Research Fellow A in Computational Linguistics

University of Surrey; Guildford; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Surrey's Surrey Morphology Group in Guildford invites applications for a Research Fellow (postdoc) in Computational Linguistics. The role focuses on creating new software tools and measuring morphological predictability, using Qumin to analyze lexical data and inflectional systems.

The candidate will extend Qumin, work across a joint morphology project, and collaborate with the team to publish results and push methodological boundaries in linguistic typology.

Qualifications

• PhD in computational linguistics or NLP.
• Fluent in Python programming.
• Experience in software development and teamwork.
• Interest in inflectional morphology.
• Commitment to reproducibility in science.

Responsibilities

• Extend existing software (Qumin) to analyze morphological data.
• Develop tools to measure morphological predictability.
• Collaborate on papers and presentations with the team.
• Contribute to defining the research agenda.

Skills

Python

Software development

Linguistics

Team collaboration

NLP

Education

PhD in NLP

Tools

Qumin

Git management

CLI / pipelines

Job description

The role

We are seeking qualified applicants for up to a 2 year position (with possibility to extend to 4) as Research Fellow (postdoc) in Computational Linguistics on the UKRI FLF grant ‘Scaling predictability in Morphological paradigms’, led by Sacha Beniamine. The successful candidate will perform a key role in creating new software tools and employing them to measure predictability in morphology. The position is based at the Surrey Morphology Group at the University of Surrey, in Guildford, and provides the opportunity to work in the vibrant and highly collegial research environment for which the SMG is renowned.

The successful candidate will be in charge of the Work Package focusing on New Models, which aims to enable precise and comparable measures of morphological predictability, in order to understand how predictability is organized in realistic, complex inflectional systems.

As a core member of the team, the successful candidate will use their skills in software development to extend existing software (Qumin) which analyzes morphological lexical data and evaluates inflectional predictability. They will rely on their qualifications in linguistics to study predictability in systems which challenge existing tools and analyses, pushing the edge of what can be reliably measured and contribute to the large comparative study of macro-variation in predictability, gaining experience in linguistic typology. They will collaborate closely with the team in the writing and dissemination of papers and presentations, and be expected to take initiative in the formulation of the research agenda.

About you

The successful candidate will have a dual background in linguistics and software development, with a PhD in computational linguistics, natural language processing, or a related field. The candidate will have a good grasp of linguistic concepts and methods. They will have an interest in the inflectional morphology of at least one language or language family, which can serve as a test-bed for the tools they will develop. They will have experience of software development, and are fluent in Python programming. Candidates with experience programming as part of a team will be preferred. Mastery over software development tools (command line; git management; continuous pipelines and workflows; IDE) is essential. An interest in reproducibility in science will be an advantage. Experience in using these skills to answer linguistic questions is essential.

£38,448 to £41,885 per annum