The Informatics Institute (IvI) is recruiting an assistant professor Artificial Intelligence and Information Retrieval for a tenure track position within the Information and Language Processing Systems (ILPS) group at the Faculty of Science (FNWI), University of Amsterdam (UvA).

Information retrieval is concerned with connecting people to information. Search engines, recommender systems, and conversational assistants are prominent everyday examples. Artificial intelligence, and in particular machine learning, has become a driving force behind many breakthroughs in information retrieval. These developments have not gone unnoticed to industry either. Major players all have teams of researchers working at the interface of artificial intelligence and information retrieval. ILPS and AIRLab at IvI are very active research units at the interface of artificial intelligence and information retrieval, with over 40 researchers in the area.

Tasks

• The new tenure tracker will become the lab director of the AIRLab. He or she is expected to contribute to fundamental research in artificial intelligence and information retrieval. In particular, as lab director of the AIRLab, the tenure tracker will be responsible for its day-to-day operation, and will co-supervise its 5 PhD students;
• within AIRLab we anticipate that the intersection of artificial intelligence and information retrieval will drive the next wave of innovation in areas such as content analysis for e-commerce, personalization and supply chain management. As AIRLab is an academic-industrial collaboration, stakeholder management will be an important responsibility of the new tenure tracker. Within AIRLab there is a strong emphasis on responsible artificial intelligence and the tenure tracker is expected to support and champion this perspective;
• the tenure tracker is expected to acquire his/her own independent funding from sources such as NWO (e.g. VIDI), H2020 (e.g. ERC starting grant) and industry;
• in terms of teaching, the tenure tracker will contribute to strengthening the curriculum in information retrieval and artificial intelligence of the master AI, the Bachelor AI and related programs such as the bachelor Computer Science, the master Information Systems, and the program at Amsterdam University College, all of which offer courses at the interfaces of information retrieval and artificial intelligence. The teaching load is around 30%;
• the tenure tracker is expected to contribute to valorization, both in terms of engaging with the media as well as applying the state of the art research tools to applications in society. UvA spinoffs that bring technology to industry and society are highly encouraged;
• finally, the tenure tracker is expected to help with the management of the Informatics Institute.

• The candidate’s research interests should fall within the general area of artificial intelligence and information retrieval, and in particular in areas such as content analysis for e-commerce, personalization, and supply chain management;
• candidates must hold a doctorate in Computer Science or a related area;
• a strong track record in research is essential, as demonstrated by independent scientific publications in peer reviewed conferences journals, as well as research interest and expertise in the area of information retrieval;
• candidates should be able to obtain research funding in a competitive environment;
• in addition, candidates must have a proven track record of teaching abilities as well as the ability to supervise MSc and PhD candidates.

At least two years of postdoctoral experience is expected but not strictly necessary. International research experience is also preferred. Relevant industry experience is a definite plus.

The vacancy is for a permanent position according to standard university policies. It is a temporary appointment with a tenure track agreement which will lead to tenured position for a period of 5 years during which the candidate should show his/her competence in science and teaching/education. In the fifth year of the appointment, the tenure decision will be made. This implies that experienced scientists will be offered a permanent position after a positive assessment and evaluation. The type of appointment is negotiable and depends on age, experience and scientific profile of the selected candidate. The Committee will make an offer depending on the vacancy and the experience and track record of the candidate.

The gross monthly salary of the assistant professor position (UD 2/UD 1) will be in accordance with the University regulations for academic personnel and will range from €3,475 up to a maximum of €5,405 (salary scale 11/12), based on a full-time appointment and depending on qualifications and on the number of years of professional experience. The Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities is applicable.

There are also secondary benefits, such as 8% holiday allowance per year and the end of year allowance of 8.3%.

Among other things, we offer:

• competitive pay and good benefits;
• top-50 University worldwide;
• extremely friendly, interactive and international working environment;
• direct access to high-end computing facilities;
• new building located near the city center (10 minutes by bicycle) of one of Europe’s most beautiful and lively cities.

English is the working language within the Informatics Institute. Moreover, since Amsterdam is a very international city where almost everybody speaks and understands English, you need not be afraid of the language barrier.

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.

http://www.uva.nl/en/home

Informatics Institute

The Faculty of Science holds a leading position internationally in its fields of research and participates in a large number of cooperative programs with universities, research institutes and businesses. The faculty has a student body of around 6,000 and 1,500 members of staff, spread over eight research institutes and a number of faculty-wide support services. A considerable part of the research is made possible by external funding from Dutch and international organizations and the private sector. The Faculty of Science offers thirteen Bachelor's degree programs and eighteen Master’s degree programs in the fields of the exact sciences, computer science and information studies, and life and earth sciences.

Since September 2010, the whole faculty has been housed in a brand new building at the Science Park in Amsterdam. The instalment of the faculty has made the Science Park one of the largest centres of academic research in the Netherlands.

The Informatics Institute is one of the large research institutes with the faculty, with a focus on complex information systems divided in four broad themes: Artificial Intelligence, Computational Science, Data Science en Systems and Network Engineering. We have a prominent international standing and are active in a dynamic scientific area, with a strong innovative character and an extensive portfolio of externally funded projects.

The tenure track position at the assistant professor level will be within the Information and Language Processing Systems (ILPS) group at the Informatics Institute (IvI), Faculty of Science (FNWI), University of Amsterdam (UvA). ILPS is led by Prof. Maarten de Rijke and also includes Prof. Evangelos Kanoulas, Dr Maarten Marx, and Dr Christof Monz as well as around 30 PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. Other groups doing related artificial intelligence research within IvI are AMLAB (led by Prof. Max Welling), the Intelligent Sensory Information Systems (ISIS) group (led by Prof. Cees Snoek), and the Computer Vision (CV) group led by Prof. Theo Gevers. Prof. De Rijke also directs the newly established Innovation Center for Artificial Intelligence and the newly established AIRLab, a strategic collaboration between Ahold Delhaize and the University of Amsterdam that focuses on artificial intelligence for retail.

http://ivi.uva.nl/