Assistant Professor Learning and Reasoning (Career Track)

Do you want to contribute to the field of AI by combining learning and reasoning? To study, develop, and apply methods that combine data-driven and knowledge driven approaches?

Assistant Professor Learning and Reasoning (Career Track)

Your function

Do you want to contribute to the field of Artificial Intelligence by combining the paradigms of data-driven learning and knowledge-driven reasoning, and to study, develop, and apply such methods? The Learning and Reasoning group treats these terms broadly, combining learning and reasoning methods beyond purely neural and purely symbolic approaches (neuro-symbolic systems). We span the spectrum from theoretical to applied AI, with application areas focusing on human-centric AI in critical domains, in particular medicine, content safety, and scientific innovation. We work with Large Language Models, graph-based machine learning, knowledge graphs, formal reasoners and many other methods.

Are you keen to work in close collaboration with colleagues in our Learning and Reasoning group and with other Artificial Intelligence groups at the VU? We welcome candidates who fit this broad profile of combining learning and reasoning. We expect candidates to explain how their profile fits within this broad theme. At the same time, the candidates are encouraged to define a specific focus within this broad area and to reflect on their positioning within the broader group focus.

Your duties

The position includes research, education, and management (40%, 40%, 20%) and contains, among others, the following responsibilities:

• conducting research in the broader theme of learning and reasoning
• supervising PhD students
• contributing to and writing research grant proposals
• teaching in the Artificial Intelligence Bachelor's and master's programmes of the Department of Computer Science
• supervising MSc/BSc student research projects in the AI programs
• contributing to organizational and management tasks

Your profile

• a PhD degree in Artificial Intelligence or a relevant field, and ideally some years of scientific experience in post-doctoral research
• expertise that fits the theme of the Learning and Reasoning group
• an interdisciplinary mindset and a good team player; experience in collaboration across teams, e.g., in large collaborative projects, is a plus
• ideally, experience in teaching at the BSc and/or MSc level
• ideally, some experience in co-supervising Bsc/MSc/PhD students

We realise that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. Therefore we are happy to invite anyone who recognises themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not meet all the requirements.

What do we offer?

A challenging career track position in a socially engaged organisation from Assistant Professor 2 to Assistant Professor 1. The initial contract will have a duration of 18 months. After a successful evaluation in your 15th month, permanent employment will be granted. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable. So in return for your efforts, we offer you:

• a salary of minimum € 4.728,00 (Scale 11) and maximum € 6.433,00 (Scale 11) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile Asisstant Professor 2. The exact salary depends on your education and experience
• a position for 0.8 - 1.0 FTE
• a full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata
• 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

About the Computer Science Department

The Department has approximately 180 staff members, including 90 PhD students. University research and teaching staff is a critical and essential basis for the functioning of the department, providing foundational education that helps determine the future of our students. Currently, we offer programs in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Information Sciences (BSc and MSc), Bioinformatics and Systems Biology (MSc), with a total of around 1000 new students each year.

The department explicitly encourages inter- and cross disciplinary research, and expects the successful candidate to be able to collaborate with colleagues in other fields of Computer Science (e.g. Artificial Intelligence and Quantitative Data Analytics, Software and Sustainability, or System Security), as well as with colleagues from other institutes such as CWI and the UvA.

A large share of interdisciplinary research with the department is embedded in the Network Institute of Vrije Universiteit, covering disciplines such as Social sciences, Humanities, and Economics. The Department also actively participates in the Amsterdam AI ecosystem, a broad network of knowledge institutions, companies and public organisations, and is a node in the European ELLIS network of excellence in AI.