Job Description

Salary: £33,951 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 25 September 2026

The Role

We are excited to launch this new opportunity for a two part-time Research Assistant in AI for Financial Forecasting, Data Modeling, and Multi-Agent Systems to join us in the School of Engineering at Newcastle University.

You will join a collaborative research community based in Newcastle and work with Dr Ekin Can Erkus and Professor Rishad Shafik within the School of Engineering. The role is part of the wider SONNETS network, which brings together Newcastle University, the University of Southampton, and Imperial College London.

Funded through an EPSRC Programme Grant, SONNETS develops computer modeling and artificial intelligence methods for national-level financial risk analysis, including work toward a digital twin of the UK's financial system. Your research will contribute practical methods and evidence to this cross-institutional programme and its wider impact on financial risk analysis.

The role will focus on practical AI research for financial forecasting, data modeling, and multi-agent or agentic systems. Working with Dr Ekin Can Erkus, Professor Rishad Shafik, and the wider SONNETS project, you will prepare tabular and time series datasets, implement Python-based forecasting and regression experiments, test AI-assisted workflow components, and prepare technical outputs for project meetings, reports, and academic papers.

We are particularly keen to hear from candidates with a strong interest in artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, financial forecasting, reproducible programming, and collaboration across a diverse network of specialists. Strong Python skills are required. Experience with SQL, data pipelines, scikit-learn, NumPy, pandas, R, Git/GitHub, Jupyter notebooks, Power BI or equivalent visual analytics tools, cloud or API-based AI tools, LLM workflows, agent orchestration, retrieval-augmented generation, or automated machine learning pipelines is relevant to the role; applicants are not expected to have experience in all of these areas.

Appointment will be at Research Assistant level, Grade F, depending on qualifications and experience against the University role profile. This is a part-time post for 20 hours per week, fixed term for 6 months.

We follow the Researcher Development Concordat and enable all colleagues to fulfil their research potential regardless of career stage. This commitment secures our thriving research culture and vibrant research environment. Our offer to each individual and their researcher development includes mentoring, annual research planning discussions, pooled research funding to support career development and research activities, and peer review support for the development of research and innovation funding applications.

You will report to Professor Rishad Shafik and work with Dr Ekin Can Erkus. We want you to feel confident when applying for a position with Newcastle University.

If you would like an informal discussion to clarify any points, please contact Dr Ekin Can Erkus at ekin.erkus@newcastle.ac.uk and Professor Rishad Shafik at rishad.shafik@newcastle.ac.uk.

We are committed to making the process accessible to everyone and can provide additional support or adjustments to meet individual needs.

How to apply

Please provide a Curriculum Vitae and a cover letter that gives evidence of how you meet the essential criteria. The cover letter should include examples that address the following points:

• Your experience in artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, computer science, engineering, mathematics, statistics, finance, economics, or a closely related discipline, together with your current qualification status, including whether you hold an honours degree, are in the final year of a relevant Master's programme, or have completed a relevant Master's degree
• Your programming experience, particularly in Python, and any experience with scikit-learn, NumPy, pandas, PyTorch, TensorFlow, R, SQL, Git/GitHub, Jupyter notebooks, APIs, cloud tools, or reproducible research software
• Your experience with regression, forecasting, time series data, tabular data, financial or economic data, operational datasets, data visualisation, or dashboarding tools
• Your experience or interest in multi-agent systems, agentic AI, large language model workflows, retrieval-augmented generation, automated machine learning workflows, explainable AI, or model interpretability
• Your experience in academic writing, technical reporting, literature review, software documentation, presentations, publications, posters, or draft research outputs, and your ability to communicate technical material clearly, work with other project members, and manage tasks within a 20-hour-per-week role.

What happens next

Interviews will be held shortly after the closing date.

Key Accountabilities

• Collect, clean, curate, and analyse financial time series, economic indicators, operational datasets, transactional datasets, synthetic data, and scenario-driven data streams relevant to financial risk analysis
• Develop an agentic workflow for financial forecasting, model development, experiment management, and research automation
• Collect, analyse and interpret research data and draw conclusions on the outcomes
• Co-ordinate own work with that of others, use problem solving to affect the achievement of research objectives and contribute to the planning of the project(s)
• Present information on research progress and outcomes to a Principal Investigator or groups overseeing the research project
• Write up results from own research activity and provide input into the research project’s dissemination, in whatever form (report, papers, chapters, books)
• Use research resources (including, where required, laboratories, workshops and specialist equipment) as appropriate

The Person (Essential)

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Knowledge of, or experience in, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, computer science, computer engineering, applied mathematics, statistics, finance, economics, or a closely related discipline, together with good Python programming skills and the ability to write clear, documented, and reproducible research codes
• Knowledge of, or interest in, multi-agent systems, agentic AI, large language model workflows, retrieval-augmented generation, and automated machine learning pipelines
• Attention to detail and ability to work at high levels of accuracy
• Ability to present complex information effectively to a range of audiences
• Proven ability to analyse data and write-up results
• Experience of working collaboratively with colleagues
• Excellent IT skills in all major office applications
• The ability to use personal initiative and creativity to solve research problems

Attributes and Behaviour

• Commitment to working positively as a member of a multi-skilled research team
• Ability to negotiate and prioritise multiple, competing responsibilities and to work to deadlines
• Commitment to continued professional development
• Understanding of good practice in equality, inclusion and diversity

Qualifications

• Honours degree in computer science, data science, artificial intelligence, electrical or electronic engineering, mathematics, statistics, finance, economics, or a closely related discipline
• A Master’s degree in a relevant subject (desirable)

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

Requisition ID: 29733