• help develop, study and apply machine learning techniques for learning from user interaction signals in search and recommendation systems, in collaboration with data scientists from Booking.com and under supervision of dr. Zoeter and prof. dr. De Rijke;
• investigate methods for leveraging implicit and explicit feedback to improve retrieval, recommendation, and LLM-based systems;
• study challenges such as multi-turn conversational signals, position and presentation bias correction, and robust evaluation under sparse and noisy feedback;
• publish research results in top-tier international journals and present at leading conferences;
• assist with the research and the supervision of PhD students involved in the MMLL initiative;
• collaborate with other MMLL and AI researchers across information retrieval, machine learning, and NLP;
• assist in relevant teaching and knowledge dissemination activities

• A PhD degree (or equivalent qualification) in information retrieval, machine learning, natural language processing, or a closely related field;
• an exceptional scientific track record, documented by publications at first-tier journals and conferences;
• a strong research background in topics related to information retrieval, recommendation systems, learning to rank, preference learning, reinforcement learning from human feedback, or LLMs;
• interest in bridging interaction-based learning approaches with modern generative AI systems;
• excellent mathematical and analytical skills;
• excellent programming skills;
• excellent communication, presentation and writing skills;
• an excellent command of English;
• commitment, perseverance and a cooperative attitude

The postdoc researcher will spend two days a week in the office of Booking.com in Amsterdam to do research and actively participate in related streams of experimentation to test their hypotheses.

We offer a temporary employment contract for 38  hours per week for a period of maximum 12 months. The preferred starting date is as soon as possible and preferably in August 2026.

The gross monthly salary, based on 38 hours per week and dependent on relevant experience, ranges between  € 3,546 to € 5,538 (scale 10). This does not include 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% year-end allowance. The UFO profile Onderzoeker 4 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.