Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in foundations and algorithm design for Machine Learning, SURE-AI
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in foundations and algorithm design for Machine Learning
A Postdoctoral Research Fellowship is available at Simula Metropolitan Center for Digital Engineering (SimulaMet), within the Department of Signal and Information Processing for Intelligent Systems (SIGIPRO).
This position is part of the National Norwegian Centre for Sustainable, Risk-averse and Ethical AI (SURE-AI), funded by the Research Council of Norway (RCN) (2025-2030), coordinated by Simula Research Laboratory (Simula). Simula is a leading Norwegian research institute known for its excellence in cutting-edge ICT with a strong track record of top evaluations, active international collaborations, and successful in significant funding initiatives, including European and National RCN grants. SimulaMet is a research centre jointly owned by Simula and Oslo Metropolitan University. It is the home of Simula’s research activities on networks and communications, artificial intelligence and IT management, and it is OsloMet’s strategic partner in digital engineering. SimulaMet supports talent development through PhD and postdoctoral programs and provides valuable research infrastructure, such as the national HPC facility, eX3, and network testbeds.
About SURE-AI
The primary objective of SURE-AI is to create a new generation of algorithms for inference and decision-making by pushing the boundaries of the underlying computational techniques. SURE-AI researchers will drive a transformative leap in AI through a groundbreaking Centre initiative dedicated to making AI more efficient, transparent and safe, addressing the critical challenges of resource consumption, behavior unpredictability and ethical alignment with human and societal values. The centre involves senior researchers from well-renowned national and international research institutions, in close collaboration with industry and public sector. Overall, SURE-AI includes 19 national Norwegian partners, as well as researchers from 15 international institutions.
SURE-AI is firmly committed to excellence in both cutting-edge research and training of outstanding young researchers, as described here. The appointed candidate is expected to actively contribute to one or more of SURE-AI’s work packages and innovation clusters, engage in collaboration across the SURE-AI network, and participate in all relevant centre activities.
Research Statement: Applicants are required to prepare a (max) 2-page research statement providing a personal view about the main research questions they are interested in, their relevance to this position, as well as about the key theoretical and methodological approaches to be followed. Applicants are encouraged to propose research ideas that combine rigorous ML designs, underlying mathematical methods, with exploratory, or unconventional problem formulations.
Job Description
The postdoctoral researcher position will be part of an interdisciplinary research environment including international collaborators. The Postdoctoral researcher is expected to cover the three fronts of theoretical analysis (e.g. performance guarantees), algorithm design and implementation, carrying out research on the following topics: a) learning explainable representations capturing optimally the complex spatio-temporal dependencies and geometry in multivariate data, as well as exploiting those learned representations for robust inference, reasoning, decision-making and control tasks, while allowing to incorporate knowledge and tracking uncertainties, b) constrained machine learning algorithms that embed safety, ethics, and regulatory requirements directly into training and decision-making processes, such as aligning Foundation Models with human values and designing risk-aware reinforcement learning frameworks, c) continual and online learning methods that adapt to time-varying distributions and non-IID data while providing formal generalization guarantees. By leveraging structural dependence representation learning, counterfactual reasoning and automated hyperparameter optimization, it will provide robust out-of-distribution performance and stability across non-stationary environments
All these projects/topics will incorporate real data in the context of impactful applications within the verticals of energy, finance and societal systems, in cooperation with some of the public or private partners involved and postdoctoral/senior researchers in the SURE-AI Center.
More about the position
The position is available for a period of 3 years. Given the availability of additional funding and a good match with the SimulaMet needs, the position may be extended to a maximum of 4 years, including other duties and/or research stays to some of the national or international partners in SURE-AI.
The purpose of a postdoctoral position is for the employee to develop a research profile and competence that qualifies them to apply for a Research Scientist or Associate Professor position. SimulaMet shall facilitate the acquisition of such competence during the employment period. A career plan shall be developed for the Postdoctoral Fellow, specifying the competencies the Postdoctoral Fellow should acquire. SimulaMet is responsible for following up on the career plan and ensuring that the Postdoctoral Fellow has access to career guidance throughout the postdoctoral term. The position may also provide other competencies relevant to the postdoctoral fellow's future career. In addition, for the professional career development of postdoctoral researchers, research stays abroad as well as presentation of the research findings at international/national conferences are facilitated and highly encouraged. In addition, training opportunities and support for writing grant proposals are also provided throughout the postdoc period.
Selection criteria
We will consider candidates who have a PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics or other related relevant discipline. The applicant is required to demonstrate how the degree corresponds to the profile of the post. Other required qualifications include:
- A strong background in optimization, data science, machine learning and signal processing, proven by a high-quality publication record.
- Previous experience in both designing novel data-driven learning and control methods and applying them to real data, as proved by publicly released code and publications.
- Excellent software development skills demonstrated by previously released software packages, fluency in Python and/or Matlab.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and a record of previous talks at international conferences.
- Ambition to carry out interdisciplinary research and willingness to work as part of an international team.
Interest in and ability to collaborate across disciplines and institutions.Relevance of profile to SURE-AI’s aims and objectives.
- Sharing Simula’s core values: excellence, impact, curiosity, ambition and respect.
The doctoral dissertation must be (at least) submitted for evaluation by the application deadline. Appointment is dependent on the public defense of the doctoral thesis being approved.
