Research Associate: Explainable AI for Sustainable Polymers

The University of Sheffield; Sheffield; Presencial; GBP 40.000 - 42.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Hybrid working opportunities

Generous pension

41 days annual leave (pro rata)

Descripción de la vacante

The University of Sheffield invites applications for a fully funded 39‑month position in Surface engineering & tribology for silicone-free consumer products. The project decodes polymer physics and uses explainable machine learning to design sustainable formulations, with strong collaboration across disciplines.

You will develop symbolic regression, Bayesian optimisation, and genetic algorithms, featurize polymer architectures, and deliver open-source tools in Python/Julia, bridging theory with

Formación

• PhD degree (or near completion) in computational chemistry, cheminformatics, physics, chemical engineering, applied mathematics, computer science, or closely related quantitative discipline.
• Programming experience (Python, Julia or C++) for scientific computing with Git version control.
• Ability to quickly learn, integrate, and apply new domain concepts across physical science and computation.
• Track record of high-quality research outputs (peer‑reviewed publications).
• Ability to work effectively in multi-disciplinary teams and communicate complex computational concepts.

Responsabilidades

• Algorithm development: develop and benchmark explainable ML models to predict polymer–solvent interactions.
• Data integration and featurization: link polymer architectures to bulk properties.
• Open-source software delivery: build, document, and maintain computational tools in Python/Julia via GitHub.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration: work with the project team to validate model predictions.
• Dissemination: prepare manuscripts for publication and present findings at conferences.
• Carry out other duties commensurate with the grade.

Conocimientos

Python

Julia

C++

Git

Explainable AI

Machine learning

Data analysis

Teamwork

Problem solving

Polymers

Educación

PhD in computational chemistry/related field

Herramientas

Python

Julia

Git

SMILES/BigSMILES

Molecular dynamics/DFT

Descripción del empleo

The University of Sheffield invites applications for a fully funded 39‑month position in Surface engineering & tribology for silicone-free consumer products. The project decodes polymer physics and uses explainable machine learning to design sustainable formulations, with strong collaboration across disciplines.

You will develop symbolic regression, Bayesian optimisation, and genetic algorithms, featurize polymer architectures, and deliver open-source tools in Python/Julia, bridging theory with