2 PhD positions in Computer Vision

The University of Amsterdam (UvA) and TomTom are opening a new research lab called 'ATLAS Lab' consisting of one Tenure Track Assistant professor and five PhD students. The focus of the new lab will be on developing advanced, highly accurate and safe maps for automated vehicles (HD maps), using Artificial Intelligence. These HD maps include detailed geometric and semantic representations of elements in a road network, such as lane dividers, traffic signs, traffic lights, junctions, etc. The ATLAS Lab is a research collaboration between UvA and TomTom, Amsterdam, and is part of ICAI, the national Innovation Centre for AI, based in the Amsterdam Science Park.

For our new lab, we are seeking two PhD candidates in the field of computer vision and deep learning. Topics include representation and transfer learning for object detection and segmentation within a diverse set of learning paradigms (e.g. weakly/semi/self supervised), and quantifying uncertainty. Sensor data is assumed to be multi-modal and includes camera, LiDAR, and positional sensors.

We will be working on fundamental aspects, deep learning models, and algorithms. In particular, we are looking for PhD candidates on the following projects:

• Project 1: Structured segmentation
• Project 2: Sparse data representation for point clouds segmentation.

What are you going to do?

You are going to carry out AI research and development in one of the two projects mentioned above, as part of the Atlas lab (in total 5 PhD students of which three of them are already hired) at the University of Amsterdam. There will also be regular visits to and interactions with researchers at TomTom (Amsterdam). At the University of Amsterdam, you will be supervised by prof. Gevers, as well as an assistant professor we are currently hiring.

Your tasks will be to:

• develop new machine learning methods within the context of one of the five research projects;
• collaborate with other researchers within the lab and TomTom;
• complete and defend a PhD thesis within the official appointment duration of four years;
• regularly present intermediate research results at international conferences and workshops, and publish them in proceedings and journals;
• assist in relevant teaching activities.

• A Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, or related field;
• a strong background in computer vision and machine learning;
• excellent programming skills preferably in Python;
• solid mathematics foundations, especially statistics, calculus and linear algebra;
• strong communication, presentation and writing skills and excellent command of English.

We also expect you to behighly motivated and creative.

Our offer

A temporary contract for 38 hours per week, preferably starting as soon as possible for the duration of 48 months. Initial employment is 18 months and after a positive evaluation, the contractwill be extended further with 30 months and should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). You will get a customized Training and Supervision Plan, that will be evaluated every year.

The salary, depending on relevant experience before the beginning of the employment contract, will be €2,395 to €3,061 (scale P) gross per month, based on 38 hours a week. This is exclusive 8 % holiday allowance and 8,3 % end-of-year bonus. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Take a look here.

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 7,000, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The mission of the Informatics Institute is to perform curiosity-driven and use-inspired fundamental research in Computer Science. Main research themes are Artificial Intelligence, Computational Science and Systems and Network Engineering. Our research involves complex information systems at large, with a focus on collaborative, data driven, computational and intelligent systems, all with a strong interactive component.

The Atlas Lab is embedded in the Intelligent Sensory Information Systems and Computer Vision Groups, two groups within the Informatics Institute working on visual recognition and retrieval. Each project will be done in collaboration with experts from TomTom. The lab will be part of the Innovation Center for Artificial Intelligence, a Netherlands initiative focused on joint technology development between academia, industry and government in the area of artificial intelligence.