Research Associate (NLP Developer)

Ulster University; Coleraine; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Ulster University Coleraine campus is seeking a Research Associate to join Harmony, a Wellcome-funded five-year project taking a beta tool into a self-sustaining research platform. You will lead the technical development, implement new features, maintain software, and oversee deployments and data pipelines to deliver a robust end‑to‑end product for researchers in the social and life sciences.

Experience with NLP transformer models and Python with Hugging Face is essential to drive integration

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, Data Analytics or a closely related discipline.
• Significant experience applying NLP, transformer models and fine-tuning.
• Extensive experience with Python development and related libraries.

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical development of the Harmony platform.
• Implement new features and maintain existing software.
• Oversee deployments, pipelines and server environments.
• Deliver a secure, robust end-to-end product for researchers.

Skills

NLP

Transformer models

Python

Hugging Face Transformers

Education

Degree in Computer Science or Data Analytics

Tools

Hugging Face Transformers

Job description

Campus: Coleraine (Remote working within the UK may also be considered)

Duration: Fixed-Term until 31st March 2031 / Full-time

ABOUT US

We are a university with a national and international reputation for excellence, innovation and regional engagement, making a major contribution to the economic, social and cultural development of Northern Ireland.

Our core business activities are teaching and learning, widening access to education, research and innovation and technology and knowledge transfer.

THE ROLE

We are seeking a core team member to be part of a fully funded, 5-year initiative to take Harmony, an established research project, into a self-sustaining entity. In this role, you will directly contribute to our long-term strategy, building out from an existing beta product to produce a refined research tool. This is a unique opportunity to join a small, focused team and drive a project through its entire lifecycle from inception to independence.

The postholder will be a full-time Research Associate working on the Harmony project, funded by Wellcome. They will be an integral part of a team developing a platform for researchers from the social and life sciences to harmonise data from multiple sources. The Harmony tool uses natural language processing (NLP) technologies to identify conceptually similar variables from across different datasets, helping researchers overcome challenges arising from the use of different measures and instruments.

Working within a multidisciplinary team, the postholder will lead the technical development of the platform, implementing new features, maintaining existing software, and overseeing the wider infrastructure that supports the service, including deployments, pipelines and server environments. They will contribute to the delivery of a secure, reliable and robust end-to-end product that meets the needs of researchers and reflects commercial standards.

ABOUT YOU

The postholder will be required to have:

• A degree in Computer Science, Data Analytics or a closely related science-based discipline.
• Significant experience in applying natural language processing, specifically transformer models (e.g. BERT, GPT-style systems), and fine-tuning models.
• Extensive experience with Python development, including familiarity with libraries such as Hugging Face Transformers.

Please find our employee benefits on our website.

Athena Swan Statement

The School of Psychology holds a Silver Athena SWAN Award in recognition of our commitment to advancing Gender equality in higher education. You can read more about what this means on our University website. The University has a range of initiatives to support a family-friendly working environment, including flexible working.

The University is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applicants from all sections of the community, particularly from those with disabilities. Appointment will be made on merit.

Closing Date: 16th October 2026 at 23:30