Davis AI Postdoctoral Associate

Job Description

Department:

Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence

Pay Rate Type:

Salary

Employee Type:

Job Summary:

The Postdoctoral Associate supports the mission of the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence (DavisAI) by advancing interdisciplinary, human-centered artificial intelligence research and education within a liberal arts context. This position contributes to the Institution’s goals by pursuing an active research agenda, collaborating with faculty and students across disciplines, and supporting undergraduate teaching and experiential learning in AI. The role offers the opportunity to shape the future of AI education and scholarship at Colby College through research, teaching, consultation, and program development.

Essential Functions

To perform successfully in this position, an individual must be able to perform essential duties satisfactorily as well as possess education/experience, employ the knowledge, skills, and abilities as listed in representative fashion. Colby College actively supports the Americans with Disabilities Act and will consider reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position. This listing of essential duties is not all-inclusive, but representative; other duties may be assigned.

Research & Scholarship

• Pursue an independent and collaborative research agenda aligned with the mission of DavisAI and relevant to faculty, staff, and students across the College.
• Conduct interdisciplinary, human-centered AI research that supports responsible, ethical, and socially informed applications of artificial intelligence.
• Disseminate research through publications, conference presentations, and other scholarly outputs.
• Collaborate with DavisAI leadership and Colby faculty on external grant proposals and funded research initiatives.
  
  

Faculty & Student Collaboration

• Advise and consult with faculty and students engaged in AI-related research projects across disciplines.
• Provide technical and conceptual guidance on AI methodologies, including machine learning, data analysis, and model development.
• Support the full model development lifecycle, including problem formulation, data collection, analysis, model development, evaluation, and deployment.
  
  

Teaching & Program Support

• Co-plan and teach undergraduate AI-related courses, with an expected teaching load of one course per academic year.
• Co-teach and support an AI-focused summer education and training program for Colby students and external partners at the local, national, and global levels.
• Contribute to the development of inclusive, interdisciplinary, and student-centered AI curricula and learning experiences.
  
  

Position Qualifications

Education and/or experience:

• PhD in a computing-related field (e.g., computer science, data science, artificial intelligence, or a closely related discipline).
• Demonstrated expertise and an active research record in one or more areas of artificial intelligence, including evidence of publications and/or conference presentations.
• Experience or demonstrated interest in interdisciplinary scholarship; prior interdisciplinary research experience preferred.
• Teaching experience and/or demonstrated interest in pedagogy, particularly at the undergraduate level, preferred.
  
  

Preferred experience:

• Experience with AI approaches to modeling archives, science, technology, and society (STS), or related fields.
• Experience contributing to grant writing or externally funded research projects.
  
  

Physical/Mental Demands

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform essential functions of this position and/or may be encountered while performing essential functions. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• To successfully perform the essential functions of this position, an employee must be able to maintain appropriate confidentiality with regard to employee data, documents, issues, etc., and respect privacy needs of employees and past employees with regard to the same.
• The ability to comply with highly inflexible deadlines is required to successfully perform the essential functions of this position; there will be multiple occurrences of sudden, urgent task completion required.
• There may be occurrences of employees, past employees, members of the general public, and others who express opinions, may exhibit strong emotions, which will require the employee to interact professionally, diplomatically, and appropriately in such situations.
• While performing the essential duties of this position, an employee would frequently be required to move around the office space as well as within hallways, meeting rooms, and other parts of the campus facilities.
• There may be multiple/daily instances of prolonged personal computer use which would include keyboard and/or mouse usage as well as viewing a computer monitor.
• An employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 35 pounds to perform essential position functions.
• Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and ability to adjust focus.
• The overall work environment requires the mental ability to shift focus quickly due to interruptions; an employee must be able to mentally track multiple projects and tasks as well.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate; however, there may be unexpected instances of somewhat loud sounds.
  
  

To Apply:

Interested candidates should apply electronically by clicking the “Apply Now” button on the Colby College website. Please upload a cover letter and resume to your application.