Postdoctoral Researcher in Conversational AI and LLMs (m/w/d)
Your tasks
- Conduct research on conversational AI and coordinate selected research activities within CREST-AI together with Prof. Christina Niklaus.
- Develop grounded, adaptive dialogue systems using LLM post-training and reinforcement learning.
- Build and evaluate a conversational AI prototype through simulations and user studies.
- Contribute your own research ideas to CREST-AI, publish at leading NLP and AI venues, and present at international conferences.
- Supervise master's and bachelor's theses and student projects.
- Support research coordination and academic service.
Your profile
- PhD in computer science, computational linguistics or a related field, completed by the start date.
- Research experience in NLP, particularly large language models, dialogue systems or natural language generation.
- Strong Python and machine learning skills; experience with LLM post-training, reinforcement learning or user studies is a plus.
- A publication record demonstrating original contributions to NLP, AI or a related field, appropriate to your career stage.
- Ability to work independently, take initiative and collaborate effectively within a research team.
- Enthusiasm for interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly with researchers in philosophy and law; no prior expertise in these fields is required.
- Excellent written and spoken English.
- German is a plus
The SNSF-funded CREST-AI project
Help shape a new generation of language AI that adapts to people's understanding. CREST-AI brings together NLP, philosophy and law to explore how AI can help people understand, question and reason about complex information, using legal language as a challenging testbed. You will join the research team led by Prof. Christina Niklaus at the University of St.Gallen and develop adaptive dialogue systems that tailor explanations to users' understanding.
What we offer
You will work closely with Prof. Christina Niklaus and her team, with room to contribute your own ideas within the project's research agenda and strengthen your research profile. A competitive salary, funded conference participation and access to project-funded compute time support your work. You will collaborate with researchers at St.Gallen and the University of Zurich, alongside a fellow postdoc developing interpretable models of users' knowledge and understanding.
Application
Please apply through the HSG online application portal, submitting a single PDF containing: (1) a cover letter, (2) your CV with publication list, (3) one representative publication or preprint, (4) contact details of two referees, and (5) your PhD certificate or confirmation of expected completion.
Review of applications will begin on 23 November 2026 and continue until the position is filled.
Inspirational Work Environment
Executive Education
Network
Family & Career
Equal Opportunities
Fit and Healthy
Inspirational Work Environment
At the HSG, as Europe's leading business university, we operate in an entrepreneurial environment where you will meet highly qualified, ambitious experts - both regionally and internationally. For example, you benefit from a modern IT infrastructure and, in our library via HSGswisscovery, from nationwide access to the wealth of scientific information available.
Executive Education
We support internal and external executive education opportunities. Our internal executive education programme offers you a practical, dedicated and didactically mature transfer of knowledge in the form of seminars, e-learning, coaching and collegial advice. We support task-specific external training and executive education financially as well as with regard to the time required.
Network
We promote our culture of cross-functional collaboration and create space for forging valuable relationships - also with external partners. Regular exchanges and internal events help to strengthen these relationships and make them long-lasting.
Family & Career
We provide our employees with flexible work time models with a variable number of hours per week. As a family-friendly employer, we offer part-time positions, 16 weeks of maternity leave and a subsidised crèche, as well as support with childcare during the vacations.
Equal Opportunities
The University enables equal opportunities for all employees and students. This applies to degree courses and work, as well as academic careers, university management positions and the reconciliation of studies, work and private commitments. We are committed to this with various measures in the areas of teaching, research, administration and the Presidency.
Fit and Healthy
We help you stay fit and healthy. In addition to our diverse range of sports activities at the university, most of which are free of charge, and campaign weeks for corporate health management, we also offer you fruit in the workplace. In our canteen you will find a wide selection of freshly prepared meals - from vegetarian to fish dishes - at discounted prices.
Further information on working at the HSG can be found here.
For job-related questions
Assistant Professor
When should an AI explain, ask a question or offer a different perspective? We develop adaptive dialogue systems and study how these choices affect understanding.
Research Assistant
The goal is AI that helps people think through complex questions. That makes understanding and critical reflection central to how we build and evaluate language models.
Your place of work
University of St.Gallen
«A place where knowledge is created» - As one of Europe's leading universities of economics and business administration, the University of St.Gallen (HSG), Switzerland, is committed to the education of over 10'000 students. The HSG is one of the largest employers in the region and provides an attractive and innovative environment for more than 3'800 researchers, educators and professional staff.
