Research Fellow in Computer Vision and ML - 9-month fixed term contract

Department Department of Computer Science Location City Centre Campus (STEAM House) Salary £39,002 to £44,131 per annum 9-month fixed term contract. For existing Birmingham City University employees, this opportunity may be offered as a secondment, subject to agreement with your current line manager. Post Type Full Time Release Date 11 September 2026 Closing Date 23.59 hours BST on Friday 18 September 2026 Reference ABCE26058 About Birmingham City University

At Birmingham City University, we are a diverse and inclusive learning community of over 31,400 students from more than 120 countries. We aim to become an exemplar anchor institution, creating and sharing knowledge for a better and more inclusive society. We are committed to providing a transformational educational experience, supporting world-class research, and fostering a collaborative and supportive working environment for our staff.

Recognised as one of the UK’s Top 250 employers (Financial Times \& Statista), we pride ourselves on being a place where colleagues feel valued, supported, and able to grow their careers while contributing to the success of our students and communities.

Our student demographic reflects the rich cultural and ethnic diversity of Birmingham itself, with a significant proportion of students from minoritised ethnic backgrounds and the majority of our home students coming from the West Midlands. This diversity is a strength, and it calls for a workforce that is equipped to challenge deficit narratives and thinking — those assumptions that position students from underrepresented groups as lacking rather than recognising their assets, strengths and potential.

By embracing this perspective, we aim to create an environment where all students and colleagues can thrive, and where our work contributes positively to the social, cultural and economic life of Birmingham and beyond.

Role Summary

We are seeking a Research Fellow in Computer Vision and ML to join our Department of Computing, supporting the delivery of high-quality services across the University.

In this role, you will support the completion of an ongoing project, during which the university assists in developing an industrial computer vision system for a manufacturing company. This role presents an exciting opportunity to work in collaboration with leading academics at BCU to apply knowledge and technical innovation, delivered on site at the company.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop computer vision solutions for quality assurance (QA) on industrial manufacturing lines, identifying defects and advancing the goal of 100% part inspection.
• Develop and improve upon novel (QA) computer vision solutions for the company. This will include improvements to camera systems to capture data from each part without interfering with production, capturing datasets of manufactured components and improving and training machine learning (ML) approaches. To provide optimal solutions for the company, the candidate will need to research and build upon current state-of-the-art methods.
• Interact with colleagues at the company as well as academic supervisors at BCU. Their work will involve disseminating and embedding the techniques developed at the company, in addition to academic dissemination of their work via paper submissions and conference talks.
• Be adept at applying their knowledge to commercial projects, driving value and making an impact where possible, with an ability to solve problems and create innovative solutions.

Essential Requirements

• PhD or equivalent qualification in Computer Science, Mathematics or a related STEM field.
• Strong technical, programming, problem-solving and research capability, demonstrated in previous projects.
• Proven academic or professional experience in developing computer vision solutions, particularly camera systems and/or neural network classifiers.
• Academic acumen and experience developing research publications in academic journals and/or marketing/training materials;
• Communication and educational skills to express ideas effectively, orally, graphically and in writing to articulate complicated matters between the academics and the company project team members, and develop networks academically and within the company.
• An ability to work to tight deadlines (with attention to detail) and maintain high standards of work.
• An ability and aptitude to work effectively as part of an interdisciplinary team; and self-management and planning skills to make optimum use of time; and
• Strong leadership skills in successfully implementing and embedding new innovations within a company or organisation
• Ability to develop business cases, justify expenditure and quantify benefits of the project.

Desirable Requirements

• Experience with front and back-end web development.
• Relevant work experience, particularly involving computer vision and manufacturing.

Further Information

If you are excited by the opportunity to help shape the future of Department of Computing, we would love to hear from you.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact David Walton, at David.walton@bcu.ac.uk.

Interviews for this role are provisionally scheduled to take place in the week commencing 28 September 2026.

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Why work for us

• Work–life balance – Generous leave and hybrid working (role dependent).
• Career development – Opportunities to grow, develop and progress your career.
• Reward and wellbeing – Competitive pay, pension, wellbeing support and staff benefits.
• Inclusive culture – A supportive, diverse environment where everyone belongs.

Visa Sponsorship

This role may be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route, subject to meeting the relevant criteria. For further information, please visit: gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa