Description

Job Description

POSITON SUMMARY:

Tulane University, one of the nation's premier research institutions, seeks outstanding applicants for one or more postdoctoral positions within the School of Science and Engineering's Department of Computer Science. The postdoctoral fellow will be supervised by Dr. Hridesh Rajan and will collaborate with members of the Laboratory for Software Design (https://lab-design.github.io). This position is expected to be filled as early as Fall 2026. The candidate will be responsible for conducting research in broadly defined areas of Programming Languages (PL) and Software Engineering (SE) with a specific focus on SE/PL techniques for Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled systems.

Dr. Hridesh Rajan's Laboratory for Software Design focuses on software-engineering and programming-languages foundations that make AI-enabled systems dependable. Recent work, available at https://lab-design.github.io/papers/, introduces modular deep-learning architectures that decompose large neural networks into independently verifiable units; specification languages that bring design-by-contract principles to model training and inference; automated fault-localization techniques that pinpoint defective layers or data segments; mock deep testing frameworks that generate lightweight model surrogates to accelerate test oracles; and repair methods that improve fairness and robustness without sacrificing accuracy. Collectively, these results demonstrate how principled SE/PL thinking can curb technical debt and elevate the quality of data-driven software.

The successful candidates will be responsible for developing and sustaining a strong research program; developing collaborative and interdisciplinary research; publishing in top venues; mentoring outstanding graduate students; and enhancing Tulane through professional and institutional service. We are interested in exceptional candidates that can directly contribute to the research directions mentioned above. Preference will be given to candidates with publications in the International Conference of Software Engineering (ICSE) and Foundations of Software Engineering (FSE).

Opportunities to contribute to undergraduate and graduate education may also be available depending on the departmental needs.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

The Department of Computer Science emphasizes both core computer science and its applications to related areas in the sciences and engineering, health and social sciences, and the humanities. Its mission is for faculty and students to be recognized both nationally and internationally for their interdisciplinary research, training the next generation of computer scientists who work at the interface of computer science and other disciplines. The Department of Computer Science is headquartered in the School of Science and Engineering (SSE) on Tulane's picturesque uptown campus, along with office, laboratory, and engineering facilities. Steven and Jann Paul Hall provides the latest in science and engineering infrastructure, including flexible laboratories, innovative classrooms, and collaborative spaces for increased student and faculty engagement and retention. The department is home to 18 faculty who have developed strong expertise in algorithms, artificial intelligence, computational biology, computer-science education, computational geometry and topology, computer vision, data science and large-data processing, game theory, image processing, machine learning, natural-language processing, networking, cloud-computing optimization, privacy and security, and scientific visualization. It offers programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels: an undergraduate CS certificate, an AI minor, a coordinated CS major, a CS major, as well as a Master's program (on-ground and online) and a PhD program. The department serves a community of over 600 students, including roughly 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors, and is poised for further expansion thanks to recently launched degree programs.

The Department of Computer Science is leading the way in artificial-intelligence explorations. Through Tulane's interdisciplinary nature, researchers approach and tackle the challenges of our time from a diversity of backgrounds, skillsets, and lenses. Tulane is dedicated to finding AI solutions to today's urban and societal challenges, taking an interdisciplinary approach to some of the community's most pressing issues. AI crossover opportunities with public health are rich and ripe for study. Other areas of interdisciplinary AI study include AI fairness and ethics, community engagement with AI in medical and bio health, and urban AI and smart cities.

The Center for Community-Engaged Artificial Intelligence, a multidisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, students, and community partners dedicated to innovating human-centered AI to benefit society, brings together a variety of AI research efforts and initiatives at Tulane. The department is also home to the Jurist Center for Artificial Intelligence. Supported by the Harold L. and Heather E. Jurist NC'64 Endowed Fund, the Jurist Center supports research and education in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science, with a focus on using AI in applications that pave the way toward a healthier, more connected global community.

More information about the Department of Computer Science can be found at: https://sse.tulane.edu/cs .

ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Created in 2006, the School of Science and Engineering (SSE) is unique as the only academic unit at a major research university to merge the behavioral sciences, physical sciences, life sciences, engineering, and mathematics, which provides an unusually rich environment for innovative programs and interdisciplinary research. SSE is a relatively young school that was developed strategically to capitalize on the natural synergies between science and engineering disciplines. It has pioneered a new model for integrated science and engineering education and research and positioned Tulane to be a leader in the STEM disciplines. It recognizes the role that information technology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology play in today's global economy and aims to provide its students with the necessary skills to be leaders in discovery and innovation.

SSE provides an environment in which scientists and engineers work together in an integrated organization on problems of mutual interests, where current research in engineering is informed by current research in science and vice versa, and where students, regardless of their major field of study, have the opportunity to explore concepts and methods of both science and engineering. The school comprises eleven academic departments: Biomedical Engineering, Cell and Molecular Biology, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Mathematics, Physics and Engineering Physics, Psychology, and River-Coastal Science and Engineering. Faculty from a broad array of disciplines regularly organize around important research themes in centers and institutes such as the Tulane Brain Institute and the Tulane Bywater Institute. In addition, the school houses the Neuroscience Program, a Bioinnovation interdisciplinary doctoral program, and a Biological Chemistry Interdisciplinary bachelor's degree.

SSE has been an extremely successful hub of research on the Tulane campus. The faculty of SSE expends approximately $30 million in research, generates over 500 articles in refereed journals, and files over 15 new patents annually. In addition, SSE supports numerous opportunities for undergraduate research activity and is home to flourishing graduate programs. SSE graduates the largest number of doctoral students at Tulane. Among the 140 tenure-track faculty are 15 endowed chairs and 19 endowed professors. Many of these endowed positions are affiliated with the university's interdisciplinary research centers that capitalize on the close-knit and collaborative Tulane environment.

As part of the mission to engage in the local community, SSE supports a K-12 STEM Education Outreach program. The program exposes young students to STEM in meaningful and appealing ways with projects such as the Robotics Bayou Regional Competition.

Dr. Hridesh Rajan joined the School of Science and Engineering at Tulane as dean in summer 2024. Before moving to Tulane, he was the Kingland Professor at Iowa State University, where he served as the Department Chair of Computer Science. As an academic, Dean Rajan is well-regarded for his contributions to software engineering and programming languages. He is the creator of the Ptolemy programming language, which improved modular reasoning about cross-cutting concerns, and the Boa programming language, which simplifies data-driven software engineering. Educated at the University of Virginia, Dean Rajan holds a PhD and an MS in computer science. He earned his BTech in computer science and engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Varanasi. Dean Rajan is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a Fulbright Scholar, and an ACM Distinguished Scientist.

Dean Rajan has developed a strategic plan for his first 1,000 days to strategically focus SSE's efforts, which includes building faculty capacity and critical mass, investing in world-class core facilities, and forging strategic partnerships. His vision to be an interdisciplinary-first, translational school of science and engineering organizes efforts around five new transdisciplinary grand-challenge clusters, with the aim that each will eventually grow into a center of excellence or institute.

Resilient Habitats and Communities will focus on growing the science and engineering fields needed to better understand and predict climate-change and sustainability issues; then create biodiverse and resilient ecosystems, smart infrastructure, renewable-energy systems, advanced and recyclable materials, and pollution-mitigation/remediation platforms.

Leveraging Tulane's proximity to NASA Michoud Facility and Stennis Space Center, Space Science and Engineering will build on SSE's strengths in biomedical and biochemical systems (such as biomanufacturing) for space; energy and catalysis (both generation and storage of renewables and rocket fuel); and advanced materials for spacecraft, gear, and robotics.

The Cognitive Cyber Nexus thrust will study the integration of human cognition, cyber systems, artificial intelligence, and physical environments.

Precision Health Diagnostics and Therapeutics will focus on developing cutting-edge technologies that provide rapid diagnostic solutions and precise therapeutics for healthcare to enable early detection of diseases, personalized treatments, and improved patient outcomes. Development of next-generation tools and therapies will also leverage advances in biotechnology, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence.

And finally, the AI for All research thrust will explore how artificial intelligence can advance interdisciplinary research and education in SSE and beyond and will serve as a unifying force that amplifies the impact of all other research areas.

Additional information about the School of Science and Engineering can be found at: https://sse.tulane.edu/.

ABOUT TULANE UNIVERSITY:

Tulane traces its origins to 1834, when it was founded as the Medical College of Louisiana. It was renamed the University of Louisiana by the state legislature in 1847. The legislature subsequently transferred it to the Board of Administrators of the Tulane Education Fund in 1884. With that transfer, Tulane University was established as a private, non-sectarian university and named in honor of benefactor Paul Tulane, a wealthy merchant who donated more than $1 million in land, cash, and securities “for the promotion and encouragement of intellectual, moral, and industrial education.” In 1886, the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College was established as Tulane's college for women. The unified Newcomb-Tulane College now enrolls all full-time undergraduates at the university.

Today, the university has an operating budget of just over $1 billion and an endowment of $2 billion. Tulane enrolls approximately 8,600 undergraduate and 5,900 graduate and professional students from every state in the U.S. and more than 85 nations worldwide. The Tulane faculty totals over 1,200 full-time members with a staff of approximately 2,900. The university is organized into ten academic divisions: Newcomb-Tulane College, A.B. Freeman School of Business, School of Architecture, School of Professional Advancement, School of Law, School of Liberal Arts, School of Medicine, Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, School of Science and Engineering, and the School of Social Work. The mix of schools is an asset that is rich with opportunities for cross-school collaboration in research and education.

Tulane University is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching ranks Tulane as a university with “very high research activity.” As such, it is committed to the highest level of research. Tulane attracts an outstanding student body that is both intellectually curious and driven by community engagement. The university's 8:1 undergraduate-student-faculty ratio allows Tulane undergraduates to receive the personalized attention of a smaller liberal-arts college with the resources of a major research institution. In 2006, Tulane became the first major research institution to require public service as a graduation requirement for undergraduates, which led to the Carnegie Foundation recognizing Tulane with its Community Engagement Classification. Tulane is also the most nationally recognized university in the country, with its undergraduates traveling farther to attend college on average than those of any other university. As such, it plays a valuable role in recruiting talent to New Orleans, as only 15 percent of Tulane's students are from New Orleans, and about 20 percent of all Tulane graduates stay in Louisiana after graduation.

The current Always the Audacious fundraising campaign seeks to harness Tulane's rising momentum and chart a bolder vision for the university's future. Significant investment in Tulane's research engine is one of four central pillars of the campaign, with an emphasis on expanding facilities and investing in faculty excellence. A critical element of the research growth strategy includes funding numerous endowed chairs and professorships across disciplines. As the ultimate recognition for faculty members, these prestigious roles are a powerful tool to attract and nurture exemplary faculty.

For more information about Tulane University, please visit the Tulane website: https://tulane.edu/.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Ph.D. or equivalent degree in computer science or a closely related field.
2. Publications in top tier venues.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Experience that demonstrates a strong publication record.
2. Demonstrated ability or potential to mentor research of undergraduate and graduate students.
3. Demonstrated ability or potential to engage in professional and institutional service and leadership.
4. Evidence of ability to work with diverse students, faculty, and staff populations.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Candidates must provide the following:

• Resume/Curriculum Vitae
• Letter of Application/Cover Letter covering your interest or experience related to the projects mentioned above
• Contact information for three professional references. Once you submit your application, we may contact your references.

About Us

Tulane University is an equal opportunity educator and employer committed to providing an education and employment environment free of unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Legally protected demographic classifications (such as a person's race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, shared ancestry, disability, genetics, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws) are not relied upon as an eligibility, selection or participation criteria for Tulane's employment or educational programs or activities.

Tulane University is responsible for providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities throughout the applicant screening process. If you need assistance in completing an application or during any phase of the interview process, please contact the Office of Human Resources by phone at 504-865-4748 or by email at [email protected].