researchers with wide-range of expertise in areas such as approximate Bayesian inference, optimization, statistics, deep learning, information geometry, etc.. We work on a variety of learning problems, especially those involving supervised, continual, active, federated, online, and reinforcement learning.

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

Job title and Job description

Job title

Research Scientist or Postdoctoral Researcher 1 position

Research Scientist: Conduct research projects and other activities in corresponding department.
Basically defined as those with a doctoral degree more than 5 years.
Postdoctoral Researcher: Receive training and guidance from senior staff; conduct research projects and other activities for Programs or equivalent.
Basically defined as those with a doctoral degree of 5 years or less.

Job description

The candidate will work on problems at the intersection of deep learning, Bayesian inference, optimization, and transparent AI. The candidate is expected to carry out research and publish their findings in top machine-learning conferences, and help in the management of the group, as well as supervision of internship students and technical staffs. The position is meant to further the careers of early-career researchers who wish to pursue a career in academia.

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

Qualifications

must have a Ph.D. or expect to receive a Ph.D. before the date of employment in machine learning, computer science, statistics or a related field.
The candidate must have published their research in machine-learning conferences (NeurIPS, ICML, AISTATS, UAI, ICLR, etc.). The candidates are expected to be an expert in one or more of the following areas: Machine Learning, Bayesian methods, Deep Learning, Optimization, Active Learning, continual Learning, explainable AI, and reinforcement learning.
must be proactive, cooperative, flexible, and able to respond according to the circumstances.
must also have good communication skills and be able to cooperate with the relevant personnel within/outside of the laboratory to fulfill the tasks.

Work location

RIKEN Tokyo Campus (1-4-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, 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 the end of the fiscal year (March 31) in which the employee completes 7 years of employment. (Maximum employment duration for a Postdoctoral Researcher is 5 years).
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.

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:

Research Scientist: The total amount of monthly discretionary work allowance and monthly salary at the time of hiring will be 448,990JPY or more
Postdoctoral Researcher: The total amount of monthly discretionary work allowance and monthly salary at the time of hiring will be 382,610JPY 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).

*Eligible to apply for the MEXT Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Kakenhi).

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.List of publications (including Researcher ID or Google Scholar ID, if available): Circle titles of three major papers in the list
2.Photocopies of three major research papers.
3.Two different letters of recommendation including one 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.
4.Research in the past and research plan (3 pages in A4 size)
Your research plan must include outcome expected within a few years from your appointment.
5.Agreement on handling of personal information (Handling of personal information based on the Hiring Privacy Policy, the General Data Protec-tion Regulation, and the UK General Data Protection Regulation)
Please review the following web page before submitting the consent form.:

How to apply

A)Please access " [HR] Inquiry for public recruitment" and enter your contact information, the Open call ID (26-668) 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

Application screening and interview for selected applicants.

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

April 1, 2027 (Negiotiable)

Contact Information

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