Positions

This page contains information about currently or recently open positions within the AI & Global Development Lab. Reach out to Adel (adel.daoud@liu.se) or Connor (connor.jerzak@austin.utexas.edu) for information about upcoming opportunities. For more information about our lab research, please see: aidevlab.org/research.

Recent Job Postings

[3.] Research Assistant in the AI & Global Development Lab

Posted: Autumn 2025
Deadline: November 26, 2025
Ref: IEI-2025-00656

Join the AI & Global Development Lab and the Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS) at Linköping University to apply machine learning, causal inference, computer vision, and earth observation data to study poverty traps and competing development interventions (World Bank vs. Chinese) programs in Africa. As part of a highly international and interdisciplinary team (Linköping, Chalmers, Harvard, UT Austin, and others), you will:

  • Prepare geo-temporal datasets for causal inference analyses
  • Lead and co-author research articles on (1) selection mechanisms and impact of WB vs. Chinese development programs and (2) varieties of poverty traps across social/governance contexts
  • Conduct literature reviews, synthesize findings, and identify open research questions
  • Support training of computer vision models and LLMs to improve satellite-based poverty mapping

We offer:

  • 12-month contract (part-time or full-time), starting as soon as possible
  • Workplace at IAS, Campus Norrköping (remote work possible)
  • Competitive salary according to Linköping University scales + full Swedish employee benefits
  • Access to high-performance computing clusters, international workshops, and a vibrant research environment
  • Direct collaboration with Prof. Adel Daoud and the broader lab network

Required Background:

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in social sciences (economics, sociology, political science, etc.) with strong quantitative/computational training OR in computer science, data science, or statistics with genuine interest in AI for Social Good
  • Coding skills in Python, Python, R, or equivalent
  • Written and spoken English
  • Strong interest in causal inference and/or computer vision & Earth observation

Desirable Background:

  • Experience with geospatial/temporal data
  • Experience training ML models (especially vision, LLMs, or AI search agents)
  • Research interest in global development, poverty, inequality, governance, Chinese politics, World Bank operations, political sociology, or political economy

How to apply:
Submit your application via the Linköping University portal no later than November 26, 2025:
https://liu.se/en/work-at-liu/vacancies/27979

Applications received after the deadline will not be automatically rejected. Questions? Contact:
Adel Daoud (adel.daoud@liu.se)
Åsa Arnoldson (asa.arnoldson@liu.se)


[2.] Research Engineer

Posted: Autumn 2025
Deadline: November 7, 2025
Ref: IEI-2025-00595

We seek to fill one or several research engineer at the Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS). IAS is an interdisciplinary research center on the intersection of analytical sociology and computational social science. The position is advertised within the research project Observatory of Poverty.

This advertisement is for a candidate who will use machine learning and causal inference to evaluate the impact of local development programs in Africa. The candidate will work as part of an interdisciplinary team towards the goals of the Observatory of Poverty project, which is situated at the AI and Global Development Lab (you will find more information about the Lab at www.aidevlab.org ) and the Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS).

The vision of the Lab is to “combine AI, earth observation, and socio-economic theories to analyze sustainable and human development globally.” The Lab is administratively located at IAS and the Division of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden. The Lab consists of members in these institutions, as well as Harvard University, University of Texas at Austin, and other universities. The Swedish Research Council funds this Lab through a Research Environment Program and a Consolidator Grant. Pilot funding comes from Chalmers AI Research Centre (CHAIR). Google, in partnership with the Group on Earth Observations, provided mentorship and in-kind technical support to kick start the Lab.

The IAS is a highly international, interdisciplinary research center located in Norrköping, Sweden, with a PhD program in Analytical Sociology and an international Masters’ program in Computational Social Science. The research strengths of the IAS include the study of social mobility, cultural sociology, political sociology, organizational theory, social network analysis, and computational text analysis. 

The candidate will contribute to the following goal: to use our data to identify the extent to which African communities are trapped in poverty and explain how competing development interventions alter these communities’ prospects to free themselves from deprivation. To achieve this goal, the project will tackle the following objectives:

To examine how World Bank (WB) development programs versus Chinese programs, select African communities, and how these affect communities’ chances of breaking the cycle of deprivation (using the data of Obj1).

To develop theories of the varieties of poverty traps by examining the extent to which these traps lurk in different social contexts that shape both local governance and public-service provisioning, and how these contexts may be more or less important for Chinese- or WB-styled projects.

To support in training computer vision models and LLMs for improving poverty map estimation.

Thus, the main duties are:

  1. Prepare geo-temporal data for causal inference.
  2. Lead and support research articles based on the two topics listed.
  3. Conduct reviews of literature, synthesize key findings, and address remaining research questions.


[1.] Postdoctoral Fellowships in Computational Social Science

Posted: Spring 2025
Deadline: May 19, 2025
Ref: IEI-2025-00244

Join the AI & Global Development Lab at Linköping University’s Institute for Analytical Sociology (IAS) to apply frontier machine learning and causal-inference methods to evaluate local development programs in Africa.

As part of an interdisciplinary team, you will:

  • Develop remote-sensing and ML pipelines to generate geo-temporal poverty estimates
  • Design and implement causal-inference studies assessing the impact of interventions (e.g., World Bank, Chinese aid) on African communities
  • Lead publication-quality research, present at weekly lab meetings, and collaborate across Linköping, Chalmers, Harvard, Gothenburg, and partners

We offer:

  • A 2-year postdoctoral contract (extendable to 3 years) with flexible remote work and support for occasional travel
  • Mentorship by Prof. Adel Daoud (AI & Global Development Lab) and Dr. Connor Jerzak (UT Austin)
  • Access to computing clusters, interdisciplinary workshops, and an international research environment

Your profile:

  • PhD (or imminent defense) in sociology, economics, political science, data science, or related fields
  • Strong coding ability (Python/R) and experience training deep-learning models at scale
  • Solid grounding in causal-inference theory and methods
  • Demonstrated publication record or strong working-paper portfolio
  • (Desirable) Experience with temporal/geospatial data and interest in development, poverty, or inequality

How to apply:

  • Submit your application—including CV, publication/sample manuscript, and a brief statement indicating whether you wish to focus on (1) poverty estimation via remote sensing + ML or (2) causal evaluation of development programs—by 19 May 2025 via the Linköping University careers portal: [Portal Link]

Questions? Learn more about the Lab at aidevlab.org and the IAS at liu.se/en/organisation/liu/iei/ias. Contact Adel for more details: adel.daoud@liu.se.