The Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) of the University of Amsterdam is looking for a new Assistant Professor in Natural Language Processing, to complement its existing expertise. The ILLC does world-class, curiosity-driven research and serves as a rallying point for information scientists across traditional research fields, ranging from AI, computer science and mathematics to linguistics, cognitive science and philosophy. ILLC’s scientific mission is to study the formal properties of information, viz. the fundamental structure and properties of processes of encoding, transmitting and comprehending information. The institute has been home to leading research groups in Computational Linguistics/Natural Language Processing since its founding in 1991, and has in that time made pioneering contributions to statistical NLP, deep learning for NLP, and evaluation and interpretability of language models.

We seek candidates conducting research on natural language processing. The areas of particular interest include large language model (LLM) development (pre-training and post-training), large reasoning models, AI alignment and AI for science and research. An ideal candidate would be able to collaborate with other groups at the ILLC, conducting research on reasoning, planning, verification algorithms and AI for mathematics.

• A PhD in a relevant field such as NLP, AI, computer science or mathematics;
• Excellent research skills, evidenced by a track record of publications in renowned international journals or conference venues in any of the above mentioned fields, and contributed and/or invited talks at international conferences/workshops;
• Able to develop an independent line of research in her/his area of expertise;
• Has a strong affinity with the ILLC’s multidisciplinary environment and likes to participate in interdisciplinary collaboration;
• Proven skills in academic education in any of the above fields;
• Possesses the Dutch Basic Teaching Qualification (UTQ/BKO), or is willing to acquire this within the first two years;
• Ideally, has some experience with (co-)supervision of BSc, MSc and/or PhD students;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

We offer a temporary employment contract for 38 hours per week for a period of 18 months. The preferred starting date is as soon as possible. A permanent contract follows in case of a positive performance assessment.

The gross monthly salary, based on 38 hours per week and dependent on relevant experience, ranges between € 4,925 to € 6,682 (scale 11). This does not include 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% year-end allowance. The UFO profile Assistant Professor is applicable. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Universities of the Netherlands is applicable.

Curious about our extensive secondary benefits package? You can read more about it here.