项目介绍

2024年12月3日

Come work at the largest university of the Netherlands

As machine learning (ML) models continue to have influence on everyday life, it becomes increasingly important to understand how they work internally. Mechanistic interpretability is an emerging subfield of ML where the task is to reverse engineer how modern deep learning architectures make predictions. In this PhD position, you will focus on developing and evaluating post-hoc interpretability techniques, meaning that we are trying to understand predictions from ML models that have already been trained.

What are you going to do?

As a PhD candidate, you will conduct independent research on mechanistic interpretability. This is a relatively new field, so there is substantial room to contribute. This can be done for various types of AI models (e.g., transformers, GNNs, etc), and/or in the context of various applications, ranging from social network analysis to molecular simulation; as long as the data contains ground truth explanations, we can evaluate the new methods we propose. 

We are looking for an enthusiastic and creative individual who is interested in the following: 
•    Developing novel techniques for understanding how information flows through deep neural networks.
•    Developing evaluation frameworks for assessing the correctness of mechanistic interpretability techniques. 
•    Connecting empirical findings about model behavior to theoretical frameworks about computation.
•    Contributing to making AI systems more interpretable, reliable, and safe.
•    Publishing and presenting your findings at international AI conferences such as NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, FAccT, AAAI, ACL, EMNLP, etc. 

The exact topics and the work plan of the PhD will be defined together with the selected candidate.  

Your profile

Your experience and profile: 

• MSc in artificial intelligence, computer science, engineering, mathematics, physics, or a related discipline
• Demonstratable background in machine learning
• Excellent software engineering skills in Python
• Fluent in English, both written and spoken

Your application & contact

If you feel the profile fits you, and you are interested in the job, we look forward to receiving your application. You can apply online via the button below. We accept applications until and including 31 December 2024.

Applications should include the following information (all files besides your CV should be submitted in one single pdf file):

•    Letter of motivation, including a description of your research interests and an explanation for why you are applying for this position (maximum 1 page); 
•    List of all Master-level modules you have taken, with an official transcript of grades;
•    Writing sample, such as a Master’s thesis, a term paper, or a publication (in case of joint authorship, please clearly indicate your own contribution, you can refer to this typology to inform your answer); 
•    Detailed CV including the months when referring to your education and work experience;
•    Applicants are strongly encouraged to include a link to their GitHub repository, portfolio website, or any projects they have designed or developed, showcasing their work, and demonstrating relevant skills. 

Please make sure to provide ALL requested documents mentioned above.
You can use the CV field to upload your CV as a separate pdf document. Use the Cover Letter field to upload the other requested documents, including the motivation letter, as one single pdf file. A knowledge security check can be part of the selection procedure (for details: national knowledge security guidelines). Only complete applications received within the response period via the link below will be considered. We will invite potential candidates for online interviews soon after the expiration of the vacancy. If you encounter Error GBB451, reach out to our HR Department directly. They will gladly help you continue your application. 

Do you have any questions or do you require additional information? Please contact:
•    Dr. Ana Lucic (a.lucic@uva.nl). Please quote “PhD Position” in the email subject for requesting information.