Postdoctoral researcher in Speech Technology for Low Saxon varieties

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen -
Groningen

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Vacaturegegevens

Parttime
€ 4.241 - € 4.728 per maand

Kwalificaties

Doctor
Laboratoriumervaring
Master
Bachelor
Journalistiek
Lesgeven

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Deze vacature is alleen beschikbaar in het Engels

Within the Center for Groningen Language and Culture (CGTC) we are looking for a postdoctoral researcher (0.8 FTE, 25 months) on speech technology for Low Saxon varieties. The goal of this postdoctoral position is to investigate how low-resource speech technology can be developed and improved, specifically focusing on the various Dutch Low Saxon varieties. Consequently, this position will entail doing high-quality research into how low-resource varieties can benefit optimally from the most recent language and speech technology advancements and/or developing new approaches for this purpose. The position also entails helping (to supervise) PhD students with the development and improvement of automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems or text-to-speech (TTS) systems, as well as making these available for public use. The implemented technology will be made publicly available and may also be used in the MOI Grunnen | Drenthe project (www.wijzijnmoi.nl). In this project, learning material and an integrative approach is developed for teaching primary school children the regional language. Additional tasks for the successful applicant may involve helping to collect acoustic or textual data for these varieties (e.g., using custom online interfaces, or using our state-of-the-art mobile laboratory SPRAAKLAB), and attempting to acquire external research funding benefiting both the project and personal development. You will also collaborate with several PhDs and a postdoc working specifically on the MOI Grunnen | Drenthe project. You will become a member of both the GroNLP group and Speech Lab Groningen and as such, willingness to help with public engagement activities is also desirable.

Faculty of Arts

Solliciteer uiterlijk: 2 August 2026 23:59 Dutch local time

0.8 fte

€4.241 - €4.728

Postdoctoral researcher in Speech Technology for Low Saxon varieties

What are you going to do?

Conducting independent high-quality research (and publishing) on improving speech technology for low resource varieties, mainly aimed at the varieties of Low Saxon.
Publishing the research results at the top conferences and publication venues in the field.
Collaborating with several PhD students and a postdoctoral researcher who focus on developing and improving speech and language technology for low resource languages.
Helping to collect and organize speech recordings of the varieties for which speech and language technology is developed.
(Helping to) write external funding applications to further strengthen the research on speech technology for low resource varieties.
Help with public engagement activities, specifically those aimed at the Low Saxon area.
Participate in the weekly GroNLP meetings, and the bi-weekly Speech Lab Groningen meetings.
Potentially help supervising BA or MA theses focusing on this subject.

Faculty of Arts

Solliciteer uiterlijk: 2 August 2026 23:59 Dutch local time

€4.241 - €4.728

Who are you?

You are an ambitious researcher with (or close to getting) a PhD in Speech and/or Language Technology, Computational Linguistics, Computer Science or Artificial Intelligence. You have strong publications in journals and the main conferences in the field you obtained your PhD in. You have a demonstrably strong technical profile which is sufficient to conduct the tasks listed below, with experience in applying or developing speech technology, and an interest in or experience in developing speech technology benefiting low-resource varieties.

Specifically, we expect the following:

You hold a PhD in Speech and/or Language Technology, Computational Linguistics, Computer Science or Artificial Intelligence.
You have several impactful publications that demonstrate your research skills in the above field.
You have demonstrable skills in evaluating and/or improving speech technology.
You have experience, or are willing to learn, implementing language technology in a user-accessible way (e.g., via a website, or online application).
You demonstrate motivation to seek further research funding.
You are motivated to collaborate with PhD students and another postdoctoral researcher on low-resource speech and language technology.
Your of English is sufficient to write academic articles and present your work.
Motivation to learn (or the ability to already speak) the regional language (courses can be provided) is considered a plus.

What can you expect from us?

In accordance with the collective labor agreement for Dutch universities, we offer a salary of at least € 4.241 (schaal 10.4) up to a maximum of € 4.728 (schaal 10.7) gross per month for a full-time employment contract.
232 vacation hours per year, based on a 38-hour workweek (1.0 FTE). You can also work more or fewer hours in exchange for more or fewer free hours. For example, with a 40-hour workweek, you save 96 extra free hours, and with a 36-hour workweek, you lose 96 hours.
End-of-year bonus of 8.3% and 8% holiday allowance.
Extensive opportunities for personal and professional development.
A temporary appointment of 0.8 FTE for initially 9 months, but extended to a total of 25 months based on a positive evaluation. Note that the non-negotiable starting date for this position is December 1, 2026 (with an end date of December 31, 2028).

Where will you be working?

At the University of Groningen (UG), researchers from all fields of academia and technology are working on academic challenges and societal questions. Lecturers prepare their students for meaningful careers within or outside the academic world. Interdisciplinary research and teaching, sharing of knowledge, collaboration with businesses, government institutions, and societal organizations are aspects that are of the utmost importance to this European top university. The UG aims to be an open academic community with an inclusive and safe working climate that invites you to add your value.

The Faculty of Arts is a large and dynamic faculty located in the heart of the city of Groningen. More than 5,500 students and 900 staff work every day at the frontiers of knowledge. The Faculty offers a diverse range of academic programmes, with 16 Bachelor’s programmes and over 40 Master’s programmes. With its strong international orientation, the Faculty conducts research in fields including archaeology, cultural studies, history, international relations, journalism, literature, and linguistics. If you would like to learn more about the Faculty of Arts, visit rug.nl/let.

You are going to be embedded in the Center for Groningen Language and Culture (and Speech Lab Groningen) within the broader GroNLP research group. Within the Center for Groningen Language and Culture, ample high-performance facilities are available to help you with your research. Specifically, we have access to our own server containing two A100 40GB GPUs, as well as an NVIDIA Grace Hopper system with a single H100 GPU. In addition, we have access to a Temi robot, and access to the mobile laboratory SPRAAKLAB. Funding is available every year to travel to conferences (if a paper can be presented). You will be supervised by Prof. Martijn Wieling and Prof. Malvina Nissim. You are expected to relocate to Groningen or its vicinity for this position.

Application procedure

Step 1: Your application

After submitting your application, you will receive a confirmation by email.

Step 2: Selection

The selection committee assesses your application and you will be notified as soon as possible whether you are invited for an interview.

Step 3: First interview

We would like to get to know each other better in a first interview, which can take place either online or on location.

Step 4: Second interview and possible assessment or guest lecture

We may schedule a second interview with you. Depending on the position, this interview can be complemented with an assessment or guest lecture.

Step 5: Terms of employment meeting

After a positive interview, we will discuss the terms of employment together. When everything is completed, we are happy to welcome you at the University of Groningen!

Interested?

Does this vacancy appeal to you? If so, click on the button below and apply straightaway.

Please add the following documents to your application:

Cover letter.
CV with list of publications.
Copies of diplomas and associated grades.
Copy of PhD degree (or letter of promotor indicating when the dissertation will be finished).
Research proposal of 1-2 pages.
Contact info for 2 academic referees.

Hote that applications that do not include all of the aforementioned documents will not be considered for selection.

Do you have any questions or need more information?

Questions about the content of the job?

Martijn Wieling

Associate Professor
[email protected]
Questions about your application process?

Martijn Wieling

Associate Professor
[email protected]

Information about applying

When scheduling meetings, we will take your schedule into account as much as possible.

The University of Groningen considers social safety important. We strive to be a university where staff and students feel respected and at home, regardless of differences in background, experiences, perspectives, and identity. For more information, see also our page about our diversity policy.

Acquisition is not appreciated.

Our selection procedure follows the guidelines of the NVP Application Code.

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