One Postdoctoral position on multimodal AI models for image and video interpretation
- (2400007K)

Commitment & contract: collaboration contract, 12-24 months
Location: Genova CHT

ABOUT US
At IIT we work enthusiastically to develop human-centered Science and Technology to tackle some of the most pressing societal challenges of our times and transfer these technologies to the production system and society. Our Genoa headquarters are strictly interconnected with the other 11 centers around Italy and two outstations based in US. We promote excellence in basic and applied research such as computation, neuroscience and cognition, humanoid technologies and robotics, nanotechnology, materials for a truly multidisciplinary scientific experience.

YOUR TEAM
We are currently hiring a Postdoc willing to join the Artificial Intelligence for Good (AIGO) Research Unit coordinated by Prof. Vittorio Murino. AIGO is a new Research Line aimed at investigating fundamental AI topics from methodological and theoretical perspectives. Our studies are functional to tackle a number of applications and actual case studies related to several domains such as biomedical, healthcare, and several others, ultimately leading to people wellbeing. AIGO unit will host about 10 people (postdoc and Ph D) coming from different countries, and benefit from the collaboration with several universities and research centers worldwide, including Genova and Verona universities. AIGO is also part of ELLIS (https://ellis.eu/) – an European network of excellence in AI, Machine Learning (ML) and Computer Vision (CV), of which Prof. Murino is a Fellow member.
About the research project
AIGO core topic can be summarized as learning with imperfect data, with a particular focus on multimodal data scenarios. Here, “imperfect” refers to unsupervised or semi-supervised settings, as well as self-supervised ones, in which data can be unlabeled, weakly or noisy labeled, samples may be too few, imbalanced classes, or biased data. Domain adaptation and generalization, few-/zero-shot learning, continual learning, learning with biased data, and a few others are all paramount topics at the basis of machine learning, still not fully explored and deserving more efforts, also given their valence in tackling practical, real-world problems. AIGO will also consider generative AI algorithms, especially related to the most recent trend regarding multimodal foundation models, including large language models (LLMs) and vision and language models (VLMs). From a general standpoint, AIGO will also consider architectural and computational issues addressing the so-called lightweight Machine Learning in order to design low-power ML technologies and approaches dealing with machine intelligence at the very edge of the cloud (e.g., for robots). With the focus on people wellbeing, we deal with the design of AI methods considering their ethical, privacy and fairness aspects, as well as the robustness characteristics of deep learning methods, towards the design of explainable, trustworthy and transparent deep learning techniques, so to make AI technology much more widespread, accepted, and valuable for the society. The main applications will involve biomedical, biological, neuroscience, and healthcare in general. The investigation of the brain and its diseases is identified as the main (but not exclusive) area of interest. Ultimately, AIGO will seek to develop models that can also be readily applicable to IIT interdisciplinary research, ranging from neuroscience to robotics, in particular by leveraging our in-house robotics platforms (i Cub, Ergo Cub, R1 et al.), IIT neuroscience teams, and HPC computational facilities.
Both junior and experienced candidates will be considered for the position.

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

• A Ph D in computer science, machine learning, computer vision, physics, engineering, mathematics or related areas.

• Documented expertise in:

• Strong programming ability (Python preferred) with hands-on skills in AI and Deep Learning frameworks (e.g., Pytorch, Tensorflow or equivalent tools).

• Ability/willingness to integrate within multidisciplinary research group.

• Proven track record of publications in the relevant technical areas.

• Ability to properly report, organize and publish research data.

• High motivation to learn.

• Good priority management.

• Ability to work in a challenging and international environment.

• Fluency in spoken and written English.

NICE-TO-HAVE

• Knowledge/experience on multimodal approaches, and in general on some of the topics quoted above (e.g., domain adaptation, few-shot learning, self-supervised learning, model debiasing, etc.).

• Knowledge of 3D vision (multi-view geometry, point cloud data processing, neural rendering)

• Experience in deploying and fine-tuning DL models, also large language or vision-language models.

• Practical experience on deploying ML models on HPC platforms.

• Team player skills with the ability to communicate technical knowledge in a clear and understandable manner.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Competitive salary for international standards.

• Wide range of staff discounts.

• Candidates from abroad or Italian citizens who permanently work abroad and meet specific requirements, may be entitled to a deduction from taxable income of up to 90% from 6 to 13 years.

WHAT’S IN FOR YOU?

• An equal, inclusive and multicultural environment ready to welcome you with open arms. Discrimination is a big NO for us!

• We like contamination and encourage you to mingle and discover what other people are up to in our labs!

• If paperwork is not your piece of cake, we got you! There’s a specialized team working to help you with that, especially during your relocation!

• If you are a startupper or a business-minded person, you will find some exceptionally gifted professionals ready to nurture and guide your attitude and aspirations.

• If you want your work to have a real impact, in IIT you will find an innovative and stimulating culture that drives our mission to contribute to the improvement and well-being of society!

• We stick to our values! Integrity, courage, societal responsibility and inclusivity are the values we believe in! They define us and our actions in our everyday life. They guide us to accomplish IIT mission!

If you feel this tickles your appetite for change, do not hesitate and apply!
Please submit your application using the online form and including:

• A detailed CV with a full list of publications, plus a final section titled “Relevant skills” commenting on the strong points where your CV matches the required skills (listed above).
• Name and contacts of 2 referees.

Application’s deadline: November 30th, 2024
This position is pending budget approval.
We inform you that the information you provide will be used solely for the purposes of evaluating and selecting professional profiles in order to meet the requirements of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia.
Your data will be processed by Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, based in Genoa, Via Morego 30, acting as Data Controller, in compliance with the rules on protection of personal data, including those related to data security.
Please also note that, pursuant to articles 15 et. seq. of European Regulation no. 679/2016 (General Data Protection Regulation), you may exercise your rights at any time by contacting the Data Protection Officer (phone Tel: +39 010 28961 - email: dpo@iit.it - kindly note that this e-mail address is exclusively reserved for handling data protection issues. Please, do not use this e-mail address to send any document and/or request of information about this opening).

Primary Location GENOVA ERZELLI

Job Postdoc

Organization AIGO - AI for Good

Job Posting Oct 29, 2024, 8:57:32 AM