We are looking for a “Torres Quevedo” Postdoctoral Researcher in Biomedical Text Mining & Scientometrics

Summary

SIRIS Academic is preparing an application for the Torres Quevedo Program for the position of a researcher in the field of text mining and machine learning to participate in R&D projects for mapping impact and outcome in biomedical and clinical research landscape to inform research & innovation policies.

Torres Quevedo is a R&D grant of the Spanish Government aimed at the recruitment of a post-doctoral researcher within an enterprise. The researcher will work on an applied research project in a topic of priority interest for the enterprise. The call will open on 23th of January 2024. The process includes a joint application done by the candidate and SIRIS Academic. The position is for an indefinite full-time position, co-funded for the first 3 years by the Spanish Ministry of Science. SIRIS Academic has already been awarded with 4 Torres Quevedo in the last 6 years (100% of success score).

You have a PhD research background and are proficient in English.

You are looking for a professional experience that:

provides you with a strong sense of purpose and meaning: you will be contributing to the use of scientific evidence for decision-making and public investment, and the improvement of the services offered to the scientific community and promoting open science and open government,
values teamwork and collective contribution over individual performance
enables you to grow, learn and develop within a challenging and supportive environment
allows you to explore new methods and solutions for analysing the results of biomedical research, supporting evidence-based policymaking and measuring impact/outcome.
uses research and scientific evidence as a tool to support policies

Profile

Whom we are looking for

Based in Barcelona, you will work full-time in the quality of researcher. With a PhD in Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science or a related quantitative research field, you are looking for the opportunity to bring your insights and methods to the world of analytics to support policy and strategy for Research & Innovation.

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You want to have a strong positive impact on society and you enjoy discussing strategic issues and advising on policy and strategy, specially in biomedical and clinical domains. You will be part of a multidisciplinary, international team of consultants and experts in strategy and public policy, data scientists and data engineers, a world-wide network of international specialists.

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SIRIS Academic’s recruitment processes integrate a commitment towards gender equality, diversity and inclusion.

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What you will do

You will support the project by:

Designing, implementing, and evaluating NLP, deep learning and ML tools and models applied to biomedical and scientific records, with a specific focus on exploring heterogeneous scientific and policy documents and data sources.
Design and implement strategies to translate research findings into actionable policies and guidelines. Assess existing data sources and frameworks, striving for improvements.
Defining bioNLP tasks about information extraction, information retrieval, and text simplification. Fine-tuning Large Language Models and exploring the use of those optimised for processing biomedical and clinical documents.
Performing data preparation and analysis as well as management and refinement of a variety of data sources.
Implement a system to attribute each specific funding source to research outcomes. Ensure transparency and traceability in tracking the impact of funding on research output.
Work closely with biomedical consulting team and software engineering team to translate strategic questions into methods and to adapt best-performing techniques into production.

Knowledge, skills and abilities

From your academic or professional experience, you know the state of the art of research in NLP and text mining (e.g., you are acquainted with classical NLP methods and/or the latest developments in the field based on Transformer models). Skills in advanced quantitative methods/data science/programming (proficiency in Python) will be necessary.

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Perfect working knowledge of English is required. Working knowledge of other languages is a plus. You have good writing and communication skills.

You have strong organisational skills, and ability to work both autonomously and within a diverse and multidisciplinary team.

Contract

Full time position (40 hours/week). The position is indefinite. We offer a possibility of partial remote work

Hiring Process

January 21st: Deadline for applications
January 22nd to 26th of January: interviews will be realised.
End of January: Final selection
12th of February: Submission of the Torres Quevedo application

CV and cover letter must be addressed to jobs@sirisacademic.com with “Researcher - January 2024” in the email subject line before January 21st.

Benefits

Salary range is dependent on experience and in line with industry standards.
33 days of vacation and an extra holiday on your birthday
Flexible working hours and support for work-life balance.
Complimentary Health insurance included.
Specific bonus tickets are provided to cover either public transportation, childcare, restaurants, or gym memberships.
You will have a workstation in a shared office and a laptop with the operating system of your choice.
Our office is located in downtown Barcelona, close to Mercat de Santa Caterina and is beautiful and lively.
We cover all work and travel-related expenses.
Relocation/moving budget.
We are committed to maintaining an ethical and sustainable working environment.

Context

Who we are and what we do?
What? We are a consulting firm, fully owned by a non for profit Foundation. We work with decision makers in the public or non-profit sector, and provide them with insights, processes and tools, which challenge them to think and enable them to accomplish their mission better.Our services can take many forms: a strategic or analytical report, a business intelligence tool, a participatory workshop, a coaching session, the moderation of a discussion, a political recommendation, etc.But if the form varies, the core is always the same: what matters to us is to help leaders make better, more informed and more accountable decisions for the benefit of the citizens.

‍How? We approach problems as researchers: questioning systematically, proposing models, looking for evidence. We never defend a position which we have not tested as deeply as we can. We provide decision-makers with the tools and arguments to make decisions, but we also understand that their job involves political compromises and that the ideal decision is not always either possible or optimal.

‍Who? Born from research, our team of 45 people is a colourful mix, with specialities ranging from archaeology to physics, and philosophy to biology. Our team is held together by a strong ethical vision, based on the respect of the contribution of everyone, the belief in collective wisdom, and a deep curiosity.

‍Where? Based in Barcelona, we work with leaders and senior management in over 25 countries, helping analyse potential, build capacity and shape strategy for institutions such as philanthropic foundations, the European Commission, agencies and governments and over 200 Universities and Research Centres across the continent.

‍With whom? Our clients are leaders and managers in universities, regional governments, ministries, research organisations, not-for-profit foundations, etc.

‍In which sectors? Currently, most of our activity focuses on the sectors of higher education and research, science & innovation policy.

‍And… why? Deep down, we want to make the world a better place by improving public policies. We are strong believers in the power of science-based evidence, participative approaches and accountability processes to improve the way public policies are designed and decisions taken, day after day.