Job opening: Two postdoctoral fellowships for the InfantSimulator project

Job description

The Cognitive Machine Learning team of the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en
Sciences Sociales and Ecole Normale Supérieure (PSL University) seeks
to recruit two postdoctoral researchers at the intersection between
human and artificial intelligence to work within the ERC-funded
InfantSimulator Project.

InfantSimulator investigates the computational mechanisms enabling
young children to learn their native language(s) much more efficiently
and robustly than current AI systems.

The successful candidates will be integrated into a multidisciplinary
team comprising language scientists, developmental psychologists, and
machine learning experts.

They will develop metrics to compare human and machine learning in
speech, language, and grounded communication skills. They will analyze
and/or modify cutting-edge machine learning architectures developed by
the team and compare them with existing experimental and observational
data in young children. If interested, candidates may participate in
the teams' activities in (co)advising master and PhD students and/or
teaching.

Research context

The Cognitive Machine Learning (CoML) team, a vibrant team composed of
10-15 people at the heart of the Quartier Latin in Paris, was
established 10 years ago by Emmanuel Dupoux with the aim to reverse
engineer human learning abilities using AI techniques. The team is
inserted internationally, in a network of academic and industrial
collaborators (META FAIR, Google Brain, INRIA teams), and locally in
the Data Science Center and in Laboratory of Cognitive and
Psycholinguistic Sciences (LSCP), a CNRS research unit with expertise
in language and baby science hosted in the interdisciplinary
Department of Cognitive Studies (DEC) of the Ecole Normale Supérieure.

Requirements

We expect candidates with a strong background in machine learning,
statistics, linguistics, cognitive science, or a combination of these
fields (PhD level required). The candidates must also be proficient in
high-level languages like Python or R. Familiarity with language or
early cognitive development would represent a strong
advantage. Excellent communication skills, team spirit, and an ability
to work in autonomy are essential; open science experience is highly
valued, as well as an appetite for multidisciplinarity and the ability
to think outside of the box. Fluent English, both spoken and written,
is required.

Salary:

The salary will be adjusted to the candidate's post-doctoral
experience (salary range 2,400-3,000 euros/month net before income
taxes).

Start date:

The positions would start in the fall of 2024 or early 2025, last for
4 years, and include a relocation package.

Applications and requests for information:

Review of applications will begin on July 15, 2024, on a rolling
basis. Please send to syntheticlearner@gmail.com

- a complete CV,

- a 1-page cover letter explaining how you fit the requirements
  mentioned above,

- a 2-page research statement explaining the research directions you
  hope to explore in the next two years,

- a sample of your own writing (e.g., a publication you wrote), (a
  link to) a sample of computer code you produced

- contact information of two references

Feel free to contact us for more information!
Cognitive Machine Learning Team
LSCP - EHESS - ENS - CNRS
45 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris France