Two PhD Positions in AI for Science at the University of Amsterdam University of Amsterdam in Netherlands

Two PhD positions are available at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) in AI for Science, with a strong focus on using modern machine learning to support scientific discovery and improve the interpretability of AI systems.

Position 1 is centered on fine-tuning and retrieval for multimodal foundation models in science. The research will develop methods that adapt foundation models to scientific tasks such as segmentation maps, simulation fields, time-series prediction, and retrieval-augmented explanation generation. A key application area is environmental science, including air quality, PFAS, microplastics, soil and water contamination, and satellite-based detection of oil spills and plastic. The work is embedded in the Information Retrieval Lab (IRLab) at the Informatics Institute and involves collaboration with environmental scientists across Europe in the Horizon Europe project EVELYN.

Position 2 focuses on mechanistic interpretability of machine learning models. This project investigates how deep learning systems make predictions internally and develops post-hoc interpretability techniques to explain trained models. The work may involve transformers, graph neural networks, and other AI architectures, with applications ranging from social network analysis to molecular simulation, provided the data includes ground-truth explanations for evaluation. This position is embedded in the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) and the Informatics Institute, within the Socially Intelligent Artificial Systems (SIAS) group.

The positions are led by Prof. Evangelos Kanoulas and Dr. Ana Lucic. The project environment is highly collaborative and research-oriented, with opportunities to publish at major AI and machine learning venues such as ICLR, SIGIR, ACL, EMNLP, NeurIPS, ICML, FAccT, and AAAI.

Applicants must have an MSc in artificial intelligence, computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics, or a related field, plus a demonstrable background in machine learning, strong Python software engineering skills, and fluent English. The university asks for a motivation letter, a transcript of Master-level courses, a writing sample, and a detailed CV; a GitHub or portfolio link is strongly encouraged. The appointment is for four years, with an initial 18-month contract subject to satisfactory evaluation, and includes an educational plan and teaching duties.

The salary is a gross monthly amount of €3,204 to €4,051 based on 38 hours per week, excluding holiday and year-end allowances. The deadline for applications is 15 January 2027.