项目介绍

2026年5月14日

PhD position

There is a vacancy for a PhD Research Fellow in Informatics – AI Safety – at the Department of Informatics. The position is for a fixed-term period of 3 years with the possibility of a 4th year with career-promoting work (e.g. teaching at the Department). The position is financed by the University of Bergen.

About the project/work tasks

This position aims to advance scientific understanding of the internal mechanisms, failure modes, and alignment properties of modern AI tools like LLMs (large language models). The successful candidate will contribute to research that combines conceptual rigor with empirical analysis, helping to build an evidence-driven foundation for safer and more interpretable AI systems. Topics may include:

• Understanding emergent behaviors and representation learning in LLMs
• Developing causal or mechanistic approaches to interpretability
• Designing frameworks for steering model behavior in safety-critical contexts

Qualifications and personal qualities

• Applicants must hold a master’s degree or equivalent education in artificial intelligence, machine learning, algorithms, or a related area. Master students can apply provided they complete their final master exam before 30.06.2026. It is a condition of employment that the master’s degree has been awarded.
• An interest in AI safety and AI interpretability is a requirement.
• Applicants must document a strong background in one or several of the following fields relevant for research in this direction: machine learning, advanced programming, algorithms. 
• Strong programming skills is a requirement.
• Experience with programming work with state-of-the-art AI models is a strong advantage.
• Applicants must be able to work independently and in a structured manner and demonstrate good collaborative skills.
• Applicants must have good written and oral English skills.

Personal and relational qualities will be emphasized. Research experience, ambitions and potential will also count when evaluating the candidates.

Special requirements for the position 

The University of Bergen is subjected to the regulation for export control system. The regulation will be applied in the processing of the applications. 

About the PhD position

About the PhD Research Fellow position

The fellowship will be for a period of 3 years, with the possibility for a 4th year contingent on the qualifications of the candidate and the teaching needs of the department and will be decided by the head of department upon appointment. If a 4th year is granted, one year of career-promoting work associated with teaching, dissemination or research infrastructure/services, will be distributed over the full employment period and thus corresponding to 25 per cent of the time each year.

The employment period may be reduced if you have previously been employed in a qualifying post (e.g. research fellow, research assistant).

About the research training

As a PhD Research Fellow, you must participate in an approved educational programme for a PhD degree within a period of 3 years. The deadline for applying for admission to the PhD programme at The Faculty of Science and Technology is 2 months after you start your position or after the start of the research project that will lead to the PhD degree. It is a condition that you satisfy the enrolment requirements for the PhD programme at the University of Bergen.

We can offer

• A good and professionally stimulating working environment 
• Salary as PhD research fellow (code 1017) in the state salary scale. This constitutes a gross annual salary of NOK 593 700. Further increases in salary are made according to length of service in the position.
• Enrolment in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.
• Good welfare benefits

Your application must include

• a brief account of the applicant’s research interests and motivation for applying for the position
• a detailed justification of your qualifications in relation to the listed requirements, explaining how you meet each criterion. Additionally, you should address the “advantages” mentioned above, as these will be taken into account when ranking the candidates. 
• the names and contact information for two referees. One of these should be the main advisor for the master’s thesis or equivalent thesis 
• CV
• transcripts and diplomas showing completion of the bachelor’s and master’s degrees. If you have not yet completed your master’s degree, please submit a statement from your institution confirming the expected date of award of your master’s degree. Your master’s degree must be documented with transcripts and/or diploma before starting in the position.
• relevant certificates/references
• approved documentation of proficiency in English (if required, cf. English language requirements for PhD admission)
• a list of any works of a scientific nature (publication list with links)

The application and appendices with certified translations into English or a Scandinavian language must be uploaded at Jobbnorge.