Do you have the ambition to carry out top academic research in Theoretical Computer Science at the Institute for Logic, Language, and Computation? Are you interested to work in our thriving interdisciplinary environment where you can establish connections to research lines in neighboring disciplines? Do you have the drive to teach theoretical computer science in our bachelor/master programmes?

We offer a position as assistant professor in Theoretical Computer Science at the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC), an interdisciplinary research institute at the University of Amsterdam. The area of theoretical computer science comprises a broad variety of topics or subfields, including (but not restricted to) algorithms and computational complexity, program semantics and verification, logic and computation, machine models and automata, information theory, machine learning, and the foundations of artificial intelligence. You are a leading researcher in one of these areas, with a good knowledge of the wider area of theoretical computer science, and experienced in academic teaching.

Within the ILLC, the new position fits naturally within the scope of the ‘Logic and Computation’ programme, which also houses strong groups in logic, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. ILLC staff members teach in various undergraduate and postgraduate programmes; relevant for this position are the BSc programmes in Computer Science and AI, and the MSc programmes in Logic, AI and Computer Science.

Both the ILLC and the neighbouring Informatics Institute are currently establishing new chairs in Theoretical Computer Science. The assistant professor is expected to collaborate closely with the newly appointed full professors, and to help them build a strong nucleus in theoretical computer science at the University of Amsterdam. Since the position is partly financed with the aim of improving the quality of academic educational programmes, its research:teaching proportion is 50:50 rather than the usual 60:40 proportion at the ILLC.

What are you going to do?

You are expected to:

• carry out research in Theoretical Computer Science;
• publish your results in high-level international journals and present them at leading conferences;
• (co-)supervise PhD students;
• initiate and contribute to research proposals for raising external funding;
• exploit opportunities for applied research collaboration;
• actively contribute to the dissemination of academic knowledge to industry and society;
• design and teach undergraduate and postgraduate courses in various teaching programmes;
• within two years complete the track towards the Dutch University Teaching Qualification (BKO);
• supervise student projects, including BSc and MSc theses;
• take responsibility for administrative tasks in research and education at the institute.

You have:

• a PhD in Computer Science or a related discipline and some years of postdoctoral research experience;;
• a profound knowledge of  theoretical computer science and its connections with neighboring areas;
• an excellent publication record;
• the ability to communicate research findings to a broad audience;
• inspiring didactic skills and a proven record of teaching at the academic level;
• commitment to stimulating and supervising of students;
• an excellent command of the English language and sufficient proficiency to teach in Dutch (within 2 years);
• demonstrable willingness to perform administrative and organizational tasks;
• team spirit and a strong affinity with the multidisciplinary environment of the ILLC.

A temporary contract for 38 hours a week, preferably starting on 1 March 2021 for the duration of 24 months. A permanent contract subsequently follows if your performance is positively assessed. 

The salary, depending on relevant experience before the beginning of the employment contract, will be  €3,746 to  5,127 (scale 11) gross per month, based on a full-time contract of 38 hours a week. This is exclusive 8 % holiday allowance and 8,3% end-of-year bonus. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Then find out more about working at the Faculty of Science.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Science - Institute of Physics

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 7,000, as well as 1,600 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.

About the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation and the Informatics Institute

The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) is an interdisciplinary  research institute at the University of Amsterdam 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, such as logic, mathematics, computer science, linguistics, natural language processing, cognitive science, artificial intelligence, music cognition, and philosophy.
The Informatics Institute of the University of Amsterdam is a collaborative partner for this vacancy and has a long-standing tradition in the area of theoretical computer science, with special attention to algebraic specification and process algebra.
The ILLC and the Informatics Institute strive to strengthen their cooperation in research and the educational programmes mentioned.