Description

Salary: $63,480 - $76,000 a year

Status: Full Time

The Language Creation and Learning Laboratory (PI Annemarie Kocab) in the Department of Cognitive Science at Johns Hopkins University seeks an outstanding postdoctoral fellow to lead scientific efforts on machine learning applications to signed languages to begin by Fall 2026.

The fellow will work on research projects spanning evaluation of deep learning neural networks trained on signed language recognition. The fellow will work closely with the PI Annemarie Kocab and collaborator Alex Lu, Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research. Duties will include: 

• Design, execute, and troubleshoot experiments
• Develop and validate benchmarks for model evaluation
• Contribute to the development of datasets for model training and evaluation
• Mentor and supervise graduate and undergraduate students
• Prepare progress reports and present results to collaborators
• Publish findings in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings
• Contribute to competitive grant proposals to federal agencies (e.g., NIH)

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• PhD in Cognitive Science, Computer Science, Psychology, Linguistics, or related fields
• Ability to move to and work at Johns Hopkins University, USA
• Demonstrated track record of first-author publications and presentations
• Experience with computational methods and machine learning, including but not limited to deep learning, computer vision, computational linguistics, pretraining methods, interpretability, and transfer learning
• Experience with cognitive science, particularly psycholinguistics or linguistics
• Proficiency in data analysis and computational tools; strong programming skills (e.g., MATLAB, Python, or equivalent)
• Ability to lead research projects and collaborate with experimentalists
• Strong written and oral communication skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with human computer interaction, accessibility, or AI fairness and ethics

Application Instructions

Submit a cover letter, CV, sample of work, and 3 letters of reference to Interfolio. 

Salary Range

The referenced salary range represents the minimum and maximum salaries for this position and is based on Johns Hopkins University's good faith belief at the time of posting. Not all candidates will be eligible for the upper end of the salary range. The actual compensation offered to the selected candidate may vary and will ultimately depend on multiple factors, which may include the successful candidate's geographic location, skills, work experience, internal equity, market conditions, education/training and other factors, as reasonably determined by the University.

Total Rewards

Johns Hopkins offers a total rewards package that supports our employees' health, life, career and retirement. More information can be found here: https://hr.jhu.edu/benefits-worklife/.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students. To that end, the university does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status or other legally protected characteristics. The university is committed to providing qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs, benefits and activities on the basis of demonstrated ability, performance and merit without regard to personal factors or demographic characteristics that are irrelevant to the program involved.

Pre-Employment Information

If you are interested in applying for employment with Johns Hopkins University and require special assistance or accommodation during any part of the pre-employment process, please contact the HR Business Services Office at [email protected]. For TTY users, call via Maryland Relay or dial 711. For more information about workplace accommodations at Johns Hopkins University for disabilities, medical conditions (including medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth), accessibility, or religious reasons, please visit accessibility.jhu.edu.

Background Checks

After receiving a conditional offer, the successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check including education verification. When deciding whether a candidate's conviction history is job-disqualifying, the University considers the nature and gravity of the offense, the time that has passed since the conviction, and the nature of the job being sought.

EEO is the Law

https://www.eeoc.gov/employees-job-applicants

Vaccine Requirements

Johns Hopkins University strongly encourages, but no longer requires, at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. This change does not apply to the School of Medicine (SOM). SOM hires must be fully vaccinated with an FDA COVID-19 vaccination and provide proof of vaccination status. We still require all faculty, staff, and students to receive the seasonal flu vaccine.

Exceptions to the seasonal flu vaccine or COVID-19 vaccine (for SOM) requirement(s) may be provided to individuals with sincerely held religious beliefs or medical conditions that preclude them from receiving the vaccine. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/ and all other JHU applicants should visit https://covidinfo.jhu.edu/health-safety/covid-vaccination-information/.

The following additional vaccine requirements may apply, depending upon your campus. Please contact the hiring department for more information.

The pre-employment physical for positions in clinical areas, laboratories, working with research subjects, or involving community contact requires documentation of immune status against Rubella (German measles), Rubeola (Measles), Mumps, Varicella (chickenpox), Hepatitis B and documentation of having received the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccination. This may include documentation of having two (2) MMR vaccines; two (2) Varicella vaccines; or antibody status to these diseases from laboratory testing. Blood tests for immunities to these diseases are ordinarily included in the pre-employment physical exam except for those candidates who provide results of blood tests or immunization documentation from their own health care providers. Any vaccinations required for these diseases will be given at no cost in our Occupational Health office.