Postdoctoral Researcher in Memory access in language

Sport Society; Utrecht; On-site; EUR 60.000 - 80.000; Full time

Job summary

A leading research university in Utrecht is seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher for a two-year position focused on memory access in language. The role involves developing models for understanding linguistic information storage and retrieval, and requires a PhD in a related field along with strong programming and computational research skills. The position offers a gross monthly salary of €4,412 to €4,571.

Benefits

8% holiday pay

8.3% year-end bonus

Pension scheme

Flexible terms of employment

Qualifications

• Strong background in computational research on language, AI, NLP, or related areas.
• Interest in foundational and formal computational models of language.
• Ability to work independently and as part of an interdisciplinary team.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement and test a general model of memory explaining how linguistic information is stored.
• Integrate insights from computational and theoretical linguistics with general cognitive mechanisms.
• Contribute to the computational component of the project.

Skills

Computational research on language

AI

NLP

Computational psychology

Excellent academic English (C1 level)

Solid programming skills

Education

PhD in computational linguistics, AI, computer science, psychology or a closely related field

Job description

Overview

Postdoctoral Researcher in Memory access in language. Two-year position at the Institute for Language Sciences (ILS), Utrecht University. ERC-funded project Memory access in language (MEMLANG): How we store and retrieve linguistic information, led by Jakub Dotlacil. Location: Utrecht University, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Languages, Literature and Communication. Hours per week: 32 to 36. Application deadline: 9 November 2025.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement and test a general model of memory explaining how linguistic information is stored and retrieved, and how language use and memory interact during communication.
• Integrate insights from computational and theoretical linguistics with general cognitive mechanisms; aim to predict behavioural and neural data across linguistic domains (from the lexicon to discourse semantics).
• Contribute to the computational component of the project, collaborating with the PI, PhD candidates, and another postdoctoral researcher (NLP, multimodal models).
• Data modelling and analysis, including modelling behavioural (reading-time) and EEG data by combining NLP techniques with cognitive modelling.
• Report findings in peer-reviewed journals and at international conferences; contribute to supervising PhD candidates within the team.

Qualifications

• PhD in computational linguistics, AI, computer science, psychology or a closely related field.
• Strong background in computational research on language, AI, NLP, computational psychology, or related areas; interest in foundational and formal computational models of language; willingness to engage in experimental work and interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Excellent academic English skills (C1 level).
• Ability to work independently and as part of an interdisciplinary team; strong organisational, social and communication skills.
• Solid programming skills.

Our offer

• Two-year position starting 1 March 2026.
• Working week of 0.9 FTE; gross monthly salary between €4,412 and €4,571 (full-time equivalent), salary scale 10.5–10.6 under the CAO NU.
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus; pension scheme; partially paid parental leave; flexible terms of employment under the CAO NU.

About us

Utrecht University aims to contribute to a better future through leading research and inspiring teaching. The Faculty of Humanities brings together four knowledge domains and collaborates across disciplines. The Institute for Language Sciences (ILS) collaborates with related research teams on language, logic and information.

More information

Contact: Jakub Dotlacil ([e-mail]) or Maaike Schoorlemmer ([e-mail]).

Apply now

To apply, submit: your curriculum vitae with full personal and academic details; a motivation letter; copies of diplomas and transcripts; your (draft) PhD thesis and relevant publications; names and contact details of two academic referees. Include your name and the position reference in filenames. Interviews will be held during the week of 24 November 2025. Application deadline: 9 November 2025.