Post-Doctoral Researcher, Specified Purpose, Department of Computer Science, Maynooth University

While national research centres have a well-structured engagement with existing enterprise, the national ecosystem lacks successful mechanisms for transitioning fundamental research to home grown innovation and entrepreneurship.

The ARC Hub for ICT, led by TU Dublin, is a partnership of 11 national institutions with a primary focus on the Eastern-Midlands region. Through targeted funding it will support ICT researchers who have identified novel, high quality research opportunities that can be accelerated towards rapid commercial impact. The ARC Hub for ICT will deliver strategic support to its funded researchers in three ways. A comprehensive entrepreneurship training programme will provide pre-Hub and through-Hub supports for ICT researchers. Technical and project management development supports will be provided through prototype development, project management, and guidance on operationalising systems. Finally, the Hub will provide commercialisation supports to identify and progress opportunities for licencing, investment, and follow-on funding. The ARC Hub in ICT is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Southern, Eastern and Midland Regional Development 2021-2027.

The Meta Expressions project within the ARC Hub for ICT is based around the need for the development of expressive and engaging virtual characters for a variety of applications. Building such characters requires high quality assets, behaviours and animations. Existing software solutions are emerging addressing some of these challenges; but are high end solutions, designed to be used by highly technically adept users. The expected outcome of this project would be a character development tool, with a UX designed to allow users of different technical abilities to achieve high quality results. Users can design and animate characters, building scenarios and interactions within a game environment. The focus of the app developed here will bridge the gap between these industry-specific applications and non-technical users.

We are seeking an experienced computer graphics researcher/engineer who has knowledge of character animation and game/UX development. The ideal candidate would have some experience with the development of translational development of graphics-based tools, data-driven animation and user-driven development. The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in both advancing the research agenda and driving commercialisation, either through licensing opportunities or by contributing to the creation of a spin-out company

Salary Scale:

Post-Doctoral Researcher (2025)                                          €46,305 – € 46,905 p.a. (2 points with increments)

Appointments will be made in accordance with public sector pay provisions.