The University of Reading and Focaldata are looking to hire a researcher with a good degree of familiarity with Stan to fill a two year post, which will involve applied research with Dr Richard Everitt and Dr Tom Thorne at Reading, and Dr Takao Noguchi at Focaldata.
The core of work will be research around MRP (multi-level regression with poststratification). Areas we’re keen to explore:
- Integration of spatial smoothing with MRP
- Discovering population clusters with similar behaviour and opinion on non-political topics (e.g., Dirichlet process)
- Uncovering temporal dynamics of public opinion
The position is called a KTP associate. The position combines academic research with commercial focus. The candidate is expected to publish papers and also work in a commercial environment with real-world clients.
You should have
- MSc or PhD in statistics, computer science, economics, mathematics, cognitive science, physics or other quantitative field
- Experience in applied Bayesian statistical modeling
- Fluency in Python or R
- Interest in campaigns, politics, or public opinion.
- Passion and eagerness to constantly learn and teach others
Preferred Qualifications
- Knowledge of relational database and cloud computing infrastructure
- Knowledge of version control software such as git
- Experience with bayesian probabilistic programming using languages such as Stan (preferably as this is what we use), or pymc3
- Internship or work experience in applied statistics or machine learning
- Experience with MRP (multilevel regression and poststratification)
- Management of collaborative research projects in an academic or software engineering setting
Please reach out to justin@focaldata.com if you’re interested!