South Africa: Postdoctoral Position in Natural Language Processing, the North-West University

The Centre for Text Technology at the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus) in South Africa is looking for candidates to fill 2 postdoctoral positions in Natural Language Processing.

Minimum requirements:

PhD in Computational Linguistics, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related fields.
Strong programming skills (C/C++, Perl, Java).
Thorough knowledge of and experience in main statistical and machine learning approaches.
The ability to work well in a diverse team.
Full spoken and written proficiency of English.
Preferred/recommended requirements:

Experience in other programming languages.
Experience in machine translation.
Industrial experience or a track-record of project-based experimental work.
Good research profile and publication rate.
Knowledge of or fluency in a Germanic language and/or Bantu language.
Job description:
The two postdocs will contribute to current and future research projects within the Centre for Text Technology. These projects are either funded by the South African “National Research Foundation”, or by the North-West University. Postdocs participating in these projects can expect to gain considerable research experience in Natural Language Processing and text technology (as well as limited exposure to speech technologies). More info on current projects can be found at http://ctext.nwu.ac.za/Research.html

Other planned projects include research on the development of text and speech technologies for closely-related languages (not limited to South African languages), especially with a view on machine translation.

It will be expected from the postdocs to publish in acknowledged (inter)national journals, present research results at local and international conferences, and stimulate research within the Centre.

Commencement:
As soon as possible, or as soon as convenient. (Open invitation)

Contract period:
12 months. Depending on work performance and the availability of funding, both posts may be renewed after the initial 12 months.

Remuneration:
Remuneration according to the South African National Research Foundation’s benchmarks. No fringe benefits included. Annual leave according to labour law regulations and University practice included.

Additional information:

A certain amount of the library budget allocation will be made available to expand the current library collection.
You will be encouraged to apply for funding for conference attendance, within the University’s framework for research funding, as well as external funding (e.g. National Research Foundation).
Centre for Text Technology:
Read more about the Centre for Text Technology (CTexT) at http://www.ctext.co.za/ or http://ctext.nwu.ac.za/.

We offer a friendly and enthusiastic working environment, good computational facilities, interaction across academic disciplines (including linguists, phonologists/acoustic phoneticians, statisticians, engineers, and computer scientists). All projects are supported by a project manager and full-time programmer.

Application and deadline:
To apply, email a CV (including a statement of research interests, as well as names and contact information for two references) to Handré Groenewald (Handre.Groenewald[ at ]nwu.ac.za) as soon as possible.

For more information, contact Handré Groenewald at Handre.Groenewald[ at ]nwu.ac.za, or at +27 18 299 1513.

The North-West University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. Women and minority candidates are encouraged to apply.