Postdoctoral Researcher in Information Technology

University West is a central and leading actor for education, research, and collaboration that supports the transition to a sustainable future – regionally, nationally, and internationally. Our 12,000 students and 460 employees create the conditions for society's digital transformation and sustainable societal development through high-quality education and research in selected areas. Welcome to a vibrant campus in the heart of Skaraborg.

About us

At the Department of Data and Systems Science, you will encounter a creative and dynamic environment with modern technical infrastructure, well-equipped facilities, and strong collegial collaboration with close links to the surrounding society.

At University West, we work together, closely and interdisciplinarily, to create engagement, quality, and results on a vibrant campus. We take collective responsibility for tasks and work towards the organization's goals. The university's conditions create good opportunities for proximity and collaboration between institutions, departments, students, colleagues, and partners.

The employment is within the subject of information technology, which at University West is defined as the study of how information is represented, processed, and communicated in artificial and natural systems, as well as how information technology systems are used and developed for the purpose of achieving useful system solutions for individuals, organizations, or society.

You will be part of the research group SAIL, whose research activities are focused on AI-based modeling of complex systems, uncertainty management in deep learning, visual analytics, transparent decision support systems, data protection, and recommendation systems. SAIL is responsible for the university's master's program in data science.

Your role

You will have a central role in the ongoing Horizon project ProcTwin, where we investigate how a distributed AI system can capture and predict the behavior of a production system under production conditions. The project develops data collection, data storage, algorithms, and AI learning principles that enable the parts of a distributed AI system to train together to dynamically interact towards a better collective production result. The project consists of twelve partners in Europe, with SSAB in Sweden and Celsa in Spain as two large steel producers, from whom the project collects data and for whom AI models are developed. The position is central to the project as you, in collaboration with the project members, are expected to drive the development of algorithms and knowledge within AI by developing experiments and simulations, as well as disseminating the results. You are expected to drive publications to contribute to new knowledge within dynamic distributed AI systems so that this becomes a contribution to the development of the existing research front.

The main tasks within the employment are:

• Contribute to the ProcTwin project by independently driving work packages in collaboration with industrial partners and other project members.
• Design, implement, and further develop research software, such as simulation environments, data pipelines, and infrastructure, for training and evaluating machine learning models within distributed AI.
• Participate in and drive the work with publications in the field.
• Contribute to obtaining and implementing new research projects.
• Serve at the department with relevant teaching.

The employment will primarily concern research. Teaching or other administrative tasks may be included by up to 20 percent. Additional tasks may be included in the employment.

We are looking for you who have:

• Obtained a doctoral degree in information technology, computer science, or data science, or have a foreign degree assessed to correspond to a doctoral degree.
• Documented experience of research in AI, machine learning, and data science with applications in industrial systems.
• Good ability to communicate orally and in writing in English.
• Documented good collaborative ability as well as the ability to build relationships and research networks.

We will also value the following assessment criteria during recruitment:

Of utmost importance are:

• Obtained a doctoral degree no later than the end of the application period.
• The degree of such skill that is a requirement for eligibility.
• Documented good ability for independence in work.
• Experience in the development of distributed AI or multi-agent systems based on current research.
• Relevant publication history.
• Experience of software development for research purposes, within Information Technology or Computer Science.

Of second highest importance are:

• Experience of industrial collaboration for research purposes, primarily within highly automated manufacturing industry with large datasets.

Of importance are also:

• Experience of, or documented potential for, teaching in areas relevant to the employment.

Employment form: The employment as a postdoctoral researcher concerns full-time employment and is made in accordance with the current collective agreement between Arbetsgivarverket, OFR-S, Saco-S, and SEKO. The employment is time-limited for two years.

Extent: 100 %

Last application date: 20 October 2026

Diary number: Ref nr HS 2026/594

Commencement: According to agreement

Contact information: Information about the employment is provided by Head of Department Jesper Holgersson and Associate Professor Gunnar Mathiasson. Union information is provided by Anders Johansson (Saco-S) or Maria Carlstedt (ST). All persons can be reached via the university switchboard 0500-44 80 00.

Application

You apply for the position via our website, www.his.se/jobb by clicking "Ansök" at the bottom of the advertisement. There you can also read more about the university's recruitment process as well as the benefits you have as an employee with us. Welcome with your application!

The following documents must be attached to your application:

• Cover letter
• CV
• Certificates/grades and other supporting documents you as an applicant wish to invoke
• Merit portfolio where you describe your scientific and pedagogical activities
• Scientific publications, attach a maximum of five scientific publications (of which at least two are published during the last three years)
• Full publication list.

Contact the HR department at hr-specialister.hr@his.se if you have publications that cannot be attached electronically directly in the application. The publications must be provided to the university no later than one week after the last application date.