Job Opening: Postdoctoral Researcher in the Mathematical Foundations of AI

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The University of Pennsylvania is seeking a candidate for a Postdoctoral Researcher position in the Mathematical Foundations of AI under the supervision of Professors Alejandro Ribeiro, Hamed Hassani (Dept. of Electrical and Systems Engineering) and Edgar Dobriban (Dept. of Statistics and Data Science).

The position is designed to be a career-building step for new scholars. The primary focus is for the scholar to develop her/his research program. The research is will focus on the mathematical foundations of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and specifically focus on the alignment of AI models. Specific topics ensure aligning large language models and diffusion models to satisfy specific constraints on safety, robustness, etc, with provable theoretical properties and competitive empirical performance.

Successful candidates will prepare and submit papers to top conferences in machine learning and AI, such as NeurIPS, ICML, and ICLR.

The position has a start date of July 1, 2026. It will continue for a year, with possibility of renewal pending available funds. A competitive stipend will be provided. The start date is flexible.

The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity employer. Candidates are considered for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, creed, national origin (including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics), citizenship status, age, disability, veteran status or any class protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

QUALIFICATIONS

Candidates should show outstanding capacity for research, and an excellent publication record, in machine learning, AI, optimization, and/or theoretical computer science. Publications in leading conferences are expected. Applicants must have a Ph.D. in electrical engineering, computer science, applied math, statistics,  or a related field from an accredited institution.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Please submit a CV, research statement, as well as the names and e-mail addresses of 3 referees to Edgar Dobriban (dobriban@wharton.upenn.edu), Hamed Hassani (hassani@seas.upenn.edu), and Alejandro Ribeiro (aribeiro@seas.upenn.edu). Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.