ERA Chair in Artifical Intelligence for Robotics

Job description:

The ERA Chair holder should be an outstanding researcher experienced in research and human management as well as in fundraising, whose profile matches an Established Researcher (R3) or Leading Researcher (R4) profile as set out in the European Framework for Research Careers. He/she shall establish and lead a Research Group for Artificial Intelligence for Robotics (AIFORS Research Group) and contribute to the implementation of organizational changes at UNIZG-FER. The AIFORS Research Group will be assigned to the Laboratory for Autonomous Systems and Mobile Robotics (LAMOR; http://lamor.fer.hr) and the ERA Chair holder will report to the Head of the Laboratory. The ERA Chair holder will be given full autonomy and independence in the recruitment of his/her team members and in the design and implementation of his/her research strategy, but he/she should address the AIFORS project objectives and the scientific challenges needed by LAMOR (please click here for more information).

The main responsibilities of the ERA Chair holder:

• To define a research strategy to reach excellence in the area chosen for the ERA Chair.
• To establish and lead a team of excellent professionals to implement the research strategy.
• To successfully raise funding for implementing the research strategy.
• To serve as the Scientific and Innovation Manager of the AIFORS project ensuring its effective management and achievement of the objectives in close cooperation with the project coordinator.
• To establish collaborative relationships with relevant academic and industry research and development groups ensuring international recognition and visibility of the ERA Chair, LAMOR and UNIZG-FER in general.
• To foster internal collaboration with other teams at LAMOR and UNIZG-FER and lead capacity building activities in grant proposal preparation and project management.

Required candidate’s qualifications and experience:

• Doctoral degree in computer science, artificial intelligence, robotics and automation, control engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, data science or closely related domains.
• Internationally recognized scientific expertise in the field of research targeted by AIFORS.
• Proven skills in research and people management to set and implement an ambitious research agenda.
• Track-record of setting partnerships and raising public or private funding.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.

Our offer to the ERA Chair holder:

The selected candidate will be offered the following:

• A full-time employment contract for the entire life span of the project (until December 31, 2026) with a potential for continuation.
• Internationally competitive salary commensurate with qualifications and experience, an attractive remuneration package, pension scheme, health insurance, and a minimum of 24 working days of an annual vacation.
• Funding to establish a team of researchers (2 postdocs, 2 PhD students and 1 project manager).
• Substantial travel budget for conference attendance and networking.
• Equipped office and laboratory space for the ERA Chair research team within LAMOR.
• Institutional support to engage additional funds for new experimental equipment and consumables for research.
• Possibility to shape the strategic development of UNIZG-FER via membership in the UNIZG-FER Board for research and innovations.
• Support for relocation and settling in the City of Zagreb.

Application process:

Applicants are invited to submit the following documents:

• A signed cover letter.
• Curriculum Vitae (click here for a mandatory CV template).
• A brief research plan (1-2 pages), which includes his/her vision of working on the AIFORS project.
• Digital copies of up to 5 top-level research publications authored by the candidate that best represent his/her academic work.
• Contact details of 2 referees who can be contacted for an opinion on the candidate.
• Any additional information the candidate finds useful for the evaluation process.

All the above documents in the electronic form compiled to a single file should be sent to ivan.petrovic@fer.hr and dijana.juros@fer.hr mentioning “ERA Chair holder - AIFORS” in the subject until November 10, 2021 (11:59 PM Central European Time). The candidate will get a confirmation email of the application submission and feedback on the outcome of the evaluation or the result of the eligibility check. All applications submitted until the deadline will be considered for evaluation and treated in full confidentiality. The application language is English.

Recruitment process:

The ERA Chair holder will be recruited through an open, transparent and merit-based selection process fully in compliance with the European Charter for Researchers and the EU Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. The process will be carried out by the Recruitment Panel of four researchers from UNIZG-FER including the project coordinator and four international members of the AIFORS Advisory Board. Selection of the best applicants will be accomplished in two rounds.  

In the first round, the selection process will be based on the assessment if each applicant’s profile fit with the job description through a set of measurable screening criteria. The application documents screening will aim at ranking applicants according to a composite index with the following weighted components: scientific excellence, capacity in rising competitive research grants, leadership experience and adequacy of the proposed research plan. All applicants will be provided with the screening results of their application documents.

In the second round, up to five best ranked applicants will be invited for a face-to-face or remote interview (in case they cannot come to Croatia) to assess their research, presentation and strategic skills as well as project management, interpersonal and self-management skills. Each applicant’s interview will receive a total assessment score out of 100 by summing all the items of the scoreboard and calculating the average over all the Recruitment Panel members’ scores. All interviewed applicants will be provided with their assessment and a contract will be offered to the candidate with the highest final score.

Recruitment process timeline:

• Deadline for applications: November 10, 2021
• The results of the applications screening sent to applicants: November 24, 2021
• Interviews with the shortlisted applicants: December, 2021
• Notification on selection sent to the chosen applicant: January 5, 2022
• Start of the employment: March 1, 2022 (negotiable)

Eligibility criteria:

Any candidate fulfilling these Job Announcement requirements is eligible for application, regardless of gender, age, nationality, race or ethnicity.

Work location:

University of Zagreb

Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (UNIZG-FER)

Department of Control and Computer Engineering

Laboratory for Autonomous Systems and Mobile Robotics (LAMOR)

Unska 3, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Further information:

Please click here to download the Job Announcement in PDF. For any further information or request, please do not hesitate to contact Prof. Ivan Petrović (Director of the LAMOR lab and Coordinator of the AIFORS project) at ivan.petrovic@fer.hr with the email subject “ERA Chair – YOUR LAST NAME”.

Note:

Please include in your cover letter the following statement:

„I agree to the processing of personal data provided in this document for realising the recruitment process pursuant to the Personal Data Protection Act of 10 May 2018 (Journal of Laws 2018, item 1000 and in agreement with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation).”

Some useful links:

• UNIZG-FER mission, vision and development strategy
• https://www.lovezagreb.hr
• http://www.zagrebexpat.com/site/