Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) has a vacancy for a talented

Scientific programmer,

for the development of prototype software to bring evolutionary machine learning into clinical practice.

Job description
The Life Sciences and Health (LSH) research group of the Dutch national research institute for mathematics and computer science (CWI, Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica) located in Amsterdam has a vacancy for a scientific programmer, for a total duration of 3 years and 3 months on the development of prototype software to bring Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques, in particular (combinations of) evolutionary algorithms and machine learning algorithms, into clinical practice (at Leiden University Medical Center (UMC) and Amsterdam UMC).

CWI closely collaborates with UMCs on innovations in the medical domain along the entire spectrum from algorithmic foundations to clinical integration. CWI is looking for a talented scientific programmer to work on prototype software that translates our novel AI algorithms into easily useable software for clinicians. In particular, the position entails making contributions to 3 research projects.

The first project, funded by the Dutch cancer society (KWF) and company partner Elekta, concerns our award-wining research line on automated internal radiation treatment, i.e., brachytherapy, planning. In a previous project, CWI and Amsterdam UMC have created highly innovative AI technology that is already used in the clinic at Amsterdam UMC for prostate cancer treatment. In the current KWF project, this technology is being advanced and extended to cervical cancer. For our novel approach to brachytherapy to be user-friendly and widely useable, first a well-designed Graphical User Interface (GUI) needs to be developed that is tailored to our AI approach that finds multiple, different, treatment plans for the physician to choose from. Second, the software needs to be made compatible with certain data format standards to allow easy integration in the current clinical workflow. Moreover, the development of the GUI, linked to the treatment planning optimization, needs to be done according to European Medical Device Regulations (MDR), i.e., self-developed medical software should comply to general safety and performance demands, which are documented in a quality-management system.

The second project, funded by the Dutch science foundation (NWO) and company partners Elekta and Ortec Logiqcare, concerns a novel research line on decentralized architecture search for deep learning, leveraging evolutionary algorithms, and mainly for medical image analysis purposes. The goal of the scientific programmer position is to create a prototype implementation of the resulting technology that is MDR compliant, allowing results to safely and directly be used in the clinic. Different from the first project, the tasks pertaining to this project will thus be more on the side of algorithmic programming than on user interaction.

The third project, funded by NWO and company partners Elekta and Xomnia, concerns novel AI technologies for the deformable alignment of medical images (commonly known as deformable image registration). The goal here is a combination of the two projects above in that a GUI needs to be designed that makes it intuitive for a user to interact with our AI technology that proposes multiple solutions, as well as ensuring that the underlying algorithms (of which we have multiple types in this project) are implemented in a unified way.

The three projects of which this position is a part, are closely related and additionally consist of a total of 9 Ph.D. students and 2 part-time Radiation Therapy Technologists (RTTs), most of whom focus on the technological AI side, but all of which have interactions with clinicians to discuss the underlying problems and data. All Ph.D. students and RTTs are intended to collaborate, also with the scientific programmer. Moreover, the LSH group at CWI has a dedicated scientific software developer who will also be involved in all these projects and will serve as the daily supervisor of the scientific programmer.

Candidates are required to have an M.Sc. degree in computer science, artificial intelligence, or similar areas with relevant experience. If you are obtaining your M.Sc. degree soon, you are also invited to respond.

Applicants are required to have excellent programming skills in common programming languages, including Python and C/C++, as well as experience with both Linux and Microsoft Windows operating systems. Experience with CUDA and Qt are in addition a clear plus. Applicants are further expected to have an excellent command of English.

It is essential that you have a clear interest in working in an environment of both fundamental research and applied research to the medical domain. We expect a flexible, can-do mentality and attitude with a willingness to cooperate with experts across different disciplines (including computer science and medicine).

Diversity code
CWI encourages a diverse workforce: we endeavour to develop talent and creativity by bringing people from different backgrounds and cultures together. We recruit and select based on capabilities and talent. We strongly encourage everyone with the appropriate qualifications to apply for the vacancy, regardless of age, gender, origin, sexual orientation or physical abilities.

Fixed-term contract: 12 months.

The terms of employment are in accordance with the Dutch Collective Labour Agreement for Research Centres ("CAO-onderzoeksinstellingen"). The gross monthly salary for an employee on a full time basis, depending on relevant work experience, ranges from € 2.846 to € 4,514. The total duration of this position is 3 years and 3 months (39 months) for a full-time employee. The initial appointment will be for a period of 12 months. Contract extension for the remaining duration of this position (i.e., 2 years and 3 months (27 months) is considered only if the first period has been positively evaluated.

Employees are also entitled to a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary and a year-end bonus of 8.33%. CWI offers attractive working conditions, including flexible scheduling.

Please visit our websites for more information about our terms of employment:
https://www.cwi.nl/jobs/terms-of-employment and
https://www.nwo-i.nl/en/working-at-nwo-i/jobsatnwoi/

Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica

Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) is the Dutch national research institute for mathematics and computer science and is an institute of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). The mission of CWI is to conduct pioneering research in mathematics and computer science, generating new knowledge in these fields and conveying it to trade, industry, and society at large. CWI is an internationally oriented institute, with 160 scientists from approximately 30 countries. The facilities are first-rate and include excellent IT support, career planning, training, and courses. CWI is located at Amsterdam Science Park which is home to one of the largest concentrations of beta science in Europe. A melting pot of innovation. Companies looking to collaborate can work together with brilliant students, scientists and fellow entrepreneurs. Collectively they develop revolutionary solutions for today's issues and tomorrow's challenges.