This involves solving deep technical and socio-technical challenges including NLP for African and under-resourced languages and the production of culturally, linguistically and contextually appropriate output. Microsoft Research Africa is a relatively young research lab, and we are looking for team members committed to growing our research agenda and creating impact.
The ideal candidate will be excited to work in a multidisciplinary team, consisting of ethnographers, computer scientists, human-computer interaction researchers, designers and engineers. They must have an appreciation for the value of working with deep qualitative research and delight in pushing the boundaries of their academic disciplines through cross-disciplinary partnerships. If you are a researcher who is passionate about designing Globally Equitable Generative AI and understands the importance of multidisciplinary research, this might be the opportunity for you.
Required qualifications:
Has completed a PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, or other related domain
Has a minimum of 4 years work experience post PhD
Strong theoretical and practical knowledge of machine learning algorithms, and the methods that underpin modern language and vision processing
Strong practical knowledge in working with current deep-learning toolkits, particularly in language and/or vision, and in critically evaluating models.
Proven research record including publications in top computer science and ML venues, such as including NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, ICCR, ECCV, EMNLP
Passion for staying up to date with the latest advancements in AI & ML
Ability to shape and lead research agendas
Ability to communicate their findings to academia and business audiences
Preferred qualifications include demonstrated research experience in one or more of the following areas:
Deep learning /Generative AI – either image, language, audio or multimodal models
Deep learning /Generative AI for African languages or in data constrained tasks
Data generation and augmentation for building and evaluating models
A demonstrated research interest in Africa
Excellent problem-solving and critical-thinking skills
Effective communication and collaboration skills within a multidisciplinary team
Responsibilities
Lead and contribute to cutting edge research on Generative AI for the African context
Collaborate with researchers across Microsoft on existing projects
Collaborate with stakeholders to ground research in actual needs and support the implementation of AI solutions that are equitable and beneficial for all
Mentor and support junior researchers
Communicate research findings through publications, presentations, and engaging with the academic and research communities. Organize and lead workshops or seminars to disseminate research progress and findings, and to foster knowledge exchange among the research community
Contribute to the strategic planning of research initiatives that align with the vision of creating Globally Equitable Generative AI, ensuring the research direction is impactful and sustainable.
Work with both academic communities and product teams
Be committed to creating impact with and for Microsoft research Africa