3 postdocs: FAIR research infrastructures for the social sciences and humanities

Are you a computer scientist with a strong background in knowledge graphs and keen to contribute to research infrastructures across the field of Social Sciences and Humanities and become a member of leading researchers in those domains? Please apply!

FAIR research infrastructures for the social sciences and humanities

The User-Centric Data Science group (UCDS) has three open positions for a postdoctoral researcher in the field of FAIR Linked Data for the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). You will work within the context of two national interdisciplinary research projects, SSHOC-NL and Macroscope. Both are consortia focused on research infrastructures aimed at creating an ecosystem of services, data and tools for the social sciences and humanities.

Together with dr. Ronald Siebes and prof. dr. Jacco van Ossenbruggen you will design and develop tools and infrastructure to make research data, workflows and tools findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR). More specifically, you will work on topics such as infrastructure of interoperable vocabularies for SSH research data, entity linking across datasets, interoperability in dataset annotation and responsible use of GenAI for dataset enrichment and search. An important part of the position is co-design of research and co-creation of knowledge with a wide variety of societal and research partners from various disciplines. An inter- or multidisciplinary background and good communication skills are therefore important assets.

Your duties

• publish research results in international peer-reviewed conferences and journals
• design and implement FAIR methods and tools for FAIR research infrastructures in the SSH domain
• opportunities to teach or assist in Bachelor and/or Master’s educational programmes and supervise Bachelor and Master students
• contribute to project tasks, milestones and deliverables, and contribute to project management, meetings and activities (e.g., workshop organisation)

Your profile

• a PhD in computer science, artificial intelligence or a related discipline
• proven affiliation with research social sciences and/or humanities
• proven affiliation with knowledge graph and Linked Data technology
• proficiency in programming
• good communication skills in English
• management skills are an asset

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 position in a socially engaged organisation. 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 position for at least 0,8 FTE. Your employment contract will initially last 1 year. After a satisfactory evaluation of the initial appointment, your contract will be extended until the end of the SSHOC-NL project or until the end of the Macroscope project, up to a maximum total duration of 48 months.
• solid pension scheme (ABP)
• contribution to commuting expenses
• hybrid working enables a good work-life balance

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.

Faculty of Science

Working at the Faculty of Science means collaborating with students, lecturers and researchers who are focused on their field, yet have a broad view of the world. We are proud of a positive and inclusive workplace culture within the faculty, where we work together with great energy and a pragmatic attitude to tackle social challenges. At the Faculty of Science, scientists and students work on fundamental and complex societal issues for a sustainable, healthy and just future.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact. By joining forces, across the boundaries of disciplines, we work towards a better world for people and planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research.