Postdoctoral Position on Mathematical Foundations for Explainable AI

Job title:

Postdoctoral Position on Mathematical Foundations for Explainable AI

Company:

Job description

Offer DescriptionAre you a highly-motivated researcher looking for a Postdoctoral position in Statistics and want to make some impact? If yes, the stochastics group of the Korteweg-de Vries Institute for Mathematics at the University of Amsterdam is looking for you!Join Us!
Do you want to work on original new machine learning theory with a positive impact? The stochastics group of the Korteweg-de Vries Institute for Mathematics at the University of Amsterdam is inviting applications for a two-year Postdoctoral position in mathematical machine learning. The position is part of the research project “Mathematical Foundations for Explainable AI”, funded by the Dutch research council (NWO). You will be part of a team with two PhD students, supervised by Dr. Tim van Erven.This is what you will do
Explainable AI (XAI) is a hot topic in machine learning to provide insights into the decisions of complicated machine learning models. For instance, why does a machine learning model predict that it is unsafe to discharge a certain patient from the intensive care? Or which characteristics make a machine learning model flag a certain bank transfer as potential money laundering? But XAI has received heavy criticism, because of exaggerated claims, lack of methodological rigor, and unreliability. More fundamentally, there is no agreement on central issues: What is a good explanation? When can we trust explanations? The aim of this project is to address these issues by developing mathematical foundations for XAI, and proving performance guarantees for new explanation methods using the same standards as in other parts of machine learning theory. As a postdoctoral researcher, you will be collaborating closely with the PhD students and Tim van Erven, as well as developing your own research initiatives and (inter)national network.Tasks and responsibilities:

• Conduct research within the specified project, as described above.
• Interact actively with the PhD students.
• Disseminate your research findings through publications in academic journals or peer-reviewed international conference proceedings, and through presentations at international conferences.
• Engage in research collaborations locally and/or internationally.
• Participate in the department’s educational programs, by teaching one single-semester course per year.

What we ask of you
We are looking for an enthusiastic and driven candidate who meets the following requirements:Your experience and profile:

• PhD in machine learning theory, with thesis submitted before the start of the Postdoctoral position.
• Publications on machine learning theory in proceedings of international machine learning conferences (COLT, ALT, ICML, NeurIPS, AIStats, UAI); or in international machine learning journals (JMLR, Machine Learning); or comparable venues.
• Interests: You should have a strong interest to develop new learning-theoretic directions in explainable AI.
• Communication skills: You should have excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Teamwork and independence: You should be highly motivated and committed to your research. While you should be able to work independently, you should also have a cooperative attitude and be willing to collaborate with the team members or other researchers.
• Teaching: You should be able to contribute to the department’s educational programs.

Good programming skills are a plus, as is prior knowledge of explainable AI.This is what we offer you
We offer a temporary employment contract for 38 hours per week for a period of 24 months with a probationary period of one months. The preferred starting date is flexible between September 1, 2025 and September 1, 2026. The gross monthly salary, based on 38 hours per week and dependent on relevant experience, ranges between € 3,378 to € 5,331 (scale 10) . In addition, you will receive an 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% year-end allowance. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The is applicable.

You will work in this team
The has a student body of around 8,000, as well as 1,800 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.(KdV Institute) is the mathematical research institute of the Faculty of Science of the Universiteit van Amsterdam. The KdV Institute offers a stimulating scientific environment in which research focuses mainly within the research programmes (1) Algebra, Geometry and Mathematical Physics, (2) Pure, Applied and Numerical Analysis, and (3) Stochastics and (4) Discrete Mathematics and Quantum Information. It also provides the lecturers and instructors for the mathematics teaching within the Science Faculty. The KdV Institute participates in the NWO research clusters GQT, STAR, NDNS+ and DIAMANT and in the Gravity programme NETWORKS. There is formal (and informal) cooperation with the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), the VU University, and with Eurandom in Eindhoven. KdVI counts about 40 staff members and 50 postdocs and PhD students.If you feel the profile fits you, and you are interested in the position, we look forward to receiving your application. You can apply online via the button below. We accept applications until and including June 2, 2025. For informal inquiries, please contact:

• Tim van Erven via

Applications should include the following information (all files besides your cv should be submitted in one single pdf file):

• A detailed CV (resume);
• A letter of motivation (approximately 1 page), including an estimated starting date;
• A publication list
• The names and email addresses of two academic references who are willing to provide a reference letter upon request.

A knowledge security check can be part of the selection procedure (for details: ). Tentative application process:

• Application: we strive to provide initial notifications by June 10
• Round 1: online interview in the week of June 23
• Round 2: in-person interview in the week of July 7

Only complete applications received within the response period via the link below will be considered.Where to apply WebsiteRequirementsAdditional InformationWebsite for additional job detailsWork Location(s)Number of offers available 1 Company/Institute UvA Country Netherlands City Amsterdam Postal Code 1098XH Street Science Park 904 GeofieldContact CityAmsterdam WebsiteStreetSpui 21 Postal Code1012 WXSTATUS: EXPIREDShare this page

Expected salary

€3378 – 5331 per month

Location

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland

Job date

Sat, 05 Apr 2025 00:16:13 GMT

To help us track our recruitment effort, please indicate in your email/cover letter where (vacanciesineu.com) you saw this job posting.