Postdoctoral Researcher in Causal Knowledge Extraction and Fusion from Multiple Modalities

Are you interested in applying ideas from causal inference, causal discovery and information theory to learning causal relations from multimodal data, e.g., images, text, etc.? Are you excited about investigating fundamental questions and developing a unified principled framework, but also testing them empirically?

The Intelligent Data Engineering Lab (INDELab) at the University of Amsterdam is seeking a postdoctoral researcher in the area of causal discovery, causal extraction and multimodal data fusion. You will be working on a new fundamental research project, funded by the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research, aimed at creating foundational theory and methods for extracting and fusing causal knowledge from multiple modalities.

INDElab has both expertise in causality as well as in data integration and extraction from multimodal data. In the lab, you will be working closely with Dr. Sara Magliacane and Prof. Paul Groth on this project.

What are you going to do

You will be expected to:

• develop a novel framework for identifying and fusing causation on single static entities in different modalities, e.g. two pieces of text, or two images, possibly by improving methods based on Minimum Description Length;
• implement this framework in a software package;
• create a benchmark for causal data fusion based on real-world data;
• publish at top tier conferences and journals;
• collaborate with other researchers and project stakeholders;
• assist in teaching and dissemination activities.

What do you have to offer

Your experience and profile:

• a PhD degree (or equivalent qualification) in causality, machine learning, computer science or other relevant discipline;
• a strong scientific track record with publications in relevant venues;
• an excellent background in topics related to causality and information theory;
• excellent programming skills;
• strong presentation skills and ability to work with external stakeholders;
• an excellent command of English;
• an openness to working in an interdisciplinary environment;
• a cooperative and enthusiastic attitude.

In addition, you preferably:

• have an interest in information extraction and data fusion;
• the willingness to contribute to open source code;
• the desire to work with and support PhD students.

Our offer

We offer a temporary full-time position for the period of 12 months. After satisfactory evaluation it will be extended until the end date of the project, 31 December 2024. Preferred starting date is as soon as possible, at the latest September 2022.

The gross monthly salary, based on 38 hours per week and dependant on qualifications, expertise and relevant experience, ranges between €2,846 to up to a maximum of €4,490 (salary scale 10). This is exclusive 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Take a look here.

With over 6,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 8,000, as well as 1,800 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The mission of the Informatics Institute (IvI) is to perform curiosity-driven and use-inspired fundamental research in Computer Science. The main research themes are Artificial Intelligence, Computational Science and Systems and Network Engineering. Our research involves complex information systems at large, with a focus on collaborative, data driven, computational and intelligent systems, all with a strong interactive component.

You will be working in the Intelligent Data Engineering Lab, which investigates intelligent systems that support people in their work with data and information from diverse sources. You will be working closely with Dr. Sara Magliacane who specializes in causality-inspired machine learning and Prof. Paul Groth who works on automated knowledge base construction and data integration. INDElab is strongly embedded in the larger UvA and Amsterdam artificial intelligence ecosystem with strong connections to multiple Innovation Centre for AI (ICAI) labs and the UvA’s Data Science Centre.

Want to know more about our organisation? Read more about working at the University of Amsterdam.

Job application

Do you recognize yourself in the job profile? Then we look forward to receiving your application by 19 April 2022. You can apply online by using the link below. Please do not apply via email.

Applications should include the following information (combined in one single .pdf file):

• a curriculum vitae;
• a letter of motivation;
• a list of publications
• a statement of your research experience and interests;
• the names and contact information of two academic references (please do not include any recommendation letters).

Please only complete the fields marked as mandatory and use the CV field to upload the .pdf file specified above. Only complete applications received within the response period via the link below will be considered.

We will invite potential candidates for interviews within two weeks after the closing date.