ETH AI Center Postdoctoral Fellowships

The ETH AI Center promotes trustworthy, accessible, and inclusive AI systems. For this goal, we bring together interdisciplinary research teams of AI foundations, applications, and implications across all departments, and look at AI from many different angles like mathematical principles, medicine, architecture, robotics, and social sciences/future of work. We enable research of high quality, industry innovation, and AI entrepreneurship.

About AI Center fellowships

The ETH AI Center faculty comprises more than 110 professorships representing all sixteen departments of ETH Zurich and five external research groups (from the University of Zurich and the University of St.Gallen). The ETH AI Center Fellowship program is one of Europe’s premier Post-Doc programs focused on advancing interdisciplinary AI research. This can be inside AI foundations or between AI foundations and application areas. Fellows work with two excellent PIs from different fields and carry equal weights in the supervision.

Your mission

Within the post-doctoral fellowship program, you will conduct research that impacts the future of AI. You will be working on your project (that you will propose) and continuously have the opportunity to exchange with other teams and professorships, and participate at faculty retreats, symposia, summits, etc. Fellows have their primary office at the ETH AI Center and enjoy excellent employment conditions. The center offers numerous opportunities to strengthen your career path through an optional entrepreneurial or industry track that provides valuable hands-on experience to turn your research into practical impact.

What we offer

We offer 5–8 post-doctoral positions and the occupation normally runs for two years. The starting date is flexible but typically in September. A post-doc is experienced by many as a great stepping stone into R&D lab leadership in industry, a start-up, or a faculty position. It is a valuable time to sharpen your profile.

• The positions are for two years with a flexible starting date.
• Transparent salary: CHF 92'200 in first year, CHF 96'900 in second year. The advancement from first to second year is automatic.
• Co-mentorship by two excellent PIs of different fields
• Generous support is provided for training and continuing education activities 
• Vacation: 5 weeks vacation/year
• ETH Zurich offers subsidies for childcare
• Eight dedicated daycare centers for kids close to the campus
• Support to find a suitable childcare service (kita, nanny…)
• 4 months paid maternity leave/10 days paid paternity leave
• Up to 5 days paid leave for care of sick in own household
• Up to 5 days paid leave for educators for school matters
• Medical clarifications with children < 16 years

Eligibility

• You either already hold a PhD or are less than 12 months before completion of the PhD thesis
• You have a background in relevant AI fields or one of the following: computer science, machine learning, statistics, physics, engineering, or applied mathematics.
• Your level of English allows you to discuss your topics with your colleagues and report your findings in writing.
• You look forward to working with an interdisciplinary team that longs to find solutions together.

The ETH AI Center seeks to increase the number of women in areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply. Furthermore, the ETH AI Center is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages respective applications.

Application Process

Before applying, please read carefully our official guidelines for the ETH AI Center Post-Doc Fellowships (PDF, 59 KB) and visit our FAQs. Applications for the 2025 post-doctoral fellowship cohort are open until 19 November 2024. Please note that we exclusively accept applications submitted through our online application portal. Applications via email or postal services will not be considered.

More detailed information on the application process can be found on the guidelines page which also contains a list of the faculty member and their research interests.