Postdoc position on normative diversity in news recommendations Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in Netherlands

Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) is offering a postdoc position on normative diversity in news recommendations within its Human-Centered Data Analytics (HCDA) research group in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The project sits at the intersection of recommender systems, human-centered AI, media, and society, and is also connected to the interdisciplinary AI, Media and Democracy Lab. The goal is to move beyond click optimization and develop recommendation technology that better informs readers while supporting societal impact in the news ecosystem.

The postdoctoral researcher will work on one of several possible research directions related to normative diversity in news recommender systems. Example lines include efficient reranking toward multiple normative goals, reader experiments to test whether information needs are satisfied, creating a newsroom dashboard for controlling the recommender system, and building NLP pipelines to automatically extract relevant information from text. Applicants may choose from these suggestions or propose their own ideas within the broader topic of normative news recommender system design.

The position is hosted by CWI, the Dutch national research institute for mathematics and computer science, located at Science Park Amsterdam. The institute emphasizes human-centered, responsible AI and inclusive digital systems, and the HCDA group focuses on culture, media, diversity, and combating misinformation. The setting is interdisciplinary and includes work across academia and potentially industry-relevant contexts.

Funding is provided for a full-time postdoc contract under Dutch research-centre employment conditions. The gross monthly salary ranges from €4,374 to €5,758 depending on experience, with an 8% holiday allowance and a 8.33% year-end bonus. The appointment is for up to two years, with an initial one-year contract and the possibility of renewal.

Eligibility requires a PhD in Artificial Intelligence or a related area such as Computer Science, Data Science, Information Science, or Computational Social Science. Strong candidates will have experience with recommender systems, diversity/fairness/bias/inclusivity concepts, multidisciplinary collaboration, and excellent English communication skills. Candidates who are close to completing their PhD are also encouraged to apply. The application deadline is 2026-09-30, and interviews are scheduled for 28-30 October 2026. The preferred start date is 1 January 2027, though some flexibility is possible.

Applications should be submitted via the online Apply button and include a cover letter, a short research statement of about 500 words, and a CV with three referees. For questions about the vacancy, contact Sanne Vrijenhoek at [email protected].