Doctoral student in machine learning theory

Publiceringsdatum: 2026-01-26

Här är din möjlighet att bli en del av teamet hos Chalmers Tekniska Högskola AB genom att arbeta som doktorand. Chalmers Tekniska Högskola AB söker efter en ny anställd på heltid under 6 månader eller längre som är redo att ta sin karriär till nästa nivå. För detta jobb är det en fördel om du bor i närheten av Göteborg då det är tjänsteorten.

Om du tycker att det låter intressant att börja jobba hos Chalmers Tekniska Högskola AB i rollen som doktorand så har de just nu en ledig tjänst som skulle kunna vara en perfekt match för dig! Chalmers Tekniska Högskola AB letar efter erfaren doktorand som kan ansluta till deras team. Sista ansökningsdag är torsdag den tjugosjätte februari 2026.

Jobbannons

We are looking for a Doctoral student to become part of our team at the Division of Data Science and AI at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Join our innovative team and contribute to exciting research in theory of machine learning, in a collaborative and dynamic environment. In the rapidly growing area of artificial intelligence (AI), this position is a uniqure chance to develope new, high-impact solutions, while contributing to the theoretical foundations of the field. The position is a full-time employment with a competitive monthly salary and full social benefits for up to five years.

About us 

The department of Computer Science and Engineering is strongly international, with approximately 300 employees from over 30 countries. The department is a fully integrated department with Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg as principals. The position is placed in the Division of Data Science and AI and the employment is placed with Chalmers University of Technology.

Our research spans from theoretical computer science to applied systems development. We provide high-quality education at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels, offering over 120 courses each year. We also have extensive national and international collaborations with academia, industry, and society.

The selected student will join a research group that investigates advanced methods for various machine learning applications and aims to reach a deeper theoretical understanding of machine learning, as a key modern technology. 

About the research project  

A prominent, cost-effective method for machine leaning today is by transferring and adapting the knowledge, which is already accumulated in large (foundation) models, to smaller task-specific models. There are effective techniques to reach this goal, such as distillation or fine-tuning, but how they work is not well understood, yet. The purpose of this project is to gain a deeper understanding of how knowledge about a certain task is transferred from large models to smaller ones. In particular, we would like to know how the evolution of the models during training allows them to acquire new skills or forget unnecessary tasks. The methodology is a combination of mathematical exploration and experimentation on real data and allows the student to gain a wide range of knowledge from high-dimensional statistical learning theory and dynamical systems to implementation and experimentation of ML in specific application domains. We hope that our new insights allow us to develop more effective methods of knowledge transfer, which will have a great impact in real-world applications. It is possible for the student to collaborate with other students in the group who work on specific applied problems and experiment on their data. 

Who we are looking for

The following requirements are mandatory:

• To qualify as a Doctoral student, you must have a Master's degree (masterexamen) of 120 credits or a Master’s degree (magisterexamen) of 60 credits* in relevant topics to machine learning, including but not limited to computer science, electrical engineering, mathematics and physics.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English 
• Basic education or sufficient experience in machine learning and AI 
• for students with an education earned outside of Sweden, a 4-year Bachelor’s degree is accepted. 

The following experience will strengthen your application: 

• Relevent mathematical skills, whcih may include high daminsional statistics and probability theory, optimization theory, dynamical systems, statistical mechanics, etc
• Familiarity with state-of-the-art ML practices, especially knowledge transfer methods.

What you will do

• Take courses at an advanced level within the Graduate school of Computer Science and Engineering
• Develop your own scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research verbally and in writing 
• The position generally also includes teaching on Chalmers' undergraduate level or performing other duties corresponding to 20 percent of working hours
• Research generally includes literature study, participating in research meetings, writing papers and presenting the findings at conferences, seminars, etc.

Contract terms  

• The Doctoral student positions are fully funded from start. 
• The position is a fixed-term appointment of four years, with the possibility to teach up to 20%, which extends the position up to five years. 
• A starting salary of 34,550 SEK per month (valid from May 25, 2025). 
• Doctoral studies require physical presence throughout the entire study period. A valid residence permit must be presented by the study start date; otherwise the admission may be withdrawn. 

What we offer 

• As a Doctoral student at Chalmers, you are an employee and enjoy all employee benefits. Read more about  working at Chalmers  and our benefits for employees. 
• A dynamic and inspiring working environment in the coastal city of Gothenburg. 
• Read more about Sweden’s generous parental leave, subsidized day care, free schools, healthcare etc at Move To Gothenburg. 

Chalmers is dedicated to improving gender balance and actively works with equality projects, such as the GENIE Initiative for gender equality and excellence. We celebrate diversity and consider equality and inclusion as fundamental aspects of all our activities. 

If Swedish is not your native language, Chalmers offers Swedish courses to help you settle in.

Find more general information about doctoral studies at Chalmers here.  

Application procedure 

The application should be written in English and attached as PDF-files. Max file size is 40 MB. Please note that the system does not support Zip files. 

CV 

Personal letter 

• A brief introduction about yourself. 
• A brief motivation as to why you are interested in this position. 

Bachelor’s and, if available, master’s thesis together with the transcripts. 

Use the button at the foot of the page to reach the application form.  

Please note: The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the application is complete. Incomplete applications and applications sent by email will not be considered. Contact details to references will be requested after the interview. 

We welcome your application no later than February 26, 2026

For questions, please contact:  

Ashkan Panahi

Associate Professor

ashkan.panahi@chalmers.se

We look forward to your application!