This 12-month fellowship with the possibility of a multi-year extension unites interdisciplinary academic expertise to pursue fundamentally new foundation models, moving beyond incremental refinement of existing models. The fellow will help advance open, distributed, and trustworthy AI systems, positioning the UK at the centre of global efforts to shape the future of open AI. Ideally the fellow will be interested in innovation and spinouts.
SOFAIR - Science of Fundamental AI Research Lab. SOFAIR is a consortium of leading academic researchers from across the UK, with partners Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities, and led by UCL. The SOFAIR Lab will pursue fundamentally new AI architectures, moving beyond incremental refinement of existing models. By advancing open, distributed, and trustworthy AI systems, SOFAIR will extend the UK‑LLM initiative, stimulate innovation and spin‑outs, and position the UK at the centre of global efforts to shape the future of open AI.
Research Fellow: Postholders will undertake internationally excellent research as members of SOFAIR's interdisciplinary research programme, developing and testing original approaches to fundamental AI and contributing to the Lab's collective research objectives.
Senior Research Fellow: In addition to the responsibilities of a Research Fellow, postholders appointed at Senior Research Fellow level will be expected to demonstrate substantial research independence and provide intellectual and strategic leadership. They will initiate and lead research programmes, shape SOFAIR's scientific direction, develop collaborations and funding opportunities, mentor researchers, manage significant research resources, and contribute to the Lab's governance and organisational development. The UCL Centre for Artificial Intelligence hosts the EPSRC AI Hub in Generative Models as well as the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Foundational Artificial Intelligence.
This post is advertised at UCL Grade 7 to Grade 10 dependent on relevant experience
Grade 7 - Research fellow salary scale (£43,981-£54,019) inclusive of London Allowance, Grade 8- Senior Research Fellow salary scale (£ 56,431-£62,903) inclusive of London Allowance, Grade 9 - (£68,284- £76,166) inclusive of London Allowance, Grade 10 starting at £80,594 inclusive of London Allowance
Funding for this post is available until 15th December 2027 in the first instance.
About you
The successful candidate will be expected to conduct research of the highest international standard, working collaboratively with researchers across machine learning, statistics, computer science and related disciplines. The postholder will contribute to the development of innovative theoretical and practical approaches to foundation models, disseminate findings through leading conferences and journals, and help foster an open, collaborative and inclusive research environment.
A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page. If you have any queries regarding the vacancy or the application process, please contact David Barber (david.barber@ucl.ac.uk)
What we offer
Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Our department holds an Athena SWAN Gold award, in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality. You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/.
£43,981 to £80,594. Grade 7 - 10