Associate or Full Professor in Language and AI Engineering

Associate or Full Professor in Language and AI Engineering

We are an internationally top‑ranking university in the Netherlands that combines scientific curiosity with a hands‑on attitude.

We are looking for an outstanding Associate or Full Professor to explore the frontiers of language, cognition and AI to drive responsible innovation in a data‑driven society that benefits people and communities. This vacancy is part of the Irène Curie Fellowship and is currently only open to female candidates.

Job Description

You will join the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science (M&CS). With over 140 professors, almost 250 PhD and EngD students, and nearly 3000 students, M&CS is the largest department of TU/e. By performing top‑level fundamental and applied research and maintaining strong ties with industry, M&CS aims to contribute to science and innovation in and beyond the region.

This position is embedded in the Data & AI (DAI) cluster within the Data Science Domain (DS). DS brings together the Visualization, Process Analytics, and Data & AI clusters and aims to empower a data‑driven society through research and education in data science, contributing to effective, robust, and responsible data‑driven solutions for societal challenges. Within DS, DAI focuses on the foundations of data and AI systems for the present and the future. Researchers in DAI develop new methods, algorithms, and tools that expand the reach, reliability, and generalization capabilities of data systems and AI.

Language and AI Engineering is an important area for DAI and DS. It connects the technical foundations of language, cognition, and AI with the development of responsible, trustworthy, and human‑centered AI systems. This position offers the opportunity to contribute to the further strengthening of this area within the cluster and domain, while nurturing meaningful connections to education, collaboration, and societal impact.

You will be expected to define and further develop an internationally visible research line, contribute to the strategic development of the field within the cluster and department, and support and inspire a new generation of students and researchers. Your work contributes to building AI that can support humans on complex tasks and be deployed responsibly in society.

Research Focus

• AI, Language, and Cognition: Conduct fundamental research into the relationship between language and cognitive capabilities and large‑scale AI models. Explore core areas such as memory, reasoning, and the nature of machine “understanding.” Investigate what separates genuine machine understanding and reasoning from blind optimization of benchmark performance.
• Multimodal Interaction: Research and develop AI systems that interact through diverse modalities, including vision (images, video), language, and physical interfaces (e.g., robotics).
• Human‑AI Collaboration: Design and study models for effective human‑AI partnerships. Focus on complex collaborative tasks that require joint reasoning and consensus‑making.
• Enhancing AI Interpretability and Safety: Develop novel techniques to understand the internal workings of AI models. Identify, analyze, and mitigate potential biases, fairness issues, and other safety risks to build more trustworthy systems.
• Societal Impact: Study the application and implications of advanced AI in critical societal contexts, such as legal systems, engineering, and scientific discovery, with a focus on reliability and trustworthiness.

Responsibilities

• Define, develop, and lead an internationally visible research line.
• Initiate, acquire, and sustain externally funded research projects.
• Supervise PhD candidates and mentor postdocs and junior academic staff.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams within and beyond TU/e.
• Contribute to the strategic development of Language and AI Engineering in the cluster and department.
• Drive the ambition of the Beethoven program by educating top talent and strengthening research across STEM fields.

Qualifications

• Motivated researcher with a PhD in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning or a comparable technical field.
• Ability to conduct high‑quality academic research, reflected in a strong publication record in leading AI/ML conferences and journals (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, ACL, IJCAI, CVPR, AAAI, FAccT, AIES).
• Deep expertise in machine learning, deep learning, and modern AI architecture.
• Deep expertise in language and/or cognition.
• Proven experience in supervising PhD candidates and mentoring postdocs and junior academic staff with an inclusive and supportive approach.
• Proven ability to define, develop, and lead an independent and internationally visible research line.
• Proven ability to initiate, acquire, and sustain externally funded research projects.
• Demonstrated research experience in one or more of the following areas: AI Interpretability and Explainability (XAI), Multimodal Machine Learning, Human‑AI or Human‑Computer Interaction, AI Ethics, Fairness, and Safety, or Robotics and AI‑driven physical systems.
• Experience in presenting at international scientific meetings (conferences, symposia, workshops) is preferred.
• A clear vision on teaching and learning, with demonstrated contribution to curriculum innovation, course development, and/or educational coordination.
• Strong cooperation skills and ability to work in an interdisciplinary team.
• Effective communication and leadership skills, including coaching and mentoring of students and staff, and leading projects or chairing groups.
• Excellent written and verbal proficiency in English.

Conditions of Employment

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you the following benefits:

• Salary in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. Associate Professor level will be placed in scale 13 or 14 (minimum €6.512, maximum €8.673). Full Professor level will be placed in scale H2 or H1 (minimum €7.202, maximum €12.584).
• A year‑end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• A dedicated mentoring program to help you get to know the university and the Dutch research environment.
• A Development Track with the prospect of becoming an Associate Professor; for more senior profiles a tailor‑made career proposal will be considered.
• Excellent technical infrastructure, on‑campus children’s day care and sports facilities.
• Partially paid parental leave and an allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• Unlimited access to the modern on‑campus TU/e Student Sports Center at an exceptionally affordable rate.
• A staff immigration team is available for international candidates, as are a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) and partner career support.

Information

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact the hiring manager Prof. Dr. George Fletcher, g.h.l.fletcher@tue.nl. Visit our website for more information about the application process or the conditions of employment. You can also contact Annette van Kamp‑Rustenburg, Senior Recruiter a.j.v.kamp.rustenburg1@tue.nl.

Application

This vacancy is part of the Irène Curie Fellowship and is currently only open to female candidates. Male applicants will not be considered for the position.

We invite you to submit a complete application. The application should include a:

• Cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position.
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and the contact information of three references. Kindly note that we may reach out to references at any stage of the recruitment process. We recommend notifying your references upon submitting your application.
• Description of your scientific interests and plans (1–2 pages).
• Statement of your teaching goals and experience (1–2 pages).

Ensure that you submit all the requested application documents. Please note that incomplete applications may not be considered and could be rejected.

#LI-DNI

#J-18808-Ljbffr