In addition, we will also evaluate the following personal skills:
- Personal suitability and motivation for the position.
- Strong ability to work purposefully, systematically, and independently.
- Time management and ability to carry out tasks within the allotted time frame.
- Very good collaboration skills and an ability to join interdisciplinary academic communities.
The research statement will also be an important selection criterion based on: a) the candidate’s engagement with SURE-AI, in particular, the areas in SURE-AI associated to this position, b) the awareness of the state-of-the-art in the areas mentioned above in the selection criteria, c) the suitability of their proposed methods for SURE-AI, and the innovativeness and scientific merit of their research ideas.
Simula offers
- Excellent opportunities for performing high-quality research, as part of a highly competent and motivated team of international researchers and engineers.
- An informal and inclusive international working environment.
- Generous support for travel and opportunities to build international networks, through established collaboration with industry, exchange programs and research visits with other universities, and funding to attend conferences.
- Modern office facilities located in downtown Oslo
- A competitive salary. Starting salary from NOK 595 000.
- Numerous benefits: access to a company cabin, sponsored social events, generous equipment budgets (e.g., computer, phone and subscription), subsidized canteen meals, comprehensive travel/group life insurance policy, etc.
- Relocation assistance: accommodation, visas, complimentary Norwegian language courses, etc.
- Administrative research support: e.g., quality assurance process for grant proposals (including RCN and EU programs)
- Wellness and work-life balance. Our employees’ health and well-being are a priority, and we encourage them to make use of our flexible work arrangements to help balance their work and home lives efficiently.
Application
Interested applicants are requested to submit the following:
- Curriculum vitae showing your educational background, working experience (in particular, any relevant academic or industrial work), a list of scientific publications and talks.
- Cover letter: outline your motivation for applying, relevant experience and qualifications, research interests and how/why you are qualified for the position.
- Transcripts from Bachelor, MS and PhD degrees.
- Contact information of three references including the main PhD supervisor.
- Research statement (max. two pages).
Please note that all documents must be in English language.
Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system, click "Go to application form".
Do not submit other certificates, articles, and the like unless specifically requested. If further documentation is wanted for assessment, you will be asked to submit it later.
Deadline: April 6, 2026
Short-listed candidates will be invited for an interview. Applications will be screened continuously and a decision will be made as soon as we find the right candidate. Expected starting date Aug-Sept 2026 (flexible).
General Information
Six national research centers for Artificial Intelligence (AI) launched in the Fall of 2025. Each of these centers will foster interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers to address both scientific and societal challenges, develop new technologies, understand the impact of AI, and drive innovation across both the business and public sectors. This initiative is established and financed through the government's significant investment in artificial intelligence over the next five years. SURE-AI is one of these six centres.
About SimulaMet, Simula Research Laboratory and Norway
Simula is organised as a group of legal units which together perform Simula's activities in research, education and innovation. The name “Simula” often refers to this group of companies. SimulaMet is part of the Simula group, and performs high quality research in the fields of machine learning and data science, IT management and communication systems.
Simula Research Laboratory AS is a publicly owned research lab. Simula conducts Information and Communication Technology (ICT) research in the fields of scientific computing, machine learning, software engineering, communication systems, and cybersecurity. SimulaMet and Simula Research Laboratory are both located centrally in Oslo, Norway,
Simula's main objective is to create knowledge about fundamental scientific challenges that are of genuine value for society. This is achieved through high quality research, education of graduate students, industry collaboration, technology transfer, and commercialization. Since 2001, scientific evaluations conducted by the Research Council of Norway have repeatedly placed Simula at the forefront of international research in ICT. The most recent in-depth evaluation was published in 2025, grading our full range of research as excellent, ranking SIMULA the highest of all Norwegian research institutions regarding impact and publication quality (p14. in National EVALMIT report).
Simula appreciates diversity. We currently employ approximately 200 individuals from 35 countries and strive to create a family-friendly working environment. We are an equal opportunity employer and encourages women to apply
Simula has a close collaboration with leading universities in Norway and abroad, both in terms of research and education, and facilitates extended research stays abroad. Our Master's and PhD students conduct their research at Simula and attend courses and receive their degrees from university partners.
Norway is famous for its epic outdoor scenery, with wonderful fjords, gorgeous waterfalls and majestic mountain ranges. Moreover, Norway is a safe and peaceful country with a thriving economy, offering a high standard of living and all the benefits of a social-democratic welfare state, such as social security and universal public healthcare.
Learn more about Norway: Official travel guide to Norway
Simula: solving problems, making a difference.
Simula’s mission is to solve important and fundamental problems of science and engineering, with the main goal of improving society. We do this by concentrating on five select research areas in ICT and performing excellent research, by developing our people, and by spinning out applicable results into profitable startups.
Learn more about: working at Simula and careers at Simula
Simula uses Semac´s background check in our recruitment process.
According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.
Employment for this position will be made according to the Security Act and the Act relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and any attachments are considered to be in conflict with these regulations will not qualify for this position.
If you have been funded by the Research Council of Norway (RCN) in a previous position, you cannot apply for this job. RCN funding can only be granted for one period.
Questions about the position, please contact:
Professor and Chief Research Scientist
Director of SURE-AI Centre
Head of SIGIPRO Department
Simula Metropolitan