PhD Candidate in Algorithmic Fairness in Recommender Systems

This is NTNU

NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

   

Video: https://youtu.be/Xt-yHCN5QS0

About the position

Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate and open up exciting career opportunities? As a PhD Candidate with us, you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a further career in higher education and research, in and outside academia.

In today’s digital world, extremely large amounts of content overwhelms users, and it becomes a challenge for the end users to find the most suitable content for themselves. Recommender systems help users to find the most relevant items according to their browsing history and personal preferences. Today, recommender systems are frequently used and embedded in many digital services regardless of the domain. While these systems aim to help people by suggesting the most suitable content, the concerns about their effects on people and society becomes more prevalent. Especially in domains like job recommendations, which could have a direct effect on people’s life, it becomes extremely important to pay attention to concepts like fairness.

Fairness is a subjective concept and changes according to the domain, context and point of reference, which makes it an interesting and challenging research problem. In addition, fairness is not a standalone concept and has close connections to diversity, transparency and bias. In this position, the PhD candidate will work on algorithmic fairness in job recommender systems, collaborating with Vend AS that operates FINN.no. The candidate is expected to develop a good understanding of the general domain of fairness in recommender systems and extend their research to the domain-specific features of job recommendations. The candidate is expected to develop and test recommender systems, therefore good programming skills are required.

Your immediate leader will be the group leader of the Data and Artificial Intelligence unit at the Department of Computer Science.

About the project

The position is funded by the Norwegian Research Center for AI Innovation - NorwAI - and will be based at the Department of Computer Science in Trondheim. SFI NorwAI is a center for research-based AI Innovation hosted at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway. Research areas cover competences that the Norwegian industry needs to develop cutting-edge theories, methods and technology, for efficient, effective and responsible exploitation of data-driven AI in industrial solutions. Currently the center concentrates their activities on three domains: Finance, Media, and Industry 4.0.

The NorwAI consortium consists of 17 partners from industry, universities and research institutes. The PhD candidate will work in cooperation with the partners of NorwAI , but also with PhD candidates and other postdoctoral fellows at the center and the department as a whole.

Duties of the position

• Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate.
• Carry out research of good quality within the framework described above.
• To explore, design and experiment with different techniques for fairness in recommender systems in the job domain.
• To take relevant courses in order to learn the necessary technical background knowledge whenever necessary.
• To publish and disseminate research results in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions.
• To communicate and establish collaborations both with international and national parties including NorwAI partners.

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a relevant Master's degree in Computer Science or equivalent. Your course of study must correspond to a five-year Norwegian course, where 120 credits have been obtained at master's level. 
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master's degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be considered if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's Doctoral Programme.
• You must have a good understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) concepts and techniques.
• You must have good programming skills.
• You must have excellent written and oral English language skills.
   

PLEASE NOTE: For detailed information about what the application must contain, see paragraph “About the application”.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with NTNUs guidelines for recruitment positions and Regulations for the degrees philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) and philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) in artistic development work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)for general criteria for the position.

Preferred selection criteria

• Experience in software development (experience with recommender systems is an advantage).
• Experience with writing and publishing articles will be considered as an advantage.

Personal characteristics

To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to: 

• Work both independently and in a team environment,
• Work in a structured way, set goals and make plans to achieve them,
• Show curiosity and a strong motivation for the subject,
• Have good communication skills and are motivated to deliver research results through publications and presentations at international conferences.

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

We offer

 

• An exciting job with an important mission in society
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
• Career guidance and follow-up during the PhD period
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
• Working capital that can be used to implement the project
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU
• Favorable terms as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)
• Free Norwegian language training at a basic level (A2)

As a PhD Candidate at NTNU, you will have access to employee benefits.

Diversity

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population's collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values ​​are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals. 

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education. 

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

At NTNU we want to increase the proportion of women in scientific positions. We have a number of measures to promote equality.

Salary and conditions

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be NOK 550 800,-per annum depending on qualifications and seniority. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary. 

The employment period is 3 years. If learning Norwegian (level A2 corresponding to at least 15 credits) is to be completed before the end of the employment period, the employment period can be extended by 10 weeks after completed and documented the Norwegian course.

The position is conditional on external funding. 

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in Computer Science within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral programme throughout the period of employment.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important that you keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and adapt to them.

For the necessary professional and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to bein conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

About the application

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in English.

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above. The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates and diplomas upon request.

The application must include:

• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor's and Master's degrees
• CV 
• Copy of Master's thesis. If you have recently submitted your Master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed Master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Project outline containing proposals for an overall description of research questions, theoretical perspectives, methodological design for the project and progress plan (maximum 1500 words/4 pages) 
• Short letter of motivation (400 words/1 page)
• Possibly publications etc. other relevant research work
• Possibly certificates
• Names and contact information of three relevant referees
   

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both Bachelor's and Master's education, in addition to other higher education. If your institution uses “diploma supplement” (normal for most European institutions), you must attach this. A description of the documentation required can also be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

Joint work will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint work, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

When assessing the best qualified, we emphasize necessary qualifications such as education, experience and personal suitability. Motivation for the position, ambitions, and potential for research will also count when assessing the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed itself to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU's social mission).

General information

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the exemption is not granted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Özlem Özgöbek.

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact hr@ntnu.idi.no

Application deadline: 12.12.2025

For practical information about working at NTNU, please visit this webpage. 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the tech capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.