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Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Postdoctoral Researcher in Archaeology, AI, and Reinforcement Learning Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium

Degree Level

Postdoc

Field of study

Computer Science

Funding

Full funding available

Deadline

Sep 14, 2026

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Country

Belgium

University

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

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Keywords

Computer Science
Information Technology
Artificial Intelligence
Spatial Analysis
Archaeology
Earth Science
Reinforcement Learning
Statistics
ML

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About this position

Postdoctoral Researcher Offer at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)

This postdoctoral opening is part of the ARCHAI project, an interdisciplinary collaboration between the AMGC research group (Archaeology, Environmental changes and Geo-Chemistry) and the FLAIR research group (Federated Labs AI and Robotics). The project sits at the intersection of archaeology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, reinforcement learning, geospatial analysis, and GIS.

The research focuses on archaeological prospection and the development of a simulation platform that models real-world survey processes. The successful candidate will help design and evaluate deep multi-objective reinforcement learning methods for sequential decision-making under uncertainty, using archaeological and landscape data such as maps, satellite imagery, and archaeological datasets. The work aims to identify efficient and interpretable strategies for estimating archaeological potential while balancing scientific yield and cost effectiveness.

The position is based at the Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) of VUB. The team includes Prof. dr. Ralf Vandam and Prof. dr. Pieter Libin. The role also involves coordinating collaboration between the archaeology and AI teams, contributing to grant writing, helping supervise MSc/BSc theses, publishing in journals and computer science conferences, and presenting results to academic and policy audiences.

Funding: full-time postdoctoral scholarship for 12 months, extendable up to 36 months, with a grant linked to government scales. The post is described as fully funded.

Eligibility highlights: PhD in archaeology, computer science/AI, or a related field; experience with computing and preferably machine learning; strong scientific track record; grant-writing experience; excellent digital data management and spatial analysis/GIS skills; strong English; and a mobility condition requiring at least 12 months abroad in the 3 years before the start date without working or studying in Belgium.

Application deadline: 2026-09-14. Apply through the VUB jobs portal and upload a CV with two referees, a motivation letter (max. 2 pages), and your diploma if applicable.

Funding details

Full funding including tuition fees and living expenses is available for this position. The scholarship covers all educational costs and provides a monthly stipend.

How to apply

Please submit your application including a cover letter, CV, academic transcripts, and contact information for two references. Applications should be sent via the online portal before the deadline.

More information can be found here

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