Two-year postdoc in Natural Language Processing and Representation Learning of Metaphorical Language in Large Language Models at the Centre for Language Technology Full-time

Postdoctoral Fellowship In Natural Language Processing

The Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), Denmark, invites applications for a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in natural language processing to be filled by August 1, 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter.

The Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics is home to 1600 students and 160 members of staff. It provides the setting for international research and education from BA to PhD studies within language, language technology, natural language processing, literature, media, culture, and gender studies.

The successful candidate will be attached to the Centre for Language Technology (CST), which is one of the research centres of the department. CST conducts research in different areas of interest for language technology, such as natural language processing, construction of NLP resources, computational cognitive modeling and multimodality, NLP infrastructure and policy, representation learning for NLP and digital humanities, among others. It has a strong international profile, at the same time as pursuing the development of language technology methods and resources for the Danish language. The centre has considerable experience managing international research projects, frequently attracts visiting researchers, and has organized major conferences in the field. In collaboration with the Department of Computer Science at the University of Copenhagen, it offers an international MSc programme in IT and Cognition. The programme, which currently admits about 30 students a year, comprises a range of courses in natural language processing and cognitive science. In addition, we teach at several BA programs and electives, such as the BA 'Kognitions- and Datavidenskab' hosted at the Department of Psychology and an elective package on Language-Centric AI for students in the Humanities.

Job content: The successful candidate will contribute to the project METALLM (Exploring Metaphors in LLMS), granted by the Independent Research Fund Denmark 2026-2029; see https://cst.ku.dk/english/projects/metallm. The candidate will contribute to the project's work package 1: Exploring Metaphor Encodings in LLMs. The main goal of this package is to explore the internal dynamics of LLMs when processing metaphors and to investigate their relationship to human cognition and culture. Specifically, we aim to explain how an LLM implicitly maps the literal form of a metaphor to its linguistic and cultural meaning, and how this mapping can be informed by language- and culture-specific knowledge graphs that encode relationships between metaphorical expressions and their intended meanings.

We expect the candidates to have a relevant research profile in computational linguistics and natural language processing (or other related areas) with a strong publication record in computational linguistics conferences (ACL, EMNLP, COLING, LREC, and so on).

Teaching qualifications are not a requirement, even if the candidate will contribute with limited teaching. More details on our educational programmes are provided at https://www.ku.dk/studies/bachelor/cognitive-data-science, and https://www.ku.dk/studies/masters/it-and-cognition.

Qualification requirements: Applicants will primarily be assessed on their research qualifications, including publications, the ability to conduct independent research and participate in research collaborations, and experience in research management. In addition, the applicant's research plan and research potential will be assessed in relation to the project described above. Teaching qualifications are not a requirement, but since the candidate will be expected to teach to a limited extent, documented teaching experience can be included in the overall assessment.

Application: Applications must be submitted online in PDF or Word format. Click on the “Apply now” button at the bottom of this advertisement to apply. Applications should be written in English and must include the following attachments:

1. Letter of motivation

2. CV

3. Documentation of qualifications (exam certificates and PhD diploma)

4. Complete publication list (attached publications must be marked with an asterisk). The list must be structured systematically and divided into the following categories:

• Peer-reviewed publications: Monographs and anthologies, articles in journals, book chapters/anthology contributions, etc.
• Non-peer-reviewed publications: Publications disseminating research findings, etc.

Applicants can attach a maximum of 3 publications. The publication dates must be clearly marked on the list. The selected publications must be uploaded as attachments and numbered 1-3.

5. Research plan.

6. Documentation of teaching competencies/teaching portfolio (see the UCPH guidelines for teaching portfolios here) and other work on the dissemination of research. Only documentation in English will be assessed. Applicants are invited to familiarize themselves with the faculty's strategy landmarks here: Strategic landmarks – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk).

Salary and terms of employment: Terms of appointment and salary will be in accordance with an agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC). The salary range starts at DKK 39,200 (EUR 5,200) + a 18.07% contribution to the pension scheme. It is possible to negotiate salary supplements on an annual basis.

The recruitment process: Once the deadline for applications has expired, the Head of Department will consider advice from the appointment committee and select applicants for assessment. All applicants will be notified whether they have been shortlisted. The Head of Department will then set up an expert assessment committee to consider the applications. The selected applicants will be informed who is serving on the committee. They will be offered the opportunity to comment on the committee's assessment of their application before the appointment is announced.

Further information on the recruitment process at University of Copenhagen can be found here: Recruitment process – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk).

An Equal Opportunity Workplace: The University of Copenhagen is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to creating an inclusive working environment and therefore encourages all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of personal background, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity, etc. For more on the diverse working place environment at the University and the University's participation in the HRS4R HR Excellence in Research, see HR Excellence in Research – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk).

International applicant? The University of Copenhagen offers a wide variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including support before and during your relocation and career counselling to expat partners. Please find more information about these services as well as information on entering and working in Denmark, here: For international researchers at the University of Copenhagen – University of Copenhagen (ku.dk).

Contact information: Information about the recruitment process is available from HR Soendre, email: hr-soendre@adm.ku.dk, please refer to ID number: 211-2468/26-2I.

Additional information about the position can be obtained from Ass. Professor Ali Basirat, email: alib@hum.ku.dk or Professor Bolette Sandford Pedersen, email: bspedersen@hum.ku.dk.

The deadline for applications is 23:59 [CET] on 15 March 2026. Any applications or additional material submitted after the deadline will not be considered.