The Signal Processing Division and the Collaborative Research Centre Hearing Acoustics at the Department of Medical Physics and Acoustics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences are seeking to fill the position of a

Research Scientist (PhD Student)

The position is available from 01.08.2023 for 3 years, with salary according to TV-L E13 (75%)

The main activities of the Signal Processing Division (https://uol.de/en/mediphysics-acoustics/sigproc) centre around signal processing for acoustical and biomedical applications, with a focus on hearing aids and speech communication devices. More specifically, research topics in the areas of microphone array processing, speech enhancement and acoustic scene analysis are addressed, using a combination of model-based statistical signal processing techniques and data-driven machine learning methods. The Signal Processing Division has access to excellent high-performance computing facilities, measurement equipment and labs, e.g., a unique lab with variable acoustics.

The Collaborative Research Centre Hearing Acoustics (https://uol.de/en/sfb-1330-hearing-acoustics) aims at a fundamentally better quantitative understanding of the principles underlying the processing of complex auditory and audio-visual scenes, the implementation of this knowledge in algorithms for perceptual enhancement of acoustic communication, and the evaluation of these algorithms for different applications. The successful candidate is expected to investigate unsupervised/semi-supervised learning algorithms for speech enhancement and source localization within a hybrid computational acoustic scene analysis (CASA) framework. Using this CASA framework, we aim at leveraging the potential of recent machine learning methods while maintaining the interpretability of conventional signal processing modules through high-level interpretable latent variables.

Responsibilities/Tasks

• carry out research on acoustical signal processing algorithms for speech enhancement and source localization, involving algorithm design, implementation, and experimental validation;
• write scientific papers for international conferences and journals;
• actively participate in the research meetings and seminars at the Department of Medical Physics and Acoustics 

• Candidates are required to have an academic university degree (Master or equivalent) in electrical engineering, engineering physics, hearing technology and audiology or a related discipline, excellent grades and a solid scientific background in at least two of the following fields: speech and audio signal processing, machine learning, acoustics.
• Familiarity with scientific tools and programming languages (e.g., python) as well as excellent English language skills (both oral and written) are required.
• For the envisaged research project, experience with unsupervised/semi-supervised learning methods and acoustical signal processing algorithms is beneficial.

The University of Oldenburg is dedicated to increasing the percentage of women in science. Therefore, equally qualified female candidates will be given preference. Applicants with disabilities will be preferentially considered in case of equal qualification.

To apply for this position, please send your application (ref. SP232) including a letter of motivation with a statement of skills and research interests (max. 1 page), curriculum vitae, and a copy of the university diplomas and transcripts to University of Oldenburg, Fakultät VI, Abt. Signalverarbeitung, Prof. Dr. Simon Doclo, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany, or electronically to . Application by email is preferred. The application deadline is 21.04.2023.