The SDU Adaptive Intelligence Lab (ADIN Lab) (https://adinlab.github.io/) located under the Data Science and Statistics Section of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science (IMADA) at the University of Southern Denmark invites applications for a postdoctoral research fellowship position within the field of quantized reinforcement learning to be filled earliest by 1 November 2026 for a period of two years. The application deadline is 30 September 2026, 23:55 CET.

About the Project:
The project focuses on the theoretical grounding and algorithmic realization of embodied quantization—investigating how continuous sensory inputs are distilled into discrete tokens (such as concepts and objects) to facilitate control in complex environments. Key responsibilities include bridging high-capacity generative representations and discrete world models with non-stationary, risk-sensitive reinforcement learning theory. To achieve this, the candidate will develop uncertainty-aware parsimonious world models (e.g., via evidential learning) and prove finite-sample or regret guarantees under non-stationary latent state spaces, validating these algorithms by building scalable prototypes and benchmarking across high-dimensional simulation suites.

Research Environment:
IMADA uniquely brings mathematicians and computer scientists together within a single department to foster theoretically well-backed, high-quality data science research. The department is home to numerous externally funded research projects, and the Data Science and Statistics Group serves as a vibrant synergy platform for experts across fields. The successful candidate will join the ADIN Lab, collaborate on publishing at top-tier venues (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AISTATS), and fulfill standard teaching assistantship duties.

Expected Skills and Qualifications:
We are seeking a candidate with a strong desire to make significant contributions to fundamental machine learning research, possessing a combination of mathematical maturity and advanced engineering skills:

• Education: A PhD in Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, or Theoretical Physics at the time of employment.
• Publication Track Record: At least two first-author research papers at flagship venues of core machine learning research (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AISTATS).
• Theoretical Rigor: A deep understanding of statistical learning theory and reinforcement learning foundations, with the ability to conduct performance, convergence, or regret bound analysis (e.g., optimistic posterior sampling) in discrete or latent non-stationary environments.
• Implementation Expertise: Outstanding scientific programming skills (Python, PyTorch/JAX) with a proven track record of developing, debugging, and scaling deep generative models, discrete codebook world models, or complex RL pipelines. Clean public repositories or released source code from past publications is a strong plus.
• Algorithmic Breadth: Familiarity with probabilistic machine learning, evidential learning, discrete variational autoencoders (VQ-VAEs), transformers, or model-based RL is highly desirable.
• Communication: Excellent spoken and written communication skills in English.

Place of work:

T he Department of Mathematics and Computer Science is located at the main campus of the University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark. The University of Southern Denmark was founded in 1966 and now has more than 27,000 students, almost 20% of whom are from abroad. It has more than 3,800 employees, and 115 different study programmes in the fields of the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, and engineering. Its main campus is located in Odense, the third largest city in Denmark. Odense provides family-friendly living conditions with the perfect combination of a historic city centre with an urban feel and yet a close proximity to beaches and recreational areas. Its location on the beautiful island of Funen is ideal with easy access by train or highway to the bigger cities of Aarhus and Copenhagen. As the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen, Denmark’s famous fairytale author, the city is home to a vibrant and creative population that hosts numerous festivals and markets throughout the year.

For further questions about the position please contact Prof. Melih Kandemir on kandemir@imada.sdu.dk

We recommend that as an international applicant, you take the time to visit Work in Denmark where you will find information and facts about moving to, working and living in Denmark, as well as the International Staff Office at SDU