Imaging and Digitalisation Senior Research Officer

Job title:

Imaging and Digitalisation Senior Research Officer

Company

Teagasc

Job description

Job DescriptionDuration:Permanent . A panel may be formed from which future similar vacancies may be filled; such a panel will remain active for a maximum period of 12 months.Basic Function:Teagasc seeks to appoint a Senior Research Officer with demonstrated experience in imaging, optical sensors and associated machine learning and AI approaches. The successful applicant will develop a dynamic research programme to advance the state-of-the-art in digitalisation and to support food research and adoption in industry, with an emphasis on meat processing. The successful candidate will take a leadership role in developing a research programme focused on applications for imaging/spectral imaging and vision systems in food characterization, process monitoring and automation. Ensuring the collection of high quality data, the candidate will be responsible for coordinating and participating in laboratory and in-factory trials. The appointee will be expected to attract significant external collaborative public research funding in the area of food industry digitalisation. They will support ongoing projects, including Meat Technology Ireland, develop and maintain collaborative contacts with industry and undertake client- commissioned research and development projects. The successful candidate will build an internationally-recognised research team in the area of food digitalisation and AI, supporting meat and prepared consumer foods sectors. The research will be carried out in collaboration with Teagasc colleagues, external collaborators and relevant stakeholders.Background:Teagasc has an expanding research programme in food digitalisation and is seeking to recruit an excellent digitalisation scientist, experienced in imaging and machine vision, sensors alongside state of the art data analytics methods of relevance to critical food industry challenges. Such challenges include sustainability, efficiency, quality monitoring and the need for increasing automation in the meat sector.The mission of Teagasc is to assist the growth and development of the Irish food industry through excellence in research, advice and training. The multi-disciplinary campus at Ashtown, Dublin 15 consists of research and analytical laboratories and food processing pilot plants with an international research community in a collegial environment. Teagasc Ashtown also has an international reputation as a centre of excellence in Meat Science. Researchers at the Centre collaborate both nationally and internationally with other institutes and universities in publicly funded research and development projects and industry contracts. Of pivotal national importance, the Centre works closely with the food industry to ensure that outputs from the research programme contribute to supporting sustainability and competitiveness in the food sector.The successful candidate will have experience in leading teams and will be required to bring competence in digitalisation research to meat science and prepared consumer foods research questions. They will develop collaborations with Teagasc colleagues, external collaborators at national and international level and relevant stakeholders. The successful candidate will have a leadership role in research and development, and will contribute to activities in the Teagasc Meat Industry Digitalisation Testbed. This newly established research platform includes a range of Industry 4.0 technologies, including a state of the art helical CT scanner, laboratory and portable sensors, computer vision equipment, additive manufacturing, an industrial robot cell and a collaborative robotics platform, with a focus on conducting research that will be transformative of the Irish meat processing landscape. The researcher will also have access to Teagasc computational resources and extensive research facilities at Ashtown for comprehensive food analysis and characterization and will be encouraged to build linkages with related research programmes ongoing in other Teagasc centres.Job Objectives

• To bring competence in digital technologies to challenges in food characterization, process analytics, Industry 4.0 and automation with a view to underpinning digital transformation in the Irish meat and prepared consumer food processing sectors.
• To develop, lead and manage a research programme focused on digitalisation and automation in meat and prepared consumer food processing and to manage the resultant IP, publication of results and technology transfer activities.
• To attract significant competitive funding from Irish and European/international agencies with the objective of supporting the research programme and building critical mass.
• To manage staff, students and resources assigned to the research programme and to build a team of post-doctoral researchers and post-graduate students in the area of food imaging and digitalisation,
• To contribute to and actively engage in strategic planning within the Food Programme.
• To develop an international profile in digitalisation and automation in food processing through peer reviewed publications.
• To assist Teagasc in meeting the commitments of the Quality Customer Service Charter and Action Plan.
• To actively participate in the annual business planning and Performance Management Development System (PMDS) processes.
• Fully co-operate with the provisions made for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of themselves, fellow staff and non-Teagasc staff and co-operate with management in enabling Teagasc to comply with legal obligations. This includes full compliance with the responsibilities outlined in the Safety Statement.
• Any other duties as may be assigned from time to time

• This job specification is intended as a guide to the general range of duties and is intended to be neither definitive nor restrictive. It will be reviewed from time to time with the post holder.

Skills RequirementEssentialDesirableQualifications

• An honours Level 8 degree, (as recognised on the

or ), in Engineering/Computer Science/Physics or a related discipline. * A PhD degree in a relevant disciplineNote: While a PhD is an essential requirement for this post, equivalent research experience may be deemed acceptable solely at the discretion of the Director of Teagasc

• Experience in use of applied AI, imaging, spectroscopy or other digital technologies to address research questions applied to food science or automation will be a distinct advantage.

Skills

• Nationally/internationally recognised experience in a range of imaging and sensors approaches with relevance to food digitalisation.
• Documented experience in contemporary AI approaches.
• Relevant research experience with imaging or spectroscopy hardware applied to biological or food process characterisation.
• Demonstrated ability to manage research projects.
• Documented evidence of research skills: literature reviewing, experimental design, data management, statistical analysis and experiment implementation.
• Demonstrated evidence of communication skills: documented verbal, written, scientific and technical outputs.
• Documented evidence of ability to manage teams
• Ability to initiate and lead a research programme.
• Excellent inter-personal skills.
• Strategic awareness, innovation & change management skills.
• Engaging and consultative leadership skills that demonstrate best practice in people and programme management.
• Computer literate, with proficiency in the use of MS Office, Word, excel, Powerpoint and Outlook.

• Demonstrated experience in application of a wide range of imaging, sensors or AI approaches to meat / food science research questions
• Documented experience in deep learning, reinforcement learning or generative AI approaches.
• Understanding of food structure and impact of processing
• Documented experience of deep learning methods and relevant tools and programming environments, e.g. Python, TensorFlow, SciKitLearn, R,
• Documented experience in Industry 4.0 platform technologies such as digital twins and IIOT applied to food systems
• Aptitude for multidisciplinary approaches.
• Knowledge of approaches for meat characterisation
• Understanding of technology transfer pathways.
• Track record in attracting research funding.
• Proven record of supervision and mentoring of early career researchers.

Behavioural Competencies

• Capacity to successfully develop collaborative links with national and international research organisations and stakeholders.
• Ability to work on own initiative and to lead a team, including consulting, collaborating and building relationships with key stakeholders.
• Strives for internationally recognised quality of work and demonstrates commitment to the programme.
• Flexible approach to work with an ability to prioritize tasks effectively.
• Ability to communicate effectively to enable knowledge and technology transfer.
• Demonstration of innovation within previous research.
• A results-driven individual with a strong focus on goal-setting, performance delivery and accountability.
• A proactive, solutions-focused approach to work with an ability to adapt to changing requirements.
• Ability to set clear standards, to lead by example, with a quality customer service focus.

OtherAs this role will involve driving vehicles, candidates must satisfy and continue to satisfy during employment with Teagasc, legal requirements to drive a car unaccompanied on Irish public roads.Note: The ‘essential’ qualifications, knowledge, skills and behavioural competencies outlined above are ‘must-have’ which will be used in the selection process.

Expected salary

€74244 per year

Location

Ashtown, Dublin

Job date

Sat, 15 Mar 2025 06:24:45 GMT

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