Assistant professor (career track) in conversational ai

The research of the Social AI group (https://socialai.nl) aims to create hybrid AI systems that are socially aware (“understand” people) and are able to collaborate with people. Part of this goal is to make people and machines converse with each other using natural language. In the broader context, we are interested in multimodal interaction combining e.g. speech and other modalities on social robot platforms and other interfaces, and in hybrid content generation using e.g. knowledge graphs and LLMs. For this position, we are looking for someone with a background in NLP and/or dialogue management, who is familiar with performing user studies. We also teach related courses in our curriculum, to which you also will contribute.

The ideal candidate would fit well in the social AI group, whose mission is to improve understanding of and interacting with people. In your motivation letter, you should explicitly address your expertise, interest, and future research ambitions in conversational AI.

Our facilities (used for research as well as teaching) include our Social AI lab with different hardware platforms such as the Nao and Pepper social robots, and smart displays such as Google Nest Hubs, for example.

Your duties

• Performing research in the above field(s) of expertise
• Supervising PhD students
• Teaching in the Bachelor and Master programmes of the Department of Computer Science (in the Artificial Intelligence program)
• Supervising MSc/BSc student research projects in the Department
• Contributing to and writing research grant proposals
• Contributing to department-related organisational activities

A challenging position in a socially involved organization. On full-time basis the remuneration amounts to a minimum gross monthly salary of €4,332 (scale 11) and a maximum €5,929 (scale 11), depending on your education and experience. The job profile assistant professor is based on the university job ranking system and is vacant for at least 0.8 FTE.

We offer a Career Track position at the level of Assistant Professor. A career plan to grow from Assistant Professor (profile Universitair Docent 2) to Assistant Professor (profile Universitair Docent 1) will be made and formalised in a Career Track agreement. The initial appointment will be for a period of 18 months. 15 months after the starting date, performance will be evaluated. After a successful evaluation permanent employment will be granted.
Do not hesitate to contact us if you want to discuss whether your qualifications are satisfactory for applying for the position. We are committed to increase diversity within our group, and specifically encourage women to apply.

Additionally, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam offers excellent fringe benefits and various schemes and regulations to promote a good work/life balance, such as:

• a maximum of 41 days of annual leave based on full-time employment,
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus,
• solid pension scheme (ABP),
• contribution to commuting expenses,
• optional model for designing a personalized benefits package

The ambition of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is clear: to contribute to a better world through outstanding education and ground-breaking research. We strive to be a university where personal development and commitment to society play a leading role. A university where people from different disciplines and backgrounds collaborate to achieve innovations and to generate new knowledge. Our teaching and research encompass the entire spectrum of academic endeavor – from the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences through to the life sciences and the medical sciences.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is home to more than 31,000 students. We employ over 5,000 individuals. The VU campus is easily accessible and located in the heart of Amsterdam’s Zuidas district, a truly inspiring environment for teaching and research.

Diversity
We are an inclusive university community. Diversity is one of our most important values. We believe that engaging in international activities and welcoming students and staff from a wide variety of backgrounds enhances the quality of our education and research. We are always looking for people who can enrich our world with their own unique perspectives and experiences.

The Faculty of Science
Working at the Faculty of Science means working together with students, PhD candidates and scientists who are focused on their discipline, yet also have a broad view of the world. We are proud of the collegial working environment within the faculty, which is characterised by an ambitious and pragmatic attitude with commitment to the bigger picture. At the Faculty of Science, scientists and students work on fundamental and complex social issues for a sustainable and healthy future. From forest fires to big data, from obesity to malnutrition, from genetics to pharmaceuticals and from molecules to the moon: our teaching and research cover the full breadth of the natural sciences. Scientific teaching and research is highly experimental, technical, computational and interdisciplinary in nature. This is why we collaborate extensively with leading research institutes and industry. The faculty has over 11,000 students studying across 40 educational programmes and employs over 1,600 staff spread over 10 scientific departments, making us the largest science faculty in the Netherlands.