Join TU Delft as a postdoc to develop AI methods for identifying and aligning to public values in the AI4ALL projectJob descriptionMany public organizations aim to employ AI to make processes more efficient or effective, but this comes with the risk that public values, such as transparency and equity, are no longer served.
As a postdoc researcher, you will be part of the NWO-funded project “AI4ALL: Value-aligned AI for Public Organizations”. AI4ALL aims to ensure that AI systems in the public sector uphold public values. In this role, you will conduct cutting-edge AI research on methods and models that enable developers and civil servants to align AI tools for use in public organizations.
More specifically, your research will focus on the technical development of a flexible and resilient framework to identify and operationalize values that can support the design of AI systems in a responsible manner for the public sector. The research addresses a fundamental challenge: values are often implicit and subject to change over time and context, making them difficult to capture through conventional engineering methods. To tackle this challenge, you will combine human judgment with the linguistic capabilities of large language models to identify and conceptualize relevant values from diverse sources such as policy papers, stakeholder interviews, and focus groups, and transform them into actionable design specifications.
Your approach will embed bias detection and explainable AI techniques to make system reasoning fair and intelligible, empowering public servants to understand and steer how identified values might influence outcomes and to maintain meaningful human control. The methodology will be validated through iterative pilots with public-sector partners.
Your work environment
The postdoctoral researcher will be embedded within the Interactive Intelligence (II) Group at the Intelligent Systems Department of the TU Delft Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Computer Science faculty. The environment is open and collaborative and participating in group activities is highly encouraged and appreciated. AI4ALL consortium meetings and occasional work visits to collaboration partners are foreseen. We embrace an inclusive culture where you can benefit from tailored mentorship and training to promote your professional growth. You will also be involved in the activities of the Centre for Meanignful Human Control, an innitiative which connects academic and practicioners aiming to conceptualise, design, and assess systems under meaningful human control.
Job requirements We are looking for applicants who have or expect to receive a PhD degree before joining the project. This positions welcomes applicants from different technical backgrounds. For example, you have expertise in Natural Language Porcessing (NLP) with an interest in addressing social and ethical concepts; you have a focus on value alignment research, addressing bias, and fairness in AI; you have a socio-technical or design background, implmenting state-of-the-art AI methods towards human-centred.applications. If one or more of these areas describe you, we encourage your to apply. We particularly welcome applicants with experience or interest in interdisciplinary research.
This position is for 2 year for a full-time basis. We are open to part-time constructions. We are also happy to support the candidate in grant applications to extend the position.
TU Delft (Delft University of Technology) Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.
At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core
values and we actively
engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.
Challenge. Change. Impact!
Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science The Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) brings together three scientific disciplines. Combined, they reinforce each other and are the driving force behind the technology we all use in our daily lives. Technology such as the electricity grid, which our faculty is helping to make completely sustainable and future-proof. At the same time, we are developing the chips and sensors of the future, whilst also setting the foundations for the software technologies to run on this new generation of equipment – which of course includes AI. Meanwhile we are pushing the limits of applied mathematics, for example mapping out disease processes using single cell data, and using mathematics to simulate gigantic ash plumes after a volcanic eruption. In other words: there is plenty of room at the faculty for ground-breaking research. We educate innovative engineers and have excellent labs and facilities that underline our strong international position. In total, more than 1000 employees and 4,000 students work and study in this innovative environment.
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here to go to the website of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science.
Conditions of employment - Duration of contract is 2 years Temporary external finance
- A job of 38-40 hours per week.
- Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.
- An excellent pension scheme via the ABP.
- The possibility to compile an individual employment package every year.
- Discount with health insurers on supplemental packages.
- Flexible working week.
- Every year, 232 leave hours (at 38 hours). You can also sell or buy additional leave hours via the individual choice budget.
- Plenty of opportunities for education, training and courses.
- Partially paid parental leave
- Attention for working healthy and energetically with the vitality program.
Will you need to relocate to the Netherlands for this job? TU Delft is committed to make your move as smooth as possible! The HR unit,
Coming to Delft Service, offers information on their website to help you prepare your relocation. In addition, Coming to Delft Service organises events to help you settle in the Netherlands, and expand your (social) network in Delft. A
Dual Career Programme is available, to support your accompanying partner with their job search in the Netherlands. .
Additional informationIf you would like more information about this vacancy or the selection procedure, please contact Luciano Cavalcante Siebert, via
l.cavalcantesiebert@tudelft.nlApplication procedureAre you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than
26 January 2026 via the application button and upload the following documents:
- An up-to-date curriculum vitae.
- Letter of application. The letter of application should summarise (1) the applicant's motivtion on applying for the position, (2) evidence of suitability for the job, and (3) what the applicant hopes to gain from the position.
You can address your application to Luciano Cavalcante Siebert.
Please note: - You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
- As part of knowledge security, TU Delft conducts a risk assessment during the recruitment of personnel. We do this, among other things, to prevent the unwanted transfer of sensitive knowledge and technology. The assessment is based on information provided by the candidates themselves, such as their motivation letter and CV, and takes place at the final stages of the selection process. When the outcome of the assessment is negative, the candidate will be informed. The processing of personal data in the context of the risk assessment is carried out on the legal basis of the GDPR: performing a public task in the public interest. You can find more information about this assessment on our website about knowledge security.
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