Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the interaction between information systems and machine learning

About the position We invite applications for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow position in action-oriented modeling for trustworthy AI, available at the Department of Informatics, University of Oslo. The starting date is no later than 01.03.2027 and as soon as possible after the appointment. The appointment is a full-time position for a period of three years. The fellowship is funded in full by TRUST for the whole period. No teaching, supervision, or research-assistance duties are required in the position, and the fellowship period can therefore not be extended to four years on that basis. No one can be appointed for more than one Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Oslo. The place of work is the Department of Informatics at the University of Oslo. The successful candidate will be part of the daily research and social life of TRUST – the Norwegian Centre for Trustworthy AI, and of the information systems research group.

Project description The position is funded by TRUST, the Norwegian Centre for Trustworthy AI, which is a research centre dedicated to developing trustworthy AI systems that are accurate, fair, transparent, safe, and well-governed. The centre brings together researchers from computational and data science, law, social sciences, and philosophy to develop new AI technologies and study their societal impact in areas such as healthcare, industry, governance, security, and climate. TRUST is led by University of Oslo, SINTEF, and Norwegian Computing Center. With a consortium of over 70 partners from academia, industry, government, and civil society in Norway and internationally, TRUST’s research is theoretical, methodological, legal, and empirical in nature. The postdoc will conduct the research project Action-Oriented Modeling for Trustworthy AI in Practice. The project addresses a persistent problem in applied AI: statistically accurate models routinely fail when they meet the organizations and ecosystems meant to use them. Models are misaligned with local procedures and decision processes, too rigid for resource-constrained operational systems, and opaque to the decision-makers who must act based on them. We treat this as a methodological problem rather than a technical one. The primary deliverable of this position is a theoretical and methodological template that we call Action-Oriented Modeling. Rather than delivering finished algorithms, the template specifies how to build deliberately context-agnostic model architectures that expose methodological choices as parameters, and how local actors then configure, tune, and operate them. Its novelty lies in integrating three dimensions normally treated separately: configurable architectures that let domain experts shape model behavior without machine learning expertise; iterative field validation inside operational workflows; and governance mechanisms that transfer model ownership to local users. The successful candidate will lead the development of this template into a generic, transferable, and theoretically grounded contribution. Your main tasks are to:

• Develop, formalize, and publish the Action-Oriented Modeling template. This is the central output • Validate the template empirically through an action research design approach supplemented by participatory design methods • Define governance principles for model ownership that let stakeholders revise models as operational contexts change • Coordinate collaboration between the core development team, implementation partners, and local stakeholders, and act as a competence hub for action-oriented AI across TRUST Two contrasting cases provide the empirical ground. The primary case is climate-sensitive disease prediction supporting public health decisions in low- and middle-income countries, built on DHIS2 and the action research network of the Health Information Systems Programme (HISP), with national health teams in ten countries. The complementary case is KoSy, the DHIS2-based municipal surveillance platform run by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. We seek a candidate motivated by the methodological contribution to these and other empirical settings. The main purpose of a postdoctoral fellowship is to provide candidates with enhanced skills to pursue a scientific top position within or beyond academia. To promote a strategic career path, all postdoctoral research fellows are required to submit a professional development plan no later than one month after commencement of the postdoctoral period.

What skills are important in this role? The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials. Required qualifications:

• Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree in information systems, informatics, computer science, science and technology studies, or another relevant field. The applicant must document that the degree corresponds to the requirement. The doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evaluation by the closing date. Only applicants with an approved doctoral thesis and public defense are eventually eligible for appointment • Documented experience with engaged, qualitative research methods in organizational settings, such as action research, design science research, or participatory design • Documented ability to publish conceptual, theoretical, or methodological contributions in high-ranking peer-reviewed journals or conferences • Fluent oral and written communication skills in English Desired qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience conducting sociotechnical research on information systems, examining how technology, people, and organizational contexts interact • Understanding of machine learning and predictive modeling sufficient to engage critically and constructively with data scientists, for example on data quality and model assumptions • Technical skills sufficient to deploy and test models UiO is subject to the Security Act, which governs the organisation's protection of security-sensitive objects and knowledge, in addition to other relevant legislation concerning access to and handling of sensitive information. Based on this, it is a requirement that successful applicants are security-eligible. We may use background checks as part of our recruitment process.

What are we looking for in you? In terms of personal skills:

• You are motivated by methodological questions, enjoy qualitative fieldwork, and are excited about the academic challenge of turning messy empirical data into clear theoretical contributions • You work well both independently and as part of an interdisciplinary team, and you communicate across the boundary between technical and institutional expertise • You collaborate respectfully and effectively with practitioners and decision-makers who are not researchers • You work in a professional and structured manner and adapt quickly to new tasks • You are dependable and high-performing, also in hectic periods • You prefer being present at work and contribute actively to the professional and social environment you are part of Employment in the position is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements applicable to the position, including personal skills.

We can offer you

• •Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development
• •A position at the centre of a national research effort on trustworthy AI, with access to the TRUST network and to operational partners in ten countries
• •Committed colleagues in a good working environment
• •Good welfare schemes.
• •Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise