"Postdoctoral and Doctoral Researcher Positions in Computer Science at Aalto University"

We are looking to make several hires on two new projects related to the interaction of mental health and polarization. We welcome applications at both postdoc and doctoral levels. The projects run for 4 years, and the starting date for the positions is flexible. The duration of the doctoral positions is 4 years, but the length of the postdoc position is negotiable.

The positions are in the Department of Computer Science at Aalto University in Finland. You will be joining a larger group of researchers working on similar topics. The department has a strong community on related topics: research groups working on digital health and wellbeing, network science, computational social science, and various topics in machine learning.

You will be working in the research group of one of the PIs of the projects, but in collaboration with the others. The PIs are Talayeh Aledavood, Juhi Kulshrestha, and Mikko Kivelä.

About the projects

Political polarization and mental health are deeply intertwined challenges of our time, with rising ideological divides and fragmented information ecosystems coinciding with increasing stress, anxiety, and declining well-being. Polarizing online content not only fuels division and erodes trust but also provokes emotional strain, amplifies loneliness, and threatens resilience. At the same time, mental health vulnerabilities can heighten individuals’ susceptibility to divisive narratives, creating a reinforcing feedback loop between societal fragmentation and personal well-being. Addressing this dual crisis requires a holistic, interdisciplinary approach that bridges computational social science and computational mental health to capture fine-grained behavioral data, uncover underlying mechanisms, and design interventions that reduce harm, promote healthier information consumption, and strengthen both individual and collective resilience.

POLEMIC: POLarization Entangled with Mental well-being: Integrated and Computational approach to quantifying the underlying feedback loop

The POLEMIC project investigates the dynamic entanglement of political polarization and declining mental well-being by integrating computational mental health and computational social science, using large-scale social media analysis, smartphone-based sensing, and agent-based modeling. Combining macro-level patterns with micro-level behavioral data, it will examine how polarized content influences stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness, and how mental health vulnerabilities increase susceptibility to polarization. Leveraging network science, NLP, behavioral sensing, and causal inference, the project pioneers new methods for detecting and mitigating online harms. Its results aim to inform public health, policy, and technology design, promoting resilience and empowering individuals to understand and counteract their exposure to polarizing content.

PolWell: Mental Health & Wellbeing in the Age of Polarizing Web Content

The PolWell project investigates the fragmented information ecosystems and polarizing online content that deepens divides, provokes strong emotions, and reinforces biases by going beyond the previous research, which has been limited to relying on biased self-reports and cross-sectional data. This project takes a novel, interdisciplinary approach, combining fine-grained web-browsing data, validated psychological scales, online experiments, and qualitative interviews to uncover both correlational and causal links between online polarization and a multidimensional perspective on mental health and wellbeing. Using advanced methods in statistical modeling, NLP, HCI, and experimental design, it will also test interventions, such as visual cues, to reduce harm and foster healthier browsing, delivering actionable insights for policymakers, mental health professionals, and platform designers.

What we offer

A key position in an ambitious research project with backing of research groups at the top of their fields; Access to data and expertise related to the projects; An interdisciplinary team; Freedom and support to pursue your own research ideas; An environment where we care about your career development; Opportunity to work in Finland, which is a safe, peaceful, and stable society; Position in one or multiple of our research groups with highly diverse and international researchers; Competitive salary: Postdoc: 4100 - 4300 Euro/month before taxes, depending on experience; Doctoral researcher: 2800-3500 Euro/month, depending on PhD progress; The successful candidates will receive additional funding to regularly attend international conferences and join the PI on research mobility outside of Finland; The contract includes comprehensive occupational health benefits and membership in Finland’s social security system. Aalto University’s main campus is located 15 minutes from downtown Helsinki and is surrounded by nature.

Who are we looking for

For doctoral researchers: Solid background in one of the following: computational social science, ubiquitous computing, data science, or human-computer interaction; Programming skills needed to do data analysis (we mainly use Python); Interest in working on a highly interdisciplinary project; Interest in the topics of one of the two projects; Bonus: Experience working with social media data, mental health, social networks, natural language processing, experiment design, or qualitative interviews; Bonus: Knowledge of or enthusiasm for political science, psychology, or other fields related to the projects.

For postdoctoral researchers: Excellent research track record in computational social science, digital health, or polarization; Demonstrated expertise in one or more of these fields: statistical methods, network science, content analysis, AI/ML, HCI, ubiquitous computing; Exemplary writing skills; Bonus: Experience working with social media data, mental health, social networks, natural language processing, experiment design, HCI, qualitative interviews, behavioral sensing, digital phenotyping; Bonus: Knowledge of or enthusiasm for political science, psychology, or other fields related to the projects.

We are hiring several people, so for each candidate, it is sufficient to have expertise in one of these fields only. The hired team will complement each other’s expertise.

How to apply

To join our research community, please submit your application through our recruitment system, Workday. All applications received by September 22, 2025, will receive full consideration. We will consider applications after this deadline until the positions are filled. To apply, please upload the following materials as PDF files: Motivation letter (at most 1 page); Up-to-date CV + link to Google Scholar profile; Doctoral researchers: study transcript. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions. Further information: Projects’ PIs Talayeh Aledavood, Juhi Kulshrestha, Mikko Kivelä (emails "firstname.lastname@aalto.fi") for research-related questions; HR Advisor Susanna Holma, email "hr-cs@aalto.fi" for questions on the recruitment process.