Post-doctoral Research Associate in Computational Linguistics

KINGS COLLEGE LONDON; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

A prestigious university in the UK is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Computational Linguistics to lead computational efforts for a project on Latin lexical semantics. The successful applicant will develop algorithms for word sense disambiguation and collaborate with linguists on corpus development. Candidates should have a PhD in a relevant field and strong skills in NLP, Python, and collaborative research.

Qualifications

• PhD awarded or near completion in Computational Linguistics or Natural Language Processing.
• Demonstrated experience with computational semantics models.
• Strong publication record appropriate to career stage.

Responsibilities

• Lead the computational stream of the COALA project.
• Develop algorithms for word sense disambiguation.
• Contribute to the annotation of a large corpus.

Skills

Computational semantics models

Word sense disambiguation

Semantic change detection

Python

NLP libraries

Collaboration in interdisciplinary teams

Excellent written communication

Experience with historical texts

Knowledge of diachronic NLP

Interest in digital humanities

Education

PhD in Computational Linguistics or related field

Job description

Overview

King’s College London invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Computational Linguistics to lead the computational stream of the COALA project in the Computational Humanities research group. The role supports a 5-year project focused on Latin lexical semantics, data collection and pre-processing, and development of time-sensitive word sense disambiguation, contributing to a large annotated corpus and quantitative analyses.

Responsibilities

• Lead the computational stream of the COALA project, including planning and executing data collection, preprocessing, and corpus development for a large Latin texts dataset.
• Develop and apply algorithms for time-sensitive word sense disambiguation and semantic change analysis in Latin.
• Contribute to the creation of a 100-million-token annotated corpus and conduct large-scale quantitative analyses of semantic change.
• Collaborate with Latin linguists to integrate linguistic insights into computational models.
• Develop open-source tools and resources to support future research in historical semantics and NLP.
• Work with a team of postdoctoral researchers and external advisors across linguistics, NLP, and classical studies, reporting to the Principal Investigator.
• Engage in dissemination of results through publications, presentations, and code/documentation.

Qualifications

• PhD awarded in Computational Linguistics, Natural Language Processing, or a closely related field, or PhD near completion in the same fields*
• Demonstrated experience with computational semantics models, word sense disambiguation, or semantic change detection
• Proficiency in Python and relevant NLP libraries
• Experience working with large-scale corpora or annotation pipelines
• Strong publication record comparable with your career stage
• Ability to work collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience with historical texts or historical languages, especially Latin
• Familiarity with corpus annotation standards and tools
• Knowledge of diachronic NLP or time-sensitive semantic modelling
• Interest in digital humanities or historical linguistics

* Please note that this is a PhD level role but candidates who have submitted their thesis and are awaiting award of their PhDs will be considered. Should the successful candidate be awaiting the award of their PhD, the appointment will be made at Grade 5, spinal point 30 with the title of Research Assistant until confirmation of the award of the PhD has been received. Upon confirmation of the award of the PhD, the job title will become Research Associate and the salary will increase to Grade 6, spine point 31.

Additional Information

Details and full information about the role are provided in the Job Description document linked at the bottom of the page. This document outlines the criteria assessed at each stage of the recruitment process.

Organisational Context and Diversity Commitment

We pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming. We embrace diversity and want everyone to feel that they belong and are connected to others in our community. We are committed to working with staff and unions to support our people and develop a diverse and inclusive culture at King’s. As part of this commitment, we aim to develop candidate pools that include applicants from all backgrounds and communities.

Applicants are invited to submit a CV and a supporting statement detailing how they meet the essential criteria. If a strong field of candidates exists, we may use desirable criteria to inform shortlist decisions; please provide evidence against these where possible. For guidance on how managers will review applications, see the How we Recruit pages.

Grade and Salary: £45,031- £47,379 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance

Job ID: 130705

Close Date: 02-Dec-2025

Contact Person: Barbara McGillivray

Contact Details: [e-mail]