Research Fellow in Conversational Ai for Digital Health

Job Summary

We are seeking to employ a highly motivated Research Fellow in the field of conversational AI for cutting-edge research in digital healthcare technologies. This is a full-time, 3.5-year position as part of the EU-funded HORIZON project MAYA, involving an interdisciplinary consortium of 16 EU partners. You will commence your role in September 2025 and will be based at Robert Gordon University (School of Computing, Engineering, and Technology) in Aberdeen (Scotland, UK), where you will contribute to developing a digital health hub, that integrates smart mirrors with conversational AI to support adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors.

The MAYA project will develop conversational AI constructs by integrating large language models (LLMs), designing and implementing structures (such as transition trees or behaviour trees) for dialogue control, using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to manage specialised contexts, with an agentic framework to organise dialogue flow and precision. Case-based reasoning (CBR) will be used to adapt, reuse, and recommend proven interventions, ensuring personalisation. Collaborative efforts with interdisciplinary teams will ensure the successful integration of these components into the overall MAYA platform.

In this post, you will contribute to the development of the MAYA conversational interface for the digital health hub. Your primary responsibilities will include researching and developing the interactive natural language interface using LLMs, integrating RAG with knowledge from other AI agents (including a case-based intervention recommender), and developing the necessary dialogue control structures. You will also play a key role in designing the iCARE Ontology, using semantic and ontological reasoning methods to support the creation of a comprehensive suite of conversational tools. Additionally, you will ensure seamless integration with the smart mirror device, which will serve as the primary medium for end-user interaction.

In keeping with RGU's commitment to work/life balance you will have the opportunity to work from home for a portion of the working week and also benefit from a generous pension scheme, 46 days annual leave (including statutory days) an onsite nursery and sports centre, as well as a range of voluntary health and travel benefits.

We are committed to attracting and engaging a diverse range of staff and fostering a culture where everyone feels welcome, comfortable to express their ideas, and can reach their full potential. For more information, please visit Our Diverse Workforce pages.

**RESPONSIBLE TO**: Nirmalie Wiratunga

**RESPONSIBLE FOR**: No Supervisory Responsibilities

**PURPOSE OF POST**: Research Fellow for funded EU project

**PRINCIPAL DUTIES**:

- To develop and maintain conversational AI constructs for the MAYA platform, integrating large language models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), dialogue control structures, and case-based reasoning (CBR).
- To design and implement interactive conversational AI methods, ensuring seamless integration with the smart mirror device for end-user interactions.
- To collaborate with project partners across the consortium, ensuring timely delivery of key components and alignment with project goals.
- To contribute to the development of the iCARE Ontology, employing semantic and ontological reasoning methods to support knowledge representation and conversational tools.
- To disseminate research findings through journal publications, conferences, workshops, and seminars in the fields of conversational AI and digital healthcare.
- To engage with academic and research staff within RGU, as well as the AI Reasoning research group and other related groups, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and promoting awareness of the project’s methods and outcomes.
- Support the development of related research proposals to secure grants, industry collaborations, and knowledge exchange opportunities.
- Provide guidance to RAs and PhD students, contributing to their professional growth where applicable.
- Build and sustain links with industry and academia to promote collaboration and advance knowledge exchange.
- To undertake any other reasonable duties as requested by the Principal Investigator (PI) or the Dean.

Person Specification

**ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS**

**Qualifications and Professional Memberships**:
Candidiate must have a PhD, or recently submitted a PhD thesis for examination, or close to submission, in AI or related discipline that includes natural language processing, understanding and/or inference.

**Knowledge**:

- Finetuning and integration of large language models (LLMs) with knowledge sources, including retrieval-augmented generation (RAG).
- Ontological structures and semantic reasoning methods for knowledge representation.
- Comparative evaluation methods for conversational AI and knowledge-based systems.

**Experience**:

- Collaborating effectively with multidi