Academic Research Mentor & Publication Advisor, AI, Machine Learning & Information Retrieval

Position: Academic Research & Publication Advisor Location: Remote / International Employment Type: Part-Time, Contract / Academic Advisory Qualifications: PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Information Retrieval, or a closely related discipline About the OpportunityWe are seeking an experienced PhD graduate, postdoctoral researcher, or academic with a strong publication record in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence to provide research mentorship and academic guidance to an experienced AI engineers. The objective is to develop a portfolio of original, peer-reviewed research publications over a three-year period in preparation for an application to the University of Reading's PhD by Published Works programme in the United Kingdom. The ideal candidate has practical experience conducting and publishing academic research in AI, machine learning, information retrieval, search engine technologies, or related computational disciplines. This role combines academic mentorship, research methodology, experimental design, scholarly writing, and publication strategy. Key ResponsibilitiesResearch Planning & Methodology Evaluate existing engineering projects, source code, datasets, and experimental results for academic research potential. Identify original research questions, hypotheses, and contributions suitable for peer-reviewed publication. Establish rigorous research methodologies, experimental frameworks, and evaluation criteria. Advise on research ethics, reproducibility, statistical validity, and academic standards. Literature Review & Experimental Research Guide systematic literature reviews and identify research gaps in relevant computer science and AI fields. Recommend academic sources, benchmark datasets, baseline models, and appropriate evaluation metrics. Assist with designing, conducting, and documenting baseline experiments. Provide technical and methodological feedback on experiments and research findings. Help translate practical engineering achievements into defensible academic contributions. Academic Writing & Publications Mentor the researcher in structuring and preparing original academic manuscripts. Provide guidance on literature reviews, methodology sections, experimental results, critical analysis, and conclusions. Review manuscript drafts for academic quality, clarity, methodological rigour, and publication readiness. Identify reputable, Scopus-indexed journals and recognised conferences appropriate to each research contribution. Advise on submission requirements, peer-review responses, revisions, and resubmissions. Support a coordinated publication strategy that develops a coherent body of doctoral-level research. Long-Term Research Advisory Establish publication milestones across a three-year research programme. Conduct periodic research reviews and provide feedback on progress. Advise on academic integrity, authorship standards, research documentation, and publication ethics. Help prepare a cohesive research portfolio suitable for preliminary assessment under a PhD by Published Works pathway.

Required Qualifications

Completed PhD from a recognised university in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Information Retrieval, or a related field. Demonstrated record of original research published in reputable peer-reviewed journals or international conference proceedings. Experience with Scopus-indexed publications and academic peer-review processes. Strong understanding of research methodology, experimental design, literature reviews, and statistical evaluation. Practical research knowledge in one or more of the following areas: search engines, information retrieval, neural ranking, natural language processing, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), large language models, or scalable AI systems. Experience mentoring researchers, graduate students, engineers, or early-career academics. Excellent academic writing, critical review, and communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

Current or previous appointment as a university researcher, postdoctoral fellow, lecturer, or research scientist. First-author or corresponding-author publications in established computer science and AI venues. Experience reviewing submissions for reputable journals or conferences. Familiarity with IEEE Access, Transactions on Machine Learning Research (TMLR), PeerJ Computer Science, ACM SIGIR, ECIR, WSDM, or CIKM. Experience mentoring industry professionals transitioning from engineering into academic research. Familiarity with UK doctoral research standards, particularly PhD by Published Works programmes. Experience using Python, PyTorch, search evaluation frameworks, and research reproducibility tools. Research Areas of InterestThe initial research programme will focus on AI-powered search engines and information retrieval, with potential topics including: Neural information retrieval and search relevance. Hybrid search, vector databases, and semantic search. Retrieval-augmented generation and LLM-based search systems. Search ranking, indexing, and query optimisation. AI infrastructure performance, scalability, and reliability. Evaluation frameworks and benchmarking for production AI systems. Expected OutcomesThe selected mentor will help the researcher establish a structured research programme resulting in: An assessment of existing technical assets, datasets, and research opportunities. A defined research agenda supported by a substantive literature review. Reproducible baseline experiments and clearly documented methodologies. Multiple original research manuscripts prepared and submitted to reputable peer-reviewed publication venues. A coherent portfolio of research contributions suitable for assessment by a UK university offering a PhD by Published Works. The researcher will retain responsibility for original research contributions. Any co-authorship will be determined by substantive scholarly participation and applicable publication ethics. Engagement StructureThis is a flexible, part-time academic advisory engagement conducted remotely. Candidates should be available for regular research discussions, manuscript reviews, and milestone planning. Compensation and engagement terms will be discussed based on qualifications, experience, availability, and the proposed scope of mentorship. A longer-term engagement is preferred. How to ApplyInterested candidates should submit: An academic CV highlighting relevant research and mentoring experience. A Google Scholar, ORCID, or Scopus author profile. Links to two or three relevant peer-reviewed publications. A brief description of previous academic mentoring or research supervision experience. Their availability and preferred advisory or consulting arrangement. We are particularly interested in candidates who combine strong academic research credentials with practical knowledge of AI engineering and who can help an experienced engineer develop original technical work into rigorous, publishable academic research.