Associate/Assistant Professor: Language and Speech Technology

1. Introduction

Language and speech technology research is a key driver of new developments. We are looking for a leading international researcher to join our faculty to build our strong reputation in this field. We are looking for an Associate or Assistant Professor with a focus on speech technology, preferably including its relation to human-centered AI. You will have two main tasks: research and teaching.

2. Job description

To enable a flying start and to underline our ambitions for this growth area, the Centre for Language Studies offers extra research time: for the first two years of this position, 0.6 FTE is available for research and 0.4 FTE for teaching. After this, the split is 0.4/0.6 as with all comparable positions in our faculty.

Research on Language and speech technology research underpins new developments in how we interact with ‘’AI” and handle knowledge, cultural heritage, education, and healthcare. In these domains, audio and text retrieval, multimedia understanding, multilingualism, voice-driven interfaces, speech evaluation and speech-based diagnostics offer much scope for fundamental, applied and contract-based research. You will make an active contribution to research in at least two of these areas through your own work and collaboration within and outside the university. At the Centre for Language Studies, you will develop research lines in the field of Language and Speech Technology and AI, and you will publish your findings in relevant venues. You will supervise PhD candidates and junior staff in these fields, and contribute to interdisciplinary collaborations with a keen understanding of ethical aspects.

You will provide teaching in the field of language and speech technology in the context of various teaching programmes in the faculty. You will apply your expertise in high-quality teaching within relevant BA and MA programmes and tracks, including BA Linguistics and BA Communication and Information Sciences, MA Linguistics/Language and Communication Technology, and Research MA Linguistics and Communication Sciences. Our specialisations attract students from our own programmes but also from other faculties (including AI and Data Science). A cross-disciplinary approach is an important starting point. You will contribute to supervising lab rotations and theses in which students develop their own research themes, and you will train students for work in education, industry or government.

The section you will work in – the expert group on AI: Language, Communication and Technology within the department of Language and Communication – offers a dynamic environment with a strong focus on interdisciplinary research and a plurality of methodological approaches. The additional research time in the first two years provides a soft landing, ample space to realise ambitions, and an opportunity to unhurriedly work on a close connection between research and teaching. We look forward to the contributions you can make as a new colleague.

The position can be filled as either an Associate Professor or an Assistant Professor. If you start as an Assistant Professor, your supervisor will make a plan for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor once you have a permanent contract subject to performance review that takes into account the profile requirements.

3. Profile

As an Associate Professor, you recognize yourself in the profile requirements below. As an Assistant Professor, you recognize the profile requirements below within your intended career path.

• You are an internationally prominent researcher with demonstrable impact and recognition for your research in the field of language and speech technology, and you hold a PhD in a relevant discipline.
• You contribute to progress at the intersection of speech technology and language and/or communication science, as seen, for example, in your recent publications, your contributions to the international community, and your vision for the future.
• Your work shows a clear vision of the tension between profit-driven development and fundamental or society-oriented research.
• You have a network relevant to this vacancy and you have demonstrable collaborative experience, for instance in acquiring and conducting contract research and in leading and contributing to collaborations – preferably extending beyond academia to government, industry and/or societal partners.
• Your publications, teaching modules or other academic contributions demonstrate your affinity for educating students who can skillfully and critically deploy and evaluate technology as well as contribute to its development and innovation.
• You have a University Teaching Qualification or are willing to obtain this qualification within two years.
• You are proficient in Dutch. If you are not Dutch-speaking, you will be expected to acquire a good command of Dutch within two years.

4. We are

The Department of Language and Communication carries out teaching and research in the fields of language, communication and information. The team in the expert group on AI: Language, Communication and Technology focuses on innovative work in language and speech technology, interactive interfaces, NLP, and data science. Research is embedded in the Centre for Language Studies (CLS), a research institute dedicated to understanding language and its use. CLS researchers study language from a variety of perspectives and in different contexts using a wide range of innovative research methods.

CLS strives to conduct research that is valuable to organisations and audiences outside of academia. Within CLS, the Centre for Language and Speech Technology (CLST) works on applications of high societal relevance such as automatic speech recognition, e-learning, e-government and e-health. The Humanities Lab provides excellent computing infrastructure and facilities for experimental and corpus-based research. CLS collaborates with iHub, the interdisciplinary hub for digitization and society, where programmers, computer scientists, philosophers, ethicists and language researchers work together on questions relation to technology and digital society. In addition, CLS is a partner of the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour and maintains strong collaborations with the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, which is also located on campus.

The Faculty of Arts represents a broadly humanistic, constructive and critical view of culture, language and technology. Two spearheads of research and teaching in the faculty are Human-centred AI and Multilingualism.

5. We offer

• We will give you a temporary employment contract of 18 months with the prospect of an indefinite contract, upon proven suitability and continuation in the same position and under constant operating conditions.
• Depending on your scientific track record and experience you will be appointed as an Assistant Professor or Associate Professor, potentially with career track criteria for future promotion.
• As an Assistant Professor your salary within salary scale 11 of 12 depends on your previous education and number of years of (relevant) work experience. The amounts in the scale are based on a 38-hour working week. If you have not yet completed your PhD, starting grade salary scale 10 may apply.
• As an Associate Professor your salary within salary scale 13 of 14 depends on your previous education and number of years of (relevant) work experience. The amounts in the scale are based on a 38-hour working week. 
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20.

6. Practical information and applying

You can apply only via the button below. Address your letter of application to Jos Hornikx. In the application form, you will find which documents you need to include with your application.

The first (online) interviews will take place on Tuesday 25 March. Any second interview will take place on Tuesday 8 April. You will preferably start your employment on 1 July 2025.

We can imagine you're curious about our application procedure. It describes what you can expect during the application procedure and how we handle your personal data and internal and external candidates. If you wish to apply for a non-scientific position with a non-EU nationality, please take notice of the following information.