About the position

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Natural Language Processing within MediaFutures:Research Centre for Responsible Media Technology & Innovation at the University of Oslo

A 3-year Postdoctoral position in Natural Language Processing (NLP) is available at MediaFutures in the Language Technology Group (LTG) within the Section for Machine Learning at the Department of Informatics, University of Oslo (UiO), Norway.

No one can be appointed for more than one Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Oslo.

MediaFutures is a centre for research-based innovation hosted by Department for information science and media studies, University of Bergen, and located at Media City Bergen. The centre is a part of the Norwegian Research Council’s Research-based Innovation scheme. The current position is funded by the centre but will be based in LTG at the University of Oslo. MediaFutures is in cooperation with industry partners from news media and media technology research topics like media experiences, recommender technology, content production and analysis, content interaction and availability, and Norwegian language technology. The goal is to develop responsible technological solutions to societal challenges like AI, fake news, echo chambers and political polarization. The results are new digital tools, analysis methods and content types for the future of media. The center also performs research training within media technology and innovation. This creates outputs such as prototypes, research articles and software, as well as innovative start-ups.

Read more about the centre here.

Job description

We seek a highly motivated researcher with a strong track record in NLP. The ideal candidate should be able to demonstrate broad knowledge of deep neural architectures as applied to core NLP tasks. The position presupposes a PhD degree or equivalent in Natural Language Processing, or in Computer Science with a clearly NLP-based thesis.

The focus of the position is on alignment of generative LMs, with the goal of mitigating biases and toxicity in generated natural language. This work will consist of resource creation (adaptation of datasets for instruction-tuning and dialogue), as well as responsible and aligned preference-optimization of generative LMs.

The work will be performed in close collaboration with the industry partners in the centre. Expected outputs of the work include publication of high impact papers, demos with code repositories and novel types of data and insights, e.g., in the form of reports both for academia and industry partners in the centre.

The candidate will also perform secondments at the industry partners.

The candidate is required to submit a PostDoc plan within 3 months after the start of the position together with the WP leadership and user partners.

The candidate will be supervised by the work package leadership in MediaFutures . The position is located in the Language Technology Group (LTG) at the University of Oslo. LTG is an international and diverse group, where current prominent research activities include semantic parsing, event extraction, sentiment analysis, as well as training and benchmarking of large language models. While the research profile of the group is heavily machine-learning oriented, our projects typically combine data-driven approaches with an interest for linguistic analysis and insight. The group has access to excellent HPC infrastructure.

Qualification requirements:

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

• The candidate must have a PhD degree (or other corresponding education equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree) in Natural Language Processing, or in Computer Science with a clearly NLP-based dissertation. The doctoral dissertation must have been submitted for evaluation by the closing date. Only applicants with an approved doctoral thesis and public defense are eligible for appointment. 
• Candidates must be fluent in English
• The successful candidate must have a strong research output in the field, with publications in top-tier NLP venues
• The candidate must be able to demonstrate broad knowledge of core NLP tasks
• The candidate must have comprehensive knowledge of contemporary neural machine learning techniques and architectures in NLP, both in terms of theoretical understanding and practical experience
• Strong programming skills and implementation experience are required

Desired qualifications:

• Experience with high-performance computing (HPC) environments is a plus
• Previous experience with LLM training is an advantage
• Knowledge of Norwegian or another Scandinavian language is an advantage, but not a requirement

Personal skills:

• We seek candidates that are highly motivated, open-minded, and scientifically curious
• Candidates should have the ability to work independently, as well as in a team environment
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities are important
• Candidates should have strong written and verbal communication skills

We offer:

• Salary NOK 575 400 – 657 300 per year depending on qualifications in position as Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (position code 1352)
• Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement
• Professionally stimulating working environment
• Vibrant international academic environment
• Postdoctoral development programmes
• Oslo’s family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

The application must include:

• Cover letter (statement of motivation, summarizing scientific work and research interest)
• CV (summarizing education, positions, pedagogical experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activity)
• Copies of educational certificates, academic transcript of records
• Letters of recommendation
• A complete list of publications and up to 5 academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• Names and contact details of 2–3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link “Apply for this job”. Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language).

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on the documented, academic qualifications, as well as the candidates motivation and personal suitability. Interviews with the best qualified candidates will be arranged.

Formal regulations:

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oslo.

If an applicant has applied for and been granted funding for a fulltime research stay abroad while being employed as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, the employment will be prolonged with the equivalent time as the research stay, but for no longer than of twelve months ( thus extending the employment to a maximum of four years)

According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results a.o.

Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.

Contact persons:

For further information, please contact:

• Professor Lilja Øvrelid, e-mail: liljao@ifi.uio.no

For questions regarding Jobbnorge, please contact HR Adviser Therese Ringvold, email: therese.ringvold@mn.uio.no

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