Specialist in Generative AI and Large Language Models for Product Innovation- KTP Associate

 

Salary: £40,000-£43,000 (plus substantial training budget) 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: 24 July 2025

 

The Role

 

Procter & Gamble and Newcastle University are offering an exciting opportunity to accelerate product innovation and increase business productivity by automating the construction of an enterprise-level Knowledge Management and discovery platform via the use of novel Generative AI, Large Language Models, and human-AI collaboration techniques.

 

Procter & Gamble is the world's leading non-food consumer products manufacturer with activities in five sector business units of Baby, Feminine & Family Care; Beauty; Health Care; Grooming; and Fabric & Home Care (F&HC).

 

Based at Procter & Gamble, Reading, you will lead a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project. You will lead the development and deployment of an enterprise-level Knowledge Management and Discovery Platform for Product Innovation based on novel Generative AI, Large Language Models, and Human-AI collaboration techniques.

 

You will be supported by an interdisciplinary team from Newcastle University, led by Dr Huizhi Liang, with expertise in Artificial Intelligence, Generative AI, NLP, LLMs, multi-modal data processing, Machine Learning, Data Mining, and Information Retrieval. You will also have support from a Senior Company Supervisor.

 

Candidates should have a degree of Master or PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Software Engineering, Data Science, Statistics or a related technical field.

 

Benefits:

• Develop managerial skills and attend two residential managerial workshops (each of one week duration) • £4,000 personal training budget
• The opportunity to lead a project, develop project management skills and improve long term career prospects
• Mentoring by a Knowledge Transfer Network Adviser 
• Full access to university resources to complete the project 
• Ability to work in a largely self-determined way, across the industry-academic partnership 
• Opportunities to develop both technical understanding and commercial awareness 
• The possibility to study for a higher degree or undertake professional development

 

The KTP Associate will be an employee of Newcastle University but will spend most of their working time at the company’s premises at 452 Basingstoke Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG2 0QE and when required at Newcastle University.

 

The KTP Associate will follow P&G's working hours and holiday procedure. The Associate’s working week will be 37.5 hours per week. Annual Leave applicable to this role is 25 days holiday plus statutory holidays.

 

This is a 24-month fixed term role.

 

For more information or informal enquiries, please contact Dr Huizhi Liang at (Huizhi.Liang@newcastle.ac.uk) or Dr Stephen McGough at (stephen.mcgough@newcastle.ac.uk)

 

For further details on the Faculty of Science, Agriculture & Engineering please visit our web page at: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/sage/

 

For further details about Knowledge Transfer Partnerships please visit the web page at: http://www.ktp-uk.org/

 

Key Tasks:

• Conduct the research and objectives along the lines of the programme of the funded project
• Develop and deploy an enterprise-level Knowledge Management and Discovery Platform for Product Innovation based on novel Generative AI, Large Language Models, and Human-AI collaboration techniques 
• Undertake personal development activities including on-boarding familiarisation with the company
• Disseminate and embed the knowledge within P&G to various stakeholders throughout the KTP via reports, presentations, group discussions and workshops
• Prepare outputs such as publications and case studies of the research from the team to scientific and non-scientific audiences, in written and oral form. And attend conferences

 

 

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

Essential: 

• Familiarity with core concepts of Generative AI, LLMs, Knowledge Management and knowledge graphs, and user interface design, and trustworthy and explainable AI
• Ability to apply and expand knowledge and techniques in NLP, AI, deep learning and predictive modelling, generative models
• Programming and development skills in Python based Natural Language Processing and multi-modal data processing AI libraries and platforms such as NLTK, Spacy, sk-learn, pytorch, Keras
• Adaptability and ability to quickly grasp new concepts, technologies. • Problem-solving skills to analyse and break complex problems into manageable components when devising innovative solutions using LLM technologies

 

Desirable: 

• Familiarity with graph reasoning and advanced LLM techniques such as Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), Reasoning, Multi-agent, Knowledge Distillation

 

Attributes and Behaviour

• Personal motivation and drive 
• Excellent organisational and planning skills 
• Thrives in a project environment with the ability to work to tight deadlines 
• The ability to work independently and collaboratively with colleagues
• The ability to work autonomously and the confidence to lead 
• Good attention to detail 
• Is a natural problem solver 
• Excellent verbal, written and presentation skills 

 

Qualifications

• Candidates should have a degree of Master or PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Software Engineering, Data Science, Statistics or a related technical field

 

To apply, please attach your CV and a cover letter that demonstrates how you meet the essential criteria for the position, as outlined in the Person Specification of the Job Description. Any requested additional documents required as part of your application, should be included within the same file as your cover letter. The total file size must not exceed 10MB 

 

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 silver 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: 28250