Postdoctoral Researcher in Fundamental Machine Learning F/M

Role Summary

The Machine Learning Group at the Idiap Research Institute (Martigny, Switzerland) has an open position for a postdoctoral researcher to contribute to our work on fundamental questions in machine learning and deep learning.

Research topics include the design of new architectures and training methods for compute and data-efficient learning, methods for data selection and synthetic pre-training, and the scientific study of existing models and algorithms with both empirical and theorical approaches. Representative examples of recent work from our group are provided below.

The position is fully funded and the candidate will be expected to conduct independent research while collaborating with members of our group. Various optional career development opportunities will be available, including the possibility to co-supervise Master’s and PhD students, participate in ongoing collaborations with our international partners, and gain experience in the acquisition of research funding. 

Here is some representative work of the research group:

• Can Transformers Really Do It All? On the Compatibility of Inductive Biases Across Tasks, https://openreview.net/forum?id=B08MW8oDqN
• Procedural Pretraining: Warming Up Language Models with Abstract Data, https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.21725
• Neural Redshift: Random Networks are not Random Functions, https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.02241
  

Inquiries can be made directly to Dr. Damien Teney (damien.teney@idiap.ch).-

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Work time: Full-time
Contract type: Temporary, 1 year (negotiable/renewable contingent on performance)
Location: Martigny, Switzerland
Start date: 2026 or early 2027

Your Profile

• A strong track record of rigorous research, evidenced by publications at top-tier venues in ML/CV/NLP venues (NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, CVPR, ACL, EMNLP).
• A PhD (or equivalent research experience) in a relevant field such as computer science, engineering, applied mathematics, physics, or related disciplines
• Strong programming skills
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English

About Idiap

Idiap is a research institute of national importance that engages in fundamental research, education and technology transfer in artificial intelligence, machine learning and signal processing. Idiap offers competitive salaries and conditions in a young, high-quality, dynamic, and multicultural environment. Idiap is located in the town of Martigny in Valais, a scenic region in the south of Switzerland, surrounded by the highest mountains of Europe, and offering exceptional quality of life, exciting recreational activities, including hiking, climbing and skiing, as well as varied cultural activities. English is the official working language.

At Idiap we place great emphasis on diversity and we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. Employment at Idiap is based solely on a person's merit and qualifications. Idiap does not discriminate against any employee or applicant because of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, marital status, pregnancy, or any other basis protected by law.

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