Postdoctoral Fellow in Computer Vision and Video Instance Search

This is NTNU

NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You can find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

About the job

The postdoctoral fellowship position is a temporary position where the main goal is to qualify for work in senior academic positions.

The position is focused on the computer vision field of video instance search, enabling video databases to index objects (not people) with discriminative embeddings to be used in search for a specific or similar objects with the best possible accuracy.

Your immediate leader is the head of the Information Security Discipline, and the research responsible is the project manager of AI4Citizens project.

AI4Citizens is an international and interdisciplinary research collaboration between The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), The University of Agder (UiA), BI Norwegian Business School, and public safety departments from Norway, Germany, The Netherlands, and The United Kingdom. The project and workplace will be located close to NORCICS Center of Excellence in research-based innovation on NTNUs campus in Gjøvik.

Duties of the position

• Conduct cutting-edge research to enable supporting technologies for video object search.
• Lead/support research project initiatives.
• Participate in the general activities of the research team.
• Participate in the general activities of the department.
• Participate in international activities, such as conference attendance, International collaborations and mobility, contribute to organizing conferences/workshops and serving as TPC.
• The successful candidates will contribute with novel research in three main areas of computer vision applied to videos: video instance search, object tracking and identification, and contextual analysis of activities and background.

Required selection criteria

• You must have completed a Norwegian doctoral degree or corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian PhD in computer science, data science, information systems, or similar.
  If you can document that the PhD thesis has been submitted, your application can be assessed even if you have not yet defended your dissertation. Documentation of the obtained doctoral degree must be presented before you can take up the position.
• Demonstrated research capability via a good publication record in the relevant areas.
• A well-documented understanding of the relevant research fields and experience.
• The ability and willingness to conduct research independently as well as collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team.
• Excellent written and oral English language skills.
• You must have a professionally relevant background in at least two of the following fields:
  •  Machine learning for image or video analytics,
  •  Tracking of multiple objects through video,
  •  Instance search,
  •  Image or video context analysis.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Ph.D Candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate.

Preferred selection criteria

• Prior knowledge and experience in one or more of the following: computer vision, machine learning programming for video and image processing, use of cloud computing resources for video and image processing,
• A clear and well-developed strategy for outstanding future research that has the potential to result in world-leading publications,
• Ability to meet deadlines and produce work of a consistently high standard.

Personal characteristics

• Enthusiasm for research, teamwork, and capability of independent problem-solving.
• High motivation for research work and dissemination.
• Ability to work both individually and in a team environment and a high level of personal responsibility.

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer 

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment 
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues 
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund 
• employee benefits 

Salary and conditions

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK 594 500 per annum, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 2.5 years – until end of project 31.05.2026.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU.  

After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.

About the application 

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result.

The application must include: 

• A cover letter where the applicant describes his/her personal motivation and relevance with respect to the requirements of the advertisement.
• Curriculum vitae (CV) which includes information about the candidate’s prior education, work experience, academic merits and any scientific publications.
• A draft research proposal (maximum three pages), where the candidate presents her/his own ideas for the postdoc and how it can be applied.
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's-, master's- and PhD degrees. Applicants from universities outside Norway are kindly requested to send a diploma supplement, or a similar document, which describes in detail the study program and grading system. If you have not yet completed your Ph.D, you must provide confirmation on your estimated date for the doctoral dissertation, or that your PhD thesis has been submitted
• A copy of the doctoral thesis. If you are close to submitting, or have recently submitted your thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed doctoral degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Academic works - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 3 items)
• Names and contact information of three references.

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well. 

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation. 

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA. 

General information 

Working at NTNU 

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is a strength. We want our faculty and staff to reflect Norway’s culturally diverse population and we continuously seek to hire the best minds. This enables NTNU to increase productivity and innovation, improve decision making processes, raise employee satisfaction, compete academically with global top-ranking institutions and carry out our social responsibilities within education and research. NTNU emphasizes accessibility and encourages qualified candidates to apply regardless of gender identity, ability status, periods of unemployment or ethnic and cultural background.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality.

The city of Gjøvik has a population of 30 000 and is a town known for its rich music and cultural life. The beautiful nature surrounding the city is ideal for an active outdoor life! The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. 

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted. 

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Lasse Øverlier, telephone +47-40222022, email [email protected]. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR at IIK, Julie Lindland, email [email protected] and Teresa Hoel, email [email protected]. 

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation. 

Application deadline: 29.10.2023.