News and Vacancies
Vacancy: Research Assistant, nasc research Centre (SPARC DTIF)
7 Sep 2026
Project: SPARC DTIF - Agentic AI and Digital Twins for Ultra-Wideband RF Sensing Systems
We are looking for a Research Assistant to join the nasc research centre team for the above project. The researcher will be employed on a technology development project in which UCC collaborates with two companies, Danalto and Qorvo. The UCC part of the project focuses on the development of agentic AI and digital twin concepts for Ultra-Wideband (UWB) RF sensing, localisation, and vital sign recognition. The successful candidate will be working with a team of researchers on a range of topics, including artificial intelligence, RF sensing and communications, multimodal UB RF signal data analysis, and wireless sensing network architecture design and optimisation. It is envisaged that the researcher will be located at University College Cork’s campus.
The position is for up to 21 months, with a proposed starting date of 1st November 2026. The successful candidate will be appointed at a suitable Research Assistant level depending on their experience and qualifications.
Candidates should hold at a minimum a Bachelor degree in Computer Science /Engineering or Electronic Engineering with a good track record of theoretical and technical work. They will have some experience in one or more of open-source software system integration, network and embedded system implementations, mobile application development, artificial intelligence and data analytics. Candidates with a background in other areas such as radio localisation and mobile healthcare applications may also be considered. Experience with multidisciplinary teams is an asset.
The research project is led by Dr Harry Nguyen and Prof Dirk Pesch in UCC and aims at creating an agentic AI based UWB RF sensing system for localisation, fall detection and vital sign monitoring. The recruited researcher is expected to collaborate with the industry members of the project team outside of UCC and take advantage of existing expertise in UCC through collaboration with existing nasc research members.
This position provides an excellent opportunity to join a dynamic and inclusive research team at University College Cork (UCC), working within the large-scale national CONNECT research centre, hosted by UCC’s nasc research centre and under the supervision of high-profile professors and academics in the area of future communication networks and intelligent systems. The Centre comprises approximately 50 people working on networks, security and systems research. CSIT is a large, research-focused school, participating in many major national and international research collaborations, and with extremely strong links to industry partners. The School of Computer Science & Information Technology (CSIT) at UCC is part of four major Irish SFI-funded research centres: CONNECT - Centre for Future Networks & Communications, Insight - Centre for Data Analytics, Lero - Irish Software Research Centre, CONFIRM - Research Centre for Smart Manufacturing, and it is also hosting two large doctoral training centres (CRT ADVANCE and CRT AI).
Please note that Garda vetting and/or an international police clearance check may form part of the selection process.
For an information package including full details of the post, selection criteria and application process see https://ore.ucc.ie/ The University, at its discretion, may undertake to make an additional appointment(s) from this competition following the conclusion of the process.
Informal inquiries can be made in confidence to Dr. Harry Nguyen (hn@cs.ucc.ie) or Prof. Dirk Pesch (dirk.pesch@ucc.ie), School of Computer Science & IT, University College Cork, Ireland
For further information on the hiring unit, please see: https://www.ucc.ie/en/nascresearch/
University College Cork is committed to being a fully inclusive global university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) are core values under our UCC Strategic Plan 2023-2028. UCC holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advancing equality in higher education. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from everybody, regardless of age, care-giving status, disability, ethnicity, gender and/or gender identity or expression status, nationality, marital status/civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion/creed, and/or sexual orientation. We are committed to supporting all staff through flexible working schemes, family-friendly policies, training and development, and staff networks. We value the enrichment that comes from a diverse community and seek to promote equality, prevent discrimination and protect the human rights of each individual in line with equality legislation. We encourage applicants to consult our Dignity and Respect Policy and learn more about our EDI related initiatives
Salary: €34,129 - €44,311 p.a (IUA RA Salary Scale)
Salary placement on appointment will be in accordance with public sector pay policy.
We encourage you to reach out to us directly should you require assistance or reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process.
Please note interviews will be conducted either online via Microsoft Teams or in person in the first instance. Candidates may also be required to attend interviews in person if an interview takes place online. Candidates will be notified as appropriate
Applications must be submitted online via the University College Cork vacancy portal (https://ore.ucc.ie/). (Job ID: 099134). Queries relating to the online application process should be referred to hrresearchqueries@ucc.ie quoting the job-title.
Candidates should apply, in confidence,
before 12 noon (Irish Local Time) on Friday, 25th September 2026.
No late applications will be accepted.
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER
Please note that an appointment to posts advertised will be dependent on University approval, together with the terms of the employment control framework for the higher education sector.