<!-- ko if: isJobTitleVisible --> Postdoctoral Researcher in Natural Language Processing and Digital Humanities (18 months, full-time) <!-- /ko --> <!-- ko if: isAlreadyAppliedVisible --><!-- /ko -->

Department of Culture and Language (IKS) and IMADA invite applications for a full-time Postdoctoral Researcher (18 months) in Natural Language Processing and Digital Humanities, starting 1 September 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The position is part of the research project METHOD. A Digital Entangled Approach to European Intellectual History , funded by the Velux Foundation and led by Aglae Pizzone (PI) and Reka Forrai (co-PI).

Short presentation of the research project
METHOD investigates how the concept of “method” developed across Byzantine Greek and early modern Latin intellectual traditions. The project combines intellectual history with computational text analysis to examine large, historically complex corpora spanning multiple centuries and languages.

The core research task is to model semantic change and conceptual structure using Natural Language Processing. We will build customized NLP pipelines for premodern Greek and humanistic Latin, train and evaluate word embedding models, and construct semantic and network-based representations of key concepts.

A central challenge — and opportunity — of the project is working with non-standardized, historically layered, and relatively low-resource languages. This includes corpus preparation, tokenization, model adaptation, and evaluation in settings where off-the-shelf tools are insufficient.

The project aims both to generate new historical insights and to develop reusable computational workflows for semantic modelling in premodern corpora.

Job description
The successful applicant will be affiliated with Work Package 1: Semantic Networks  and will contribute centrally to the computational and methodological development of the project.

The postdoctoral researcher will collaborate closely with the project’s PIs Aglae Pizzone and Reka Forrai (Department of Culture and Language), specialists in medieval literature and with Tariq Yousef and Stefan Janicke (Department of Mathematics and Data Science), specialists in NLP and data visualization.

The postdoctoral researcher will be hired either at the Department of Culture and Language (https://www.sdu.dk/en/om-sdu/institutter-centre/iks ) or at the Department of Mathematics and Data Science (https://www.sdu.dk/en/om-sdu/institutter-centre/imada_matematik_og_datalogi ), depending on their academic background.

The position is open to candidates from computer science, data science, computational linguistics, digital humanities, or relevant humanities disciplines with a strong computational profile and demonstrated experience (see Qualifications below)

The postdoctoral researcher will:

• Prepare, clean, and structure multilingual textual corpora (Greek and Latin)
• Develop and customize NLP pipelines in Python (including model adaptation for humanistic Latin)
• Implement and evaluate word embedding models (e.g., Word2Vec or related approaches)
• Develop semantic network analyses and visualizations
• Collaborate with humanities researchers to interpret computational outputs
• Contribute to methodological publication in Digital Humanities venues
• Contribute to open research practices (e.g., GitHub repositories and project website)

The position includes participation in international conferences and workshops.

Qualifications 

Applicants must hold a PhD degree (or equivalent) in a relevant field. Suitable disciplinary backgrounds include but are not limited to:

• Computer Science, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or Computational Linguistics
• Digital Humanities or Linguistics with a strong computational focus
• Classics, History, Philology, or related humanities disciplines with documented expertise (either through education or publication track record) in Natural Language Processing and programming

Regardless of disciplinary background, applicants must demonstrate:

• Advanced competence in Python
• Documented experience with NLP and computational text analysis
• Experience working with language modelling, semantic analysis, or related machine learning approaches

Requirements

• Documented experience in Natural Language Processing and/or computational text analysis
• Strong programming skills in Python
• Experience with relevant libraries and tools (e.g., spaCy or comparable frameworks)
• Experience with word embeddings, semantic modelling, and/or network analysis
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in an interdisciplinary environment
• Excellent written and spoken English

Additional qualifications (preferred but not required)

• Experience working with historical or non-standardized language data
• Knowledge of Latin and/or Ancient Greek
• Experience in digital humanities research
• Interest in intellectual history, conceptual history, or early modern studies
• Experience developing reusable research software or open-source tools

Candidates from the humanities with advanced computational competencies are strongly encouraged to apply. Likewise, candidates from data science or computational fields with an interest in historically complex textual corpora are welcome.

Contact information
For information about the project, please contact Aglae Pizzone at pizzone@sdu.dk . For further information about the position and employment at the University of Southern Denmark, Vice Head of Department Anne Klara Bom at akbom@sdu.dk  . 

