Connectionists: JOB: Research Assistant to work on machine learning project entitled “Deep Sequencing Learning for Smart Virtual Assistants”.

[Danny Silver]

The Acadia Institute for Data Analytics, Acadia University, is looking for a Research Assistant to work on a short-term machine learning project entitled “Deep Sequencing Learning for Smart Virtual Assistants”.


The Project

The project aims to develop, test & apply innovative sequential event models to predict customer actions and recommend company actions to achieve pre-configured business goals.  A sequence (state-action) learning approach will be taken using memory-based recurrent deep learning (RNN) and/or recurrent reinforcement learning (RRL) methods.  The ideal candidate will be able to work independently on data preparation, machine learning software development / modifications, model development, and model testing.  The work will be done under the guidance of Dr. Danny Silver, Acadia University and in collaboration with Mr. Shameer Iqbal of Singolar Inc.  Preference will be given to candidates interested in continuing on to work with Singolar following the successful completion of the project.



Essential and Desirable Skills

A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Math or Computer Science; a background in data analytics & machine learning; strong oral & written skills (a publication record would be welcome), and a track record of working effectively in a team on complex problems is required.  Specifically, the person should be proficient in programming with Python (preferred), MATLAB or R;  have good knowledge of machine learning libraries like Theano, Tensor Flow, Keras; comfortable working with Linux and parallel processing machines, including cloud-based services such as AWS; demonstrate deep knowledge of artificial neural networks; and have experience building accurate time series & sequential event models with recurrent  neural networks and / or reinforcement learning algorithms.  Knowledge of data mining suites such as Weka or RapidMiner; and any background in Natural Language Processing would be a plus. The  candidate should be capable of independently preparing data (ETL functions of cleaning, consolidating, transforming data) for machine learning purposes.



Schedule and Remuneration

The project will run for 18 weeks, starting October 31, 2016 to March 3, 2017.  The pay is $25 per hour (plus 4% vacation pay) for 35 hours per week for 16 weeks over his period.  The project will pause for two weeks over the Christmas holidays (Dec 21 – Jan 03).



How to Apply / Get Project Information

For more information or to apply, contact danny.silver at acadiau.ca<mailto:danny.silver at acadiau.ca>.  When applying, please include a covering email, CV, and the names and contact information (addresses, email, phone number) of three referees.  Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed beginning October 10, 2016.  Interested candidates should familiarize themselves with the work of Dr. Silver<http://plato.acadiau.ca/courses/comp/dsilver> and Singolar<http://www.singolar.com/>.  Further information on the Acadia Institute for Data Analytics can be found at http://aida.acadiau.ca.

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Daniel L. Silver, Ph.D.       danny.silver at acadiau.ca<mailto:danny.silver at acadiau.ca>
Professor and Acting-Director, Jodrey School of Computer Science
Director, Acadia Institute for Data Analytic
Acadia University, Office 314, Carnegie Hall, Wolfville, NS Canada B4P2R6
p:902-585-1413              f:902-585-1067

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