Research Associate in Immersive Audio Technology at King’s College London

Location: Strand Campus

Contact details: Zoran Cvetkovic. Zoran.Cvetkovic@kcl.ac.uk

Job description

We are recruiting postdoctoral research associates who will work on a large-scale research programme “Challenges in Immersive Audio Technology (CIAT)” conducted in collaboration between King’s College London, University of Southampton and University of Surrey. There are 6 positions available, two at each university.

ABOUT THE RESEARCH PROGRAMME

Immersive technologies will transform not only how we communicate and experience entertainment, but also our experience of the physical world, from shops to museums, cars to classrooms. However, long-standing fundamental challenges adversely impact on audio technologies, preventing immersion into realistic acoustic scenes in which the audience feels transported to an alternate reality. Specifically, state-of-the-art immersive audio technologies a) suffer from computational requirements preventing real-time creation of high-quality interactive immersive audio experiences, and b) are limited in their ability to efficiently deliver shared auditory experiences in 3D soundscapes to multiple listeners. CIAT’s vision is to overcome these challenges and transform the state of the art by developing a principled, scalable and reconfigurable framework for capturing and reproducing only perceptually relevant information.

Positions:

We are seeking applications from highly motivated candidates for postdoctoral research associate positions at our three partner institutions. Successful candidates will gain extensive opportunities for:

• Collaboration and networking between the three partner institutions and with external academic collaborators, stakeholders, and industry partners, including Stanford CCRMA (US), Kajima (Japan), BBC (UK), and SONOS (UK).
• Travel, including international conferences and workshops, as well as research visits at the partner institutions and Stanford CCRMA.
• Access to state-of-the-art research facilities and resources, e.g., the IoSR-hosted reference listening room, and the ISVR-hosted anechoic chamber.

Specifically, at King’s College London we are recruiting in the two areas detailed below.

1. High quality room acoustics simulation

This work will involve the development of novel methodologies for high quality simulation of environment acoustics in real time and their integration with multichannel and binaural reproduction systems.

We are seeking candidates with the following experience:

• A Ph.D. in audio signal processing or a closely related field.
• Demonstratable experience in acoustics or signal processing research as evidenced by publications in top-tier conferences and journals.
• Excellent programming skills and knowledge of contemporary software packages for use in acoustics and signal processing
• Exceptional problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to engage efficiently in interdisciplinary research and working with non-academic stakeholders.
• Some knowledge and experience of the use of machine learning will be a distinct advantage.

As part of your role, you will:

• Conduct cutting-edge research in audio signal processing.
• Publish and disseminate your findings at top-tier journals and conferences in acoustics and signal processing.
• Contribute to engagement and outreach activities to ensure societal and commercial impact of the research outcomes.

2. Microphone arrays

This work will involve the development of a new microphone array technology capable of recording perceptually relevant sound filed information in a manner that is compatible with a variety of playback formats. We are seeking candidates with the following experience:

• A Ph.D. in audio signal processing, acoustics, or a closely related field.
• Demonstratable experience in acoustics and/or signal processing research as evidenced by publications in top-tier conferences and journals.
• Good programming skills and knowledge of contemporary software packages for use in acoustics and signal processing
• Exceptional problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to engage efficiently in interdisciplinary research and working with non-academic stakeholders.
• Some knowledge and experience of the use of machine learning will be a distinct advantage.

As part of your role, you will:

• Conduct cutting-edge research at the intersection of signal processing and acoustics.
• Publish and disseminate your findings at top-tier journals and conferences in signal processing and/or acoustics.
• Contribute to engagement and outreach activities to ensure societal and commercial impact of the research outcomes.

We aim to schedule interviews for approximately mid-January 2024.

Candidates are encouraged to apply for multiple posts if they feel that their experience is well aligned with the positions.

Thinking of applying but unsure if you meet the requirements? Contact Prof Zoran Cvetkovic (zoran.cvetkovic@kcl.ac.uk) for informal enquiries.

This post will be offered on an a fixed-term contract for 36 months or until 28 February 2027.

This is a full-time post

Key responsibilities

• Research
• Publication and dissemination of research results

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Skills, knowledge, and experience

Essential criteria

1. PhD, or close to completion, in engineering, computer science or a related area.
2. Strong background in signal processing or acoustics.
3. Track record in relevant areas of audio signal processing.
4. Strong publication record.
5. Ability to work independently and collaboratively.

Desirable criteria

1. Track record of research in immersive audio technology.
2. Knowledge of AI/machine learning.
3. Strong programming skills.