For questions related to CV, diplomas etc., please contact humfak-hr    

If you are not a Danish-speaking applicant, please ensure that you use the English website to access the electronic application form to receive further information in English.

Working at University of Southern Denmark
The International Staff Office (ISO) at SDU provides a variety of services for new employees, guests and people who consider applying for a job at the University of Southern Denmark. International staff in tenured positions will be offered Danish language training in connection with the employment and are expected to achieve Danish language competences at CEFR B2-level within 5 years from being appointed.

We recommend that as an international applicant you take the time to visit Working in Denmark where you will find information and facts about moving to, working and living in Denmark, as well as the International Staff Office at SDU . 

About the department
The Department of Culture and Language has approximately 200 employees, covering a wide range of subjects and research interests, including American Studies, Audiologopaedia, Classical Studies, Communication, Comparative Literature, Culture, Danish, English, German, History, Middle East Studies, Organisational Communication and the Study of Religion. Our faculty is committed to interdisciplinary research and teaching, encouraging students to explore the intersections of language, culture, and society. They are actively involved in various research centres, groups, and networks, contributing to cutting-edge projects and publications. 

The Department of Culture and Language is located on the island of Funen at the university's campus in Odense – the third-largest city in Denmark with 180.000 inhabitants. Odense   provides family-friendly living conditions in a historic city with an urban feel where nature and other recreational areas are never far away. The city has excellent connections with public transportation to Aarhus and Copenhagen. 

Conditions of employment
The employment as postdoc is temporary. Employment stops automatically by the end of the period. An upgrade of pedagogical qualifications is not part of the position. Thus, employment as postdoc cannot stand alone as a qualification for later employment as associate professor/senior researcher.

The successful applicant will be employed in accordance with the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and AC (the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations), Cirkulære om overenskomst for Akademikere i staten  2025 (the document only exists in Danish).  

Application
Applications  should be sent electronically via the link "apply online" and the Faculty expects applicants to read the information "How to apply " before applying. 

The application must include:

• A letter stating your specific interest, motivation, and qualifications for the project (400 words).
• Curriculum Vitae with applicant's e-mail and phone number
• Documentation of qualifications (examination certificates/PhD diploma, etc.)
• Complete list of publications indicating the publications attached
• Up to two selected publications and/or relevant coding samples (GitHub links welcome
• Applicants may choose a maximum of three publications for assessment. Please upload a pdf for each publication. If your publications have been co-authored, please briefly describe the extent of the co-authorship or your contribution to the individual joint publication. You can do so by using this form  or you can describe the co-authorship in such a way that the committee can assess the extent of your contribution. 
• Two recommendation letters highlighting the fitness with the position’s requirements and the ability to work in team
• A brief statement (max. 1 page) describing previous experience with computational text analysis

Application and all appendices must be in Danish, English or one of the Scandinavian languages. Please always include a copy of original diploma/certificates.  We only accept files in pdf-format no more than 10 MB per file. In case you have more than one file per field you need to combine the pdf-files into a single file, as each field handles only one file. We do not accept zip-files, jpg or other image files. All pdf-files must be unlocked and allow binding and may not be password protected.

The assessment process
Applications will be assessed by an assessment committee and the applicant will receive the part of the evaluation that concerns him/her. The assessment report will subsequently be forwarded to the Head of Department who will assemble an appointments committee. An interview may form part of the overall assessment of the applicants' qualifications.   
The committee may request additional information, and if so, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide the necessary material.

If the application does not meet the requirements mentioned above, the Faculty of Humanities may reject your application without further notice. Applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated.

Shortlisting and tests may be used in the assessment process. Please note that only a shortlisted applicant will receive an assessment. Here  you can read more about shortlisting at SDU. 

Application deadline
Application deadline 30 April 2026 23.59.
The University is signatory of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA). We wish our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.

About SDU
SDU was founded in 1966 and now has more than 27,000 students, almost 20% of whom are from abroad. It has more than 3,800 employees, and 115 different study programmes in the fields of the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, and engineering. Its main campus is located in Odense, but SDU is present also in Kolding, Sønderborg, Esbjerg and Copenhagen.

• Job Identification 3774
• Job Category VIP
• Posting Date 03/19/2026, 06:40 AM
• Locations Campusvej 55, Odense M, 5230, DK
• Apply Before 04/30/2026, 05:59 PM
• Job Schedule Full time