Offer No.: 4867
Institution: Institute of Advanced Studies
City: Toruń
Position: assistant professor (adjunkt) - research staff
Discipline: The Field of the Humanities - Archaeology, The Field of Exact and Natural Sciences - Physical Sciences, The Field of Exact and Natural Sciences - Mathematics, The Field of Exact and Natural Sciences - Informatics
Posted: 2026-03-30
Expires: 2026-04-30
Keywords: data science, large-scale data analysis, complex systems, network science, statistical modelling, computational modelling, Bayesian inference, generative modelling, machine learning, infectious disease dynamics, climate change impacts, social-ecological systems, archaeological science, analysis of textual data
Description (field, expectations, comments):
The competition is open to persons who meet the conditions set out in Article 113 of the Act of 20 July 2018 - Law on higher education and science (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 1668) and the following qualification criteria:
Required:
- PhD in Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Archaeology, or a related quantitatively oriented discipline;
- A (seniority-appropriate) strong publication record in international peer-reviewed journals;
- Demonstrated programming experience in at least one widely used language (e.g., Python, R, Julia, MATLAB, or similar), including the independent development and application of code for the analysis of real-world data;
- Experience in working with complex, large-scale, and partially incomplete datasets.
- Knowledge of theory and methods of data analysis
Preferred:
- Authorship or co-authorship of publicly available software or code repositories (e.g., GitHub, GitLab);
- Experience working with data from the social sciences (e.g., history, archaeology) or environmental sciences;
- Experience in statistical modelling, network analysis, Bayesian methods, machine learning, or computational modelling.
We seek a junior or senior postdoctoral researcher with a strong background in data science and quantitative analysis to join a large, international interdisciplinary consortium and focus on investigating large, heterogeneous historical, archaeological, and environmental datasets in order to uncover complex relationships across cultural, social, climatic, and biological phenomena. In collaboration with an external commercial partner, and together with the PI and a team of historians and archaeologists, the postdoc will co-curate the project database, which also includes several cutting-edge AI applications.
The appointed researcher will be a member of the ERC Synergy Grant EUROpest and of the Human Ecology Group at the Institute of Advanced Studies of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. The position includes a competitive international salary and is planned to last 5 years (until June 2031), with potential permanent employment afterwards, depending on the development of an independent research portfolio and the acquisition of external funding, including starting one’s own junior research group.
The primary focus of the position will be exploratory and inferential analysis of multimodal data, including relational, temporal, and spatial structures, with particular attention to patterns of interaction and co-evolution. Insights gained from this data-driven analysis will subsequently inform the development of formal and computational models of social-ecological and epidemiological dynamics in the past, with potential extensions to contemporary epidemics.
The project draws on methods from network science, complex systems, and statistical modelling, and may incorporate machine learning and Bayesian generative approaches to integrate diverse data sources and support model-based inference.
Candidates may come from computer science, data science, physics, applied mathematics, or related quantitative disciplines; background in epidemiology, environmental sciences, history, archaeology, or social sciences is welcome when combined with strong analytical and computational expertise. We value experience with complex and imperfect data, methodological curiosity, and openness to interdisciplinary collaboration within an ambitious research environment. We offer an inspiring multi-disciplinary work environment and collaboration on a wide variety of data projects related to climate change, infectious disease, conflict, and economic development in the past.
Required documents:
- Cover letter
- Personal questionnaire for the person applying for employment (download here)
- Professional curriculum vitae
- Copy of higher education diploma
- Copy of doctorate certificate
- Information about scientific, didactic and organizational achievements (abstract comprising candidate's most important areas of research, and scientific, educational, and other achievements)
- List of publications (including the publishing house/journal, year of publication, and page number)
- Declaration of consent to the processing of personal data contained in the job offer for the needs of the recruitment process, in accordance with the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of The Council od 27 April 2016 (L119/1) (download here)
- Declaration under art. 113 ust. 1 ustawy Prawo o szkolnictwie wyższym (o niekaralności) (Art. Paragraph 113 (1) of the Higher Education Act (of no criminal record)) (download here)
- Declaration that Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń will be my primary employer once I have won the contest (download here)
- up to 3 peer-reviewed publications (in PDF)
Additional information: Documents should be submitted by email to: humeco@umk.pl by April 30, 2026. The competition will be decided by June 30, 2026. Planned employment date is July 1, 2026, or the earliest possible date thereafter. The Competition Committee reserves the right to notify only the selected candidate of its decision.
Please be informed that the person selected through the competition will be obliged to submit a certificate from the National Criminal Register with regard to offences specified in Chapters 19 and 25 of the Penal Code (including offences against sexual freedom and morality), in Article 189a and Article 207 of the Penal Code and in the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction of 29 July 2005 (Journal of Laws of 2023, item 1939 and of 2022, item 2600), or for the corresponding offences defined in foreign law. The obligation to verify applies to a person whose tasks will be related to the protected activity referred to in Article 21. of the Act of 13 May 2016 on counteracting the threat of sexual offences and the protection of minors (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 560).
Pursuant to art. 24 paragraph 6 of the Act of June 14, 2024 on the protection of whistleblowers (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 928), information on the internal reporting procedure at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń is available at: https://www.umk.pl/en/contact/internal-reporting/
If you wish to apply for this position, please do so online by clicking on the "Apply" button below (email address required).
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marked: Application form for job offer no. 4867