Postdoctoral Researcher in Large Language Models

Are you passionate about deep learning, generative AI, agents? We are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to join the research group led by Ivan Titov (http://ivan-titov.org/), part of the natural language processing group of the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC).Working at the UvAJoin usWe are looking for a highly motivated postdoctoral candidate who will strengthen the NLP research unit of the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) of the University of Amsterdam. You will be working in our new building "LAB42" in Amsterdam Science Park.A good salary Your salary will be determined on the basis of your experience and seniority, in accordance with the Labour agreement. Your grading and therefore the amounts mentioned are based on full employment of 38 hours per week. 232 vacation hours We also offer parental leave, partner leave and social engagement leave. Through the Employment Conditions Menu Card, there are opportunities for even more vacation hours.Financial arrangements On top of your salary, you receive holiday allowance (8%) and a year-end bonus (8.3%). You build up a good pension with ABP. And in addition, we offer many other allowances and schemes.Career development and room for growth The UvA encourages you to continue to professionalise through training courses and open UvA lectures.Family matters Relocating to the Netherlands with your family? Find out about daycare, schooling, health insurance or employment options and support for your partner or spouse. Including the IDCN-network which provides support for your spouse through various training sessions, social activities, and networking events.All About This VacancyWhat are you going to do?You will conduct cutting-edge research on topics including, but not limited to:Continual learning, with a focus on novel optimization techniques and memory architectures.Advancing the reasoning capabilities of large language models (LLMs).Developing methods to improve the safety and robustness of LLMs.Enabling effective collaboration between intelligent agents.The research is funded by NWO (Dutch Science Foundation). The researchers will be employed by the University of Amsterdam and will be a member of the Institute for Logic, Language, and Computation and the Faculty of Science. The collaboration is envisaged with researchers across the University of Amsterdam as well as with the University of Edinburgh.Your tasks and responsibilities:Carry out research as described in the project proposal;Present and publish at key international conferences and in leading journals;Contribute your expertise to joint research projects within the research groups;Participate in and contribute to the organization of research activities and events at the ILLC, such as workshops and colloquia;Make a small contribution to the ILLC's educational mission, by possibly taking part in teaching and student supervision activities in areas related to your expertise.What do we require?A PhD degree (or equivalent qualification) in AI (e.g., machine learning, natural language processing or computer vision);A strong scientific track record, documented by publications at first-tier conferences and journals (e.g., NeurIPS, ACL, ICLR, EMNLP, NAACL or COLM);Have excellent programming skills;Have strong mathematical skills (e.g., probability theory, statistics, calculus, and linear algebra);Have strong communication, presentation and writing skills;Enjoy working in a multidisciplinary research environment;Are highly motivated and creative;Have an excellent command of English.Our offerWe offer a temporary employment contract for 38 hours per week for a period of 12 months. The initial employment contract will be for one year. Contingent on a positive performance evaluation the contract will be extended with up to 2 years. The preferred starting date is before February 1, 2026, but negotiable.The gross monthly salary, based on 38 hours per week and dependent on relevant experience, ranges between € 3,546 to € 5,538 (scale 10). This does not include 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% year-end allowance. The UFO profile Researcher 4 is applicable. A favourable tax agreement, the '30% ruling', may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Universities of the Netherlands is applicable.Besides the salary and a vibrant and challenging environment at Science Park we offer you multiple fringe benefits:232 holiday hours per year (based on fulltime) and extra holidays between Christmas and 1 January;multiple courses to follow from our Teaching and Learning Centre;a complete educational program for PhD students;multiple courses on topics such as leadership for academic staff;multiple courses on topics such as time management, handling stress and an online learning platform with 100+ different courses;7 weeks birth leave (partner leave) with 100% salary;partly paid parental leave;the possibility to set up a workplace at home;a pension at ABP for which UvA pays two third part of the contribution;the possibility to follow courses to learn Dutch;help with housing for a studio or small apartment when you're moving from abroad.Are you curious to read more about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits, take a look here.Your place at the UvAWhere you will workThe Faculty of Science belongs to the University of Amsterdam (UvA), one of Europe's most prominent research-led universities. It is a Top-100 university globally and one of Europe's 15 best universities. With 35,000 students, 6,000 staff and 3,000 PhD candidates, the UvA is also one of the largest general research universities in Europe.A prominent research area at the UvA is Artificial Intelligence. The UvA is part of the AI Technology for People initiative, where it teams up with several other key players within the Amsterdam region. Together they will invest 1 billion euros in the development of responsible AI technologies over the next ten years by setting up research programmes, attracting top scientists and educating students with state-of-the-art knowledge of AI. The UvA was selected by the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS) as an Excellence Centre for AI to help keep in Europe talent in machine learning and related AI research fields.The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) is an interdisciplinary research institute at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) in which researchers from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Humanities collaborate. Its central research area is the study of fundamental principles of encoding, transmission and comprehension of information. Research at ILLC is interdisciplinary, and aims at bringing together insights from various disciplines concerned with information and information processing, including computational linguistics, cognitive science, philosophy, computer science and artificial intelligence. ILLC offers an international research environment with world-class faculty in all of its areas of specialization. We are based in the beautiful city of Amsterdam, renowned for its historic system of canals, its laid-back cosmopolitan atmosphere, and its excellent connections to the rest of Europe and the world.More About The UvAThe University of Amsterdam is ambitious, creative and committed. An inspiration to students since 1632, a vanguard player in international science and a partner in innovation.The University of Amsterdam is the largest university in the Netherlands, with the broadest range of courses on offer. An intellectual hub with 42,000 students, 6,000 staff and 3,000 PhD students. Connected by a culture of curiosity.Important to knowYour application & contactIf you feel the profile fits you, and you are interested in the job, we look forward to receiving your application. You can apply online via the button below. We accept applications until and including 15 December 2025.Applications should include the following information (all files besides your cv should be submitted in one single pdf file):a detailed CV including the months (not just years) when referring to your education and work experience;a letter of motivation and research statement (at most 2 pages, describing the potential research project);a list of publications;the names and email addresses of two references who can provide letters of recommendation.Only complete applications received within the response period via the link below will be considered. The interviews will be held in December/January.Do you have any questions or do you require additional information? Please contact:Dr. Ivan Titov: titov@uva.nlDiversity, Equity & InclusionAs an employer, the UvA maintains an equal opportunities policy. We value diversity and are fully committed to being a place where everyone feels at home. We nurture inquisitive minds and perseverance and allow room for persistent questioning. With us, curiosity and creativity are the prevailing culture.Studies show that women and members of underrepresented groups only apply for jobs if they meet 100% of the qualifications. Do you meet the educational requirements but not yet all of the requested experience? The UvA encourages you to apply anyway.