Postdoctoral Researcher in Computational Social Science

Emerging Scholars Council; Minnesota; On-site; USD 46,000 - 63,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Travel support

International visitors

Job summary

Aalto University invites a postdoctoral researcher to advance a project on social networking in the era of artificially intelligent agents. The role blends behavioral, social, and computer science, with collaboration across disciplines and aims to publish in top international venues.

The starting salary is 4,230 EUR per month. The contract is typically two years with a potential extension, located at Otaniemi campus.

Qualifications

• PhD in behavioral, cognitive, or social science or related computational profile.
• Active interdisciplinary collaborations with previous fields.

Responsibilities

• Design and run advanced online experiments and surveys with human participants.
• Run social simulations with AI agents.
• Code in Python or similar for simulation, visualization, and causal inference.

Skills

Advanced online experiments

Social simulations

Python or similar for analytics

Education

PhD in behavioral/c Cognitive/social science

Tools

Empirica

Concordia

Job description

We are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to support the project "Social networking in the era of artificially intelligent agents” funded by the Research Council of Finland. The direction is to design new AI-supported experimental or observational research methods to understand the foundations of social life. In particular, we will focus on the microfoundations of social networking—why do we actually know the people we know? How and to what extent do we choose our acquaintances? And decision-making—why do we decide what we do in a given context?

Your role and goals

Your primary goal in this position will be to do excellent research at the borderland of behavioral, social, and computer science, both in collaboration with the Aalto team and within your existing professional network. We aim to continue publishing in top international interdisciplinary or social science venues. In addition to research work, persons hired are expected to participate in teaching in accordance with the department’s standard practices.

Your network and collaborators

You will work closely together with the PI, his group of three Ph.D. students, and his international colleagues. You will also be embedded in the vibrant Society & Networks research area, with 8 faculty members and around 30 students and postdocs.

Your Experience And Background

Requirements for postdoc applicants:

• Ph.D. in behavioral, cognitive, or social science, or a Ph.D. with a computational profile (computer science, engineering, applied mathematics, or natural science) and active experience with interdisciplinary collaborations with the previous fields.
• The Ph.D. should be no more than three years old at the date of application (disregarding parental leaves and similar career breaks). Current Ph.D. students expected to obtain a Ph.D. before the end of 2026 are also welcome to apply.

Prioritized Research Experience (at Least Two Of These Points)

• Designing and running advanced online experiments and surveys with human participants using platforms like Empirica or similar.
• Running social simulations with AI agents using platforms like Concordia or similar.
• Coding in Python or a similar language for simulation, visualization, and advanced statistical analysis (causal inference, etc.).

What We Offer

The starting salary for the position is 4230 EUR per month. In addition to the salary, the contract includes occupational health benefits, and Finland has a comprehensive social security system. The annual total workload of research and teaching staff at Aalto University is 1612 hours. The position is located at the Aalto University’s Otaniemi campus. A typical contract will be for two years with an option for extension. The starting date is negotiable, but the fall 2026 or January 2027 would be preferable.

There is generous travel support for various conferences and workshops, and we also have incoming international visitors at regular intervals. You will have opportunities to establish new collaborations and expand your professional network.

Ready to apply?

To apply for the position, please submit your application, including the attachments listed below, as a single PDF document in English through our online recruitment system using the link on Aalto University’s web page ("Apply Now").

• Letter of motivation (including information on the above-listed requirements and desired skills for the position).
• CV including a list of publications.
• Degree certificates and academic transcripts.
• Contact details of at least two references.

The deadline for applications is August 17, 2026. Aalto University reserves the right, for justified reasons, to leave the position open, extend the application period, reopen the application process, and consider candidates who have not submitted applications during the application period.

Please note: Aalto University’s employees and visitors should apply for the position via our internal system, Workday -> find jobs (not the external aalto.fi webpage for open positions), using their existing Workday user account.

Further information

Petter Holme, e-mail "[e-mail]" (research related information)

HR Advisor, e-mail "[e-mail]" (recruitment process). (Not available July 3–23.)

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