Job Description

The Communication Networks Lab at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), led by Yasir Zaki, invites applications for a Postdoctoral Associate in Responsible AI and Computational Social Science. Our research examines how artificial intelligence, online platforms, and the Web shape individuals, societies, and access to information. Recent themes include large-language-model safety and bias, political behavior in AI systems, misinformation and online harms, platform and recommendation-system audits, multilingual and culturally inclusive AI evaluation, and biases in digital and scientific ecosystems. We seek an outstanding researcher who already has a demonstrated record of publishing rigorous work in leading AI, NLP, Web, computational-social-science, human-computer-interaction, or interdisciplinary-science venues. The successful candidate will be expected to formulate research questions, lead empirical projects, develop rigorous computational or experimental methods, publish in highly selective venues, and help mentor junior researchers.

The successful candidate will lead research in one or more areas such as:

• Safety, bias, fairness, and political behavior in large language models
• Multilingual and culturally inclusive AI evaluation
• Misinformation, toxicity, and online-harm measurement and mitigation
• Auditing recommendation systems, search systems, and online platforms
• AI-mediated political communication and public opinion
• Social and behavioral effects of generative AI
• Computational analysis of digital and scientific ecosystems
• Human-centered evaluation of AI systems
• Reproducible datasets, benchmarks, and auditing infrastructure for responsible AI. The candidate will have substantial freedom to develop new research directions aligned with the lab’s goal of creating a more trustworthy and socially responsible Web. Mandatory publication requirement Applicants must have a strong peer-reviewed publication record in leading venues relevant to this position

Qualifying conferences include:

• ACM Web Conference;
• ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT)
• International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media (ICWSM)
• ACL
• EMNLP
• NAACL
• COLING
• AAAI
• ACM CHI
• ACM CSCW

Qualifying journals include:

• Nature or relevant Nature-family journals, including Scientific Reports;
• Science and Science Advances
• PNAS or PNAS Nexus;
• National Science Review;
• IEEE Transactions on Computational Social Systems;
• ACM Transactions on the Web
• ACM Transactions on data science
• Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction;
• Journal of Computational Social Science.

At minimum, applicants must identify one qualifying paper in which they were the first or co-first author, or for which they can document an equivalent leading intellectual and technical contribution. A competitive applicant will normally have multiple strong research outputs appropriate to their career stage. Applications that do not demonstrate a publication record in at least one of the venues listed above will not be considered. General interest in responsible AI, coursework, use of machine-learning tools, unpublished projects, or publications only in unrelated venues do not satisfy this requirement. For collaborative publications, applicants must explain their personal contribution. Authorship by itself will not be treated as evidence of research leadership.

Qualifications

Candidate requirements Applicants must:

• Hold a PhD—or have completed all PhD requirements before starting—in computer science, information science, data science, computational social science, electrical or computer engineering, or a closely related discipline and be less than 5 years post-receipt of the doctoral degree.
• Meet the mandatory publication requirement above
• Demonstrate the ability to define and complete original, rigorous research
• Possess strong programming, experimental-design, and quantitative-analysis skills
• Have experience working with large-scale data, machine-learning models, human-subject studies, platform audits, or computational experiments
• Communicate research clearly in writing and presentations
• Be able to lead projects while collaborating across technical and social-science disciplines
• Be committed to ethical, transparent, and reproducible research. Relevant expertise may include NLP, large language models, computational social science, social-network analysis, causal inference, survey or behavioral experiments, recommender systems, algorithmic auditing, machine-learning evaluation, or human-computer interaction. Experience conducting multilingual, cross-cultural, or Global South-focused research is particularly valuable.

Application Instructions

Application materials Applicants must submit:

1. A cover letter
2. A current CV and complete publication list;
3. Two representative publications;
4. A mandatory one-page evidence-based fit statement;
5. Contact information for three academic or professional references.

Required one-page fit statement

The statement must explain why the applicant is specifically qualified for the work of the Communication Networks Lab. It must include:

• Two or three concrete connections between the applicant’s prior research and specific work, methods, datasets, systems, or research questions pursued by our lab
• The applicant’s personal intellectual and technical contribution to the submitted publications
• Concrete evidence of relevant expertise—for example, a measurement platform built, dataset collected, system implemented, experiment designed, methodology developed, or finding established
• One research question or project the applicant could realistically lead at NYUAD, including the proposed method and expected contribution. Statements that merely express enthusiasm for networking, connectivity, digital inclusion, or the lab’s topics—without concrete evidence from the applicant’s record—will be treated as nonresponsive, and the application will not be considered further.

References will be contacted only for shortlisted candidates.

Appointment Questions may be directed to Yasir Zaki at yasir.zaki@nyu.edu.

Information about the lab is available at the Communication Networks Lab website.

About NYU Abu Dhabi

https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/

NYU Abu Dhabi is the first comprehensive liberal arts and research campus in the Middle East to be operated abroad by a major American research university. Times Higher Education ranks NYU among the top 30 universities in the world, making NYU Abu Dhabi the highest-ranked university in the UAE and MENA region. NYU Abu Dhabi has integrated a highly selective undergraduate curriculum across the disciplines with a world center for advanced research and scholarship. The university enables its students in the sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, and arts to succeed in an increasingly interdependent world and advance cooperation and progress on humanity’s shared challenges. NYU Abu Dhabi’s high-achieving students have come from over 120 countries and speak over 100 languages. Together, NYU's campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai form the backbone of a unique global university, giving faculty and students opportunities to experience varied learning environments and immersion in other cultures at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on six continents.

NYUAD is committed to upholding a culture of non-discrimination, anti-harassment, dignity, and mutual respect; providing equal access and opportunity; and fostering academic excellence in learning, research, and teaching.

Students are drawn from among the world’s best. They are bright, intellectually passionate, and committed to building a campus environment anchored in mutual respect, understanding, and care. The NYUAD undergraduate student body has garnered an impressive record of scholarships, graduate-school admissions, and other global honors. Graduate education is an area of growth for the University; the current graduate student population of over 100 students is expected to expand in the next decade as doctoral programs are developed.

Working for NYUAD

At NYUAD, we recognize that Abu Dhabi is more than where you work; it’s your home. In order for research staff to thrive, we offer a comprehensive benefits package. This starts with a generous relocation allowance; educational assistance for your dependents; access to health and wellness services; and more. NYUAD is committed to research staff success throughout the academic trajectory, providing support for ambitious and world-class research projects and innovative, interactive teaching approaches. Support for dual-career families is a priority.

Visit our website for more information on benefits for you and your dependents.

NYUAD is an equal-opportunity employer. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates and seek individuals who will contribute to the excellence and vibrancy of our academic community.

Applications are welcome from all qualified candidates. In line with UAE regulations, Emirati candidates are encouraged to apply.

Join NYU Abu Dhabi, an exceptional place for exceptional people.

NYUAD values belonging and respect; such principles are fundamental to the university’s commitment to excellence. NYUAD is an equal-opportunity employer. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates and seek individuals who will contribute to our vibrant, multidisciplinary research and teaching community. Multidisciplinary research and exceptional teaching in a global campus community are hallmarks of the University’s mission.

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