Colby College Hiring for DavisAI Postdoctoral Associate at Waterville, Maine Full Time

The Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence at Colby College invites applications for the third DavisAI postdoctoral associate.

The Davis Institute for AI is the first cross-disciplinary institute for AI at a liberal arts college. The Institute exists to facilitate interdisciplinary human-centered faculty and student scholarship, and to enable every student to become a critical, informed AI tool user or tool builder.  As part of this work, Colby College is hiring an interdisciplinary cluster of four faculty members and two postdoctoral associates over the next two years. These include current searches for scholars of Environmental AI and Philosophy of AI. Faculty at Colby have numerous opportunities to collaborate on research and teaching related to AI; currently there are faculty pursuing AI-related scholarship in geology, anthropology, music, physics, economics, east Asian studies and computer science. For more about the Davis Institute for AI see https://davisinstituteai.colby.edu

The successful candidate for this position will have the opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary AI research in a highly collaborative environment, and to shape the future of AI education within the liberal arts context. The position offers a competitive salary, generous research and travel funding allowances, and mentoring and professional development. The title may be “postdoctoral associate” or (for qualified candidates) “visiting assistant professor”. This is an annual renewable appointment for up to two years, subject to performance.

The successful candidate will have:

• A demonstrated track record of publication in one or more areas of artificial intelligence. Interest in the social, cultural and ethical implications of AI (prior research experience in one of these areas preferred). Interest in interdisciplinary scholarship (interdisciplinary research experience preferred). Interest in pedagogy (teaching experience preferred).

The search committee is especially interested in candidates who, through their research, teaching, and/or service, will contribute to the diversity and excellence of the campus community.

 The successful candidate will be responsible for:

• Pursuing a research agenda designed in collaboration with Amanda Stent, Director of the Davis Institute for AI, and relevant other faculty at Colby. Candidates should be able to speak to how their work would contribute to one or more of the Davis Institute for AI areas of focus: economics and finance, computational approaches to the social sciences, computational biology, bioinformatics and genomics, the environment and oceans, and ethics and society. Candidates with experience in AI approaches to digital humanities, or in science, technology and society, are especially welcome to apply. Advising / consulting with Colby faculty and students who are working on AI projects. A solid understanding of machine learning, proficiency in python or R, and core software engineering skills are essential. Excellent communication and collaboration skills are required. Experience with the entire model development lifecycle, from problem formation through data collection and analysis, model development, and model deployment, is important. Co-planning and teaching AI courses. Interest in teaching at the undergraduate level is essential. The teaching load will be one course per academic year. In addition, the successful candidate will co-teach one-two hands-on AI trainings for Colby and Maine researchers each academic year, each of up to a week long.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to co-organize a summer workshop in their area of expertise, and to collaborate on grant proposals.

The successful candidate will relocate to the Colby College campus in Waterville ME in July or August 2024. A PhD in a computing-related field is expected prior to the start date. Applicants should provide a cover letter, curriculum vitae, research statement, and statement of teaching philosophy that demonstrates commitment to the value of diversity and to inclusive teaching. Applicants should also provide up to five representative publications and contact information for three references.

Applications may be submitted through: https://apply.interfolio.com/140476

Davis Institute for AI website: https://artificial-intelligence.colby.edu/

In case of questions email: [email protected].

Review of applications will begin February 1, 2024 and continue until the position is filled.

Colby is a private, coeducational liberal arts college that admits students and makes personnel decisions on the basis of the individual’s qualifications to contribute to Colby’s educational objectives and institutional needs. The principle of not discriminating on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, caste, national or ethnic origin, marital status, genetic information, political beliefs, veteran or military status, parental status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, physical or mental disability unrelated to the job or course of study requirements is consistent with the mission of a liberal arts college and the law.