Postdoc in Probabilistic Machine Learning

Job description

A central challenge in machine learning is ensuring reliability and trustworthiness. This is especially crucial in high-stakes applications such as medical diagnosis, autonomous driving, and agentic systems. To improve the reliability and trustworthiness of large-scale machine learning models (e.g., LLMs) in a meaningful way, we, therefore, need new scalable methodologies that can efficiently and accurately capture, represent, and reason about uncertainties based on rigorous and principled frameworks.

We invite applications for a fully funded WASP postdoctoral researcher position to join and shape the new research group of Martin Trapp.

Your role

The goal of this position is to conduct independent research and develop theories and methodologies that help in improving the reliability and trustworthiness of large-scale machine learning models (e.g., LLMs) in a meaningful way. You will be joining the research group of Martin Trapp and develop your own research agenda in the context of the group’s research. A particular focus of the group is to develop and utilise theories from tractable models (probabilistic circuits) and Bayesian statistics to tackle the reliability of machine learning models, touching topics such as uncertainty quantification in large-scale models, exact and approximate inference, and neurosymbolics. See Martin Trapp’s website for details. The candidate is expected to augment the research expertise of the group through her/his own experience and to conduct research in close collaboration with the group. You will develop theoretical and methodological work that will be released as open-source libraries and publish your work at top-tier machine learning venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, UAI, AISTATS). Moreover, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with researchers working on machine learning at KTH and collaborate with international experts through the group’s network.

Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program (WASP) is Sweden’s largest individual research program ever, a major national initiative for strategically motivated basic research, education and faculty recruitment. The program addresses research on artificial intelligence and autonomous systems acting in collaboration with humans, adapting to their environment through sensors, information and knowledge, and forming intelligent systems-of-systems. The vision of WASP is excellent research and competence in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and software for the benefit of Swedish society and industry.

Read more: https://wasp-sweden.org/

Qualifications

Requirements

• A doctoral degree or an equivalent foreign degree. This eligibility requirement must be met no later than the time the employment decision is made.
• Research expertise in machine learning (e.g., deep learning, probabilistic methods).
• You have independence in research, curiosity, and strong critical thinking abilities.
• You have strong programming and mathematical skills.
• You have an outstanding research and publication list.
• You have well developed analytical and problem-solving skills.
• We see that you have excellent communication skills, very good knowledge of the English language both in written and oral form as this will be required in day-to-day work.

Preferred qualifications

• A doctoral degree or an equivalent foreign degree, obtained within the last three years prior to the application deadline
• You have a good pedagogical ability.
• Awareness of diversity and equal treatment issues with a particular focus on gender equality.
• You are independent in your work and have no problem collaborating with others.

Great emphasis will be placed on personal skills.

Join us at KTH

KTH shapes the future through education, research and innovation. As a leading international technical university, we play an active role in advancing the transition towards a sustainable society. At KTH, you have the opportunity to grow and develop in a creative and dynamic environment, with good working conditions and attractive benefits. Equality, diversity and equal opportunities are essential to quality and form an integral part of KTH’s core values as a university and public authority.

Learn more about our benefits and what it's like to work and grow at KTH.

Trade union representatives

Contact information to trade union representatives.

To apply for the position

Log into KTH's recruitment system to apply for this position. You are responsible for ensuring that your application is complete according to the instructions in the ad.

The application must include:

• CV including relevant professional experience (max 2 pages).
• Publication list and short description of 1-2 of the most important publications, including a discussion of your contribution (max one paragraph each).
• Research statement describing your (i) past research, (ii) future research agenda, and (iii) relation to the groups' research (max 2 pages).

Your complete application must be received at KTH no later than the last day of application, midnight CET/CEST (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).

About the employment

The position offered is for, at the most, three years.

A position as a postdoctoral fellow is a time-limited qualified appointment focusing mainly on research, intended as a first career step after a dissertation.

Others

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It may be the case that a position at KTH is classified as a security-sensitive role in accordance with the Protective Security Act (2018:585). If this applies to the specific position, a security clearance will be conducted for the applicant in accordance with the same law with the applicant's consent. In such cases, a prerequisite for employment is that the applicant is approved following the security clearance.

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Disclaimer: In case of discrepancy between the Swedish original and the English translation of the job announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.