About the Position
The École Normale Supérieure (ENS) in Paris is offering a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship within the ERC-funded InfantSimulator Project, starting in autumn 2025 or early 2026. The position sits at the intersection of linguistics, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence, exploring how young children acquire language more efficiently than machines. Hosted by the Cognitive Machine Learning (CoML) team, the researcher will work on developing metrics to compare emergent language in humans and AI. Supervised by Prof. Emmanuel Dupoux, the role offers close collaboration with psychologists, machine learning experts, and language scientists in a world-class interdisciplinary environment. This is a unique opportunity to work in central Paris, contributing to one of Europe’s most dynamic AI-cognition research ecosystems.
Position Details
- Position: Postdoctoral Researcher
- Institution: École Normale Supérieure (PSL University)
- Department: Cognitive Machine Learning Team (CoML)
- Research field: Language Acquisition, Linguistics, Cognitive Science, AI
- Location: Paris, France
- Number of posts: 1
- Job Type: Full-time, Temporary
- Start Date (Anticipated): November 2025 or early 2026
- Working Hours: 35 hours per week
- Salary Range: €2,400 – €3,000 per month (net, based on experience)
- Required Degree/Diploma: PhD
Research Area
- Theoretical and typological linguistics
- Experimental linguistics
- Language acquisition
- Cognitive science
- Machine learning and data science
- Artificial intelligence
- Language emergence in limited input environments
Eligibility & Qualifications
Minimum Requirements:
- PhD in Linguistics, Cognitive Science, or related fields
- Basic proficiency in data science and programming (Python or R)
- Strong written and spoken English
- Experience working independently and collaboratively
Preferred Qualifications:
- Background in language acquisition research
- Familiarity with speech language models or AI systems
- Open science experience
- Interest in interdisciplinary and innovative research
Key Responsibilities
- Conduct research on language acquisition in humans vs. machines
- Develop quantitative methods to compare language learning systems
- Analyse emergent languages and compare them to human typology
- Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team
- Optional: co-supervise master/PhD students and contribute to teaching
Application Process
How to Apply:
Email your application to: syntheticlearner@gmail.com
Required Documents:
- CV
- Cover letter (max 1 page)
- Research statement (max 2 pages)
- One writing sample (e.g., publication)
- (Link to) sample code
- Contact details of two academic referees
Important Dates
- Application Opens: 31 July 2025
- Deadline: 31 October 2025 (23:59 Paris time)
- Rolling Review Begins: 15 August 2025
- Start Date: November 2025 or early 2026
Useful Links
- Institution Website: École Normale Supérieure
- Official Notification Link: click here
- Apply now: syntheticlearner@gmail.com
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