Research Fellow, School of Electronics and Computer Science

Euraxess; Southampton; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative research opportunity awaits you at a leading university, where you will contribute to cutting-edge projects in the field of decentralized algorithms and large-scale data search. Join a dynamic team working on the EPSRC-funded ESPRESSO project, focusing on developing efficient search techniques across personal online datastores. This role offers a chance to collaborate with esteemed professors and industry partners, enhancing your research experience. If you hold a PhD in computer science or have equivalent qualifications, this is your opportunity to make a significant impact in the research community and advance your career in a supportive academic environment.

Qualifications

• PhD in computer science or equivalent experience is essential.
• Experience in distributed database systems and information retrieval is ideal.

Responsibilities

• Research on distributed query processing and information retrieval.
• Collaborate with universities and industry stakeholders on project development.

Skills

Linked Data

Semantic Web technologies

Distributed database systems

Information retrieval

Computer networking

Education

PhD in Computer Science

Equivalent professional qualifications

Job description

Offer Description

The post is full-time for 12 months. The starting date will be 1 August 2025, or as soon as possible thereafter.

We are seeking a researcher to work on the EPSRC-funded ESPRESSO project (“Efficient Search over Personal Repositories - Secure and Sovereign”).

The post is based at the School of Electronics and Computer Science, Southampton. The project involves researching, developing, and evaluating decentralised algorithms, meta-information data structures, and indexing techniques to enable large-scale data search across Personal Online Datastores (pods) hosted on distributed pod servers, addressing both keyword-based search and SPARQL querying. EPRESSO will build on and extend existing frameworks and systems such as SOLID, NSS, Dataswyft/HAT, gtk-gnutella, and Gaian DB.

You will collaborate with Professors Thanassis Tiropanis and Adriane Chapman (University of Southampton), Professors Alexandra Poulovassilis and George Roussos (Birkbeck, University of London), as well as partner organisations (Dataswyft and the NExT++ Centre, Singapore), the broader research community, and industry stakeholders. Your responsibilities will include research on distributed query processing and information retrieval for text and RDF files. Experience in Linked Data and Semantic Web technologies is essential, while familiarity with approaches related to redecentralisation of the Web and testbed development is highly desirable. The research will also involve using benchmarks and generating synthetic datasets for experimentation in health and wellbeing domains. Additionally, the role includes administrative tasks related to project management and funder requirements.

It is essential that you hold a PhD in computer science or possess equivalent professional qualifications and experience. Ideally, your PhD or experience will be in distributed database systems, information retrieval, computer networking, or semantic web.

The post does not involve working outside of the UK for more than 30 consecutive days or more than 90 days in a year.

*Applications will be considered from candidates who are working towards or nearing completion of a relevant PhD. The title of Research Fellow will be awarded upon PhD completion. Prior to qualification, the position will be titled Senior Research Assistant.

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