Research Engineer (LLM for Construction Safety)

National University of Singapore; Singapore; On-site; SGD 50,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

The National University of Singapore is looking for a motivated Research Engineer to join the MIDAS project aimed at improving Design for Safety in construction. The ideal candidate will hold a degree in Civil Engineering or related fields, have programming skills in Python or Matlab, and be familiar with Large Language Models. Responsibilities include assisting in the technical development and designing algorithms, among other collaborative tasks. This is a fixed-term contract position based at Kent Ridge Campus.

Qualifications

• At least a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Built Environment, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Evidence of a strong publication record in top academic journals.
• Familiarity with Large Language Models and building RAG architectures.

Responsibilities

• Assist in the core technical development of the MIDAS platform.
• Design algorithms and architectures for data ingestion, retrieval, and reasoning.
• Collaborate closely with multidisciplinary teams.

Skills

Proficiency in programming languages

Strong research experience

Excellent written and oral communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in relevant field

Tools

Python

Matlab

BIM

IFC

Job description

Job Title

Research Engineer (LLM for Construction Safety)

Location

Kent Ridge Campus, National University of Singapore

Posting Period

Posting started 16/04/2026

Job Description

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS) is seeking a highly motivated and talented Research Engineer to join the MIDAS project, a government‑funded initiative aimed at transforming Design for Safety (DfS) in construction through an AI‑driven advisory platform. MIDAS will leverage Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG), and multimodal data—including text, images, and Building Information Models—to proactively identify design risks and recommend mitigation measures throughout a project's lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist in the core technical development of the MIDAS platform, focusing on multimodal data ingestion and the RAG‑based LLM reasoning engine.
• Design algorithms and architectures for data ingestion, retrieval, and reasoning.
• Collaborate closely with multidisciplinary teams, including researchers, engineers, and data scientists.
• Lead and mentor student interns working on the project.

Job Requirements

• At least a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Built Environment, Computer Science, or a related field from a reputable university; a master’s degree is preferred.
• Evidence of a strong publication record in top academic journals.
• Proficiency in programming languages, especially Python or Matlab, for automation and data‑analysis tasks.
• Familiarity with Large Language Models and building RAG architectures.
• Experience with BIM, IFC, and graph databases.
• Strong research experience, particularly in robotics or scene‑graph related projects.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Open to a fixed‑term contract.