Postdoc Position: Computational Modelling of Speech Recognition

Are you fascinated by the human ability to recognise speech and do you enjoy advanced programming? If so, this postdoctoral position in computational modelling is for you. You will have the exciting opportunity to build and test a new Bayesian model of human speech recognition.

You will work together with Prof. James McQueen and a PhD candidate on an NWO-funded project (’Plugging talkers in: A new solution to the variability problem in human speech recognition’). The project seeks to understand how listeners cope with the fact that spoken words are acoustically hugely variable. Words vary across talkers (e.g. the same word is pronounced in a physically dramatically different manner by a two-year-old girl versus an 80-year-old man) and words vary not only segmentally but also prosodically. The project explores the hypothesis that listeners store knowledge about how individual talkers speak and ’plug in’ that knowledge as they recognise those individuals’ words. The project has two aims: (1) to use computational modelling to build a new Bayesian model with ’plug-ins’, and (2) to run word-learning experiments to test the model. You will be responsible for the computational modelling and also co-supervise the PhD candidate who will be running the experiments.

Profile

• You hold a PhD in psycholinguistics, cognitive science, psychology, linguistics, or a related field.
• You enjoy reading and writing code and have demonstrable programming experience in, for example, Python, C++, or Matlab.
• You are a creative, critical and independent researcher and motivated to pursue an academic career.
• You are a team-player who not only provides constructive feedback to colleagues but is also happy to receive it from them, who supports others, and who is keen to engage in scientific discussions. You enjoy supervising students.
• You are able to contribute to a collaborative work environment based on transparent communication and a positive and respectful attitude towards supervisors, colleagues and students.
• You have an excellent command of English (both spoken and written); preferably, you also already have a good publication record.
• You possess excellent time management and organisational skills.
• Ideally, but not required, you also have expertise and hands-on research experience in human speech recognition, good skills in preparing and analysing speech experiments, and demonstrable experience with R and Praat.

We are

You will be part of the Sound Learning group (PI: Prof. James McQueen). The group is part of the Donders Centre for Cognition (DCC) within the Faculty of Social Sciences of Radboud University and part of the Donders Institute. There are strong links to other research groups at the DCC, including Speech Perception in Audiovisual Communication (PI: Hans Rutger Bosker) and Cognition of Multilingualism (PI: Kristin Lemhöfer), and to other research groups elsewhere on the Nijmegen campus, including the Centre for Language Studies and the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. You will be part of an exceptionally rich environment for research on language and speech.

The Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour is a world-class interfaculty research centre, that houses more than 700 researchers devoted to understanding the mechanistic underpinnings of the human mind. Research at the Donders Institute is focused around four themes: 1. Language and communication, 2. Perception, action and decision-making, 3. Development and lifelong plasticity, 4. Natural computing & neurotechnology. Excellent, state-of-the-art research facilities are available for the broad range of neuroscience research that is being conducted at the Donders Institute. The Donders Institute has been assessed by an international evaluation committee as ‘excellent’ and recognised as a ‘very stimulating environment for top researchers, as well as for young talent’. The Donders Institute fosters a collaborative, multidisciplinary, supportive research environment with a diverse international staff. English is the lingua franca at the Institute.

Radboud University

At Radboud University, we aim to make an impact through our work. We achieve this by conducting groundbreaking research, providing high-quality education, offering excellent support, and fostering collaborations within and outside the university. In doing so, we contribute indispensably to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. To accomplish this, we need even more colleagues who, based on their expertise, are willing to search for answers. We advocate for an inclusive community and welcome employees with diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives. Will you also contribute to making the world a little better? You have a part to play.

Faculty of Social Sciences

At the Faculty of Social Sciences, humanity and society are our focus; we study how people behave, think and feel. Within this context, we look at themes such as human behaviour and the human psyche, education and upbringing, communication, society and culture. The faculty provides education to 6,000 students and employs 700 staff. Education is organised into six programme clusters: Psychology; Artificial Intelligence; Pedagogical Sciences and Educational Sciences; Communication Science; Sociology; and Cultural Anthropology and Developmental Sociology, and the Radboud Centre Social Sciences as an institute for post-master education have been merged into the Social Sciences Education Institute. Our research is carried out within three research institutes: the Donders Centre for Cognition, the Behavioural Science Institute, and Radboud Social Cultural Research.

We offer

• We will give you a temporary employment contract of 4 years.
• Your salary within salary scale 11 depends on your previous education and number of years of (relevant) work experience. The amounts in the scale are based on a 38-hour working week.
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Support Service. The Dual Career Programme assists your partner via support, tools, and resources to improve their chances of independently finding employment in the Netherlands. Our Family Support Service helps you and your partner feel welcome and at home by providing customised assistance in navigating local facilities, schools, and amenities. Also take a look at our support for international staff page to discover all our services for international employees.
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20.

Additional employment conditions

Work and science require good employment practices. Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions reflect this. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself. For example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports membership. In addition, you receive a 34% discount on the sports and cultural activities at Radboud University as an employee. And, of course, we offer a good pension plan. We also give you plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.