Postdoctoral Researcher in Language Technology or Digital Humanities

University of Helsinki; Helsinki; On-site; EUR 45,000 - 46,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Occupational health care

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

University of Helsinki invites applications for a fixed-term Post-Doctoral Researcher in Language Technology or Digital Humanities for 28 months, starting January 2027. Based in the Multimodality Research Group, Department of Languages, the project develops multimodal corpora and annotation methods.

The appointee will build corpora, apply ML and CV techniques, and report results in lead- and co-authored publications. Residency in the Helsinki area is expected.

Qualifications

• PhD in language technology, digital humanities or related field.
• Strong programming skills and experience with ML libraries.
• Experience applying computational methods to large multimodal datasets.
• Ability to work independently in a multidisciplinary team with diverse backgrounds.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to building large multimodal corpora with multi-layer annotations.
• Develop approaches using computer vision and large language models for annotation.
• Evaluate annotations with human-in-the-loop and publish results.
• Contribute to teaching up to 10% of annual time.

Skills

Programming

Machine learning

Multimodal data

Teamwork

English proficiency

Education

Doctoral degree in language tech or digital humanities

Tools

High-performance computing

Job description

The Faculty of Humanities at the University of Helsinki invites applications for the position of POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHER IN LANGUAGE TECHNOLOGY OR DIGITAL HUMANITIES for a fixed-term period of 28 months, starting in January 2027.

This position is based at the Multimodality Research Group in the Department of Languages and funded by an ERC Consolidator Grant awarded to Professor Tuomo Hiippala. The project develops novel methods and corpora for studying multimodality, or how humans communicate using combinations of multiple modes of expression. These methods and corpora are used to develop empirically founded theories of multimodal communication in the domain of everyday cultural artefacts. The data studied in the project includes, for example, school textbooks, news broadcasts, diagrams and instruction manuals.

Responsibilities

The post-doctoral researcher will contribute towards meeting the goals of the research project by participating in building several large multimodal corpora that target diverse page-based and audiovisual media, which are described using multiple layers of cross-referenced annotations. The appointee is expected to develop approaches that use computer vision, large language models and other computational methods to annotate the research data, and to evaluate and complement the resulting annotations using human-in-the-loop approaches. In addition to conducting research, the post-doctoral researcher is expected to report the results in lead- and co-authored publications submitted to suitable venues.

Qualifications

The appointee must hold a doctoral degree in language technology, digital humanities or a related field, and demonstrate a keen interest in the study of multimodal communication. Previous experience of applying computational methods to large volumes of multimodal data is essential. The appointee must have solid skills in programming and working with libraries for using machine learning models. Experience in building annotated datasets or corpora is considered an advantage: the same applies to managing large volumes of data and high-performance computing. The appointee must be able to work independently and as a part of a multidisciplinary research group consisting of researchers with diverse backgrounds, which span the humanities, computer science and engineering. Strong teamwork skills and an excellent command of written and spoken English are also required.

The appointee is expected to reside in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area while employed by the University of Helsinki.

What We Offer

The University of Helsinki is Finland's oldest and largest academic institution, an international scholarly community of 40,000 students and researchers. In international university rankings, the University of Helsinki is usually within the top 100 universities in the world. The University of Helsinki is seeking solutions to global challenges and engendering new thinking for the benefit of humanity.

The University of Helsinki's Faculty of Humanities is Finland's oldest and largest unit of teaching and research in the arts in terms of the organisation and selection of its disciplines. The faculty is also a significant international community of research, education and culture. The Faculty of Humanities studies and teaches languages and literature spoken in Europe and the rest of the world, in total almost 40 languages. It also develops general theories of linguistics, translation and literary studies.

The successful candidate will become a part of vibrant research community at the Faculty of Humanities. The four-year position offers an excellent opportunity to conduct pioneering research on the multimodality of human communication in a multidisciplinary environment. The project provides generous funding for conference travel and networking. The project also offers access to state-of-the-art computing resources provided free-of-charge by the CSC - the IT Center for Science.

• Standard Finnish pension benefits and occupational health care are provided for university employees.
• The employment contract will include a probationary period of six months.
• The starting salary for the position ranges from 4005 to 4140 euro per month, depending on experience and qualifications.
• The project provides generous funding for conference travel and networking.
• The project also offers access to state-of-the-art computing resources provided free-of-charge by the CSC - the IT Center for Science.
• The appointee is also expected to contribute to teaching, which is limited to 10% of annual working time.
• The University of Helsinki provides its staff with occupational health and fitness services, professional development opportunities, as well as a first-class research and teaching environment and the conditions necessary for international cooperation.

For further information about the position and the research project, please contact Professor Tuomo Hiippala ([e-mail]).