(Postdoctoral) Research Scientist in AI for Education

Job Summary

The Institute of Cognitive Science at the University of Colorado Boulder anticipates hiring a full-time Postdoctoral Researcher in AI for Education to work on projects investigating how AI technologies, co-designed with students and practitioners and deployed in real-world educational contexts, improve educator and student outcomes.

This position is ideal for a recent PhD graduate interested in the design, implementation, and research of AI for education. In this position, you will work with project team members, partner educational service providers, educators, and students to develop AI learning technologies and partners and help scale them to new contexts. In this role, you will gain interdisciplinary experience by working with a multidisciplinary team, hone your research skills, and develop hands-on experience conducting applied research and evaluation in real-world educational settings.

Who We Are

The work will be done within a vibrant and world-class research and development environment with a collaborative team encompassing researchers in Computer Science, Cognitive Science, and Education as well as designers, developers and partner educational service providers. We are housed in the Institute of Cognitive Science (ICS; www.colorado.edu/ics), whose mission is to enhance human cognition, learning, and development through the creation of interdisciplinary partnerships.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

• Lead design, development, testing, and evaluation of conversational AI technologies for classrooms
• Coordinate with internal development teams to implement conversational AI tools so that they are usable, valuable, and scalable within real classrooms and educational contexts.
• Support educators in testing new and existing versions of AI tools and technologies in classrooms.
• Lead research dissemination activities (e.g., data analysis, authoring papers).

What You Should Know

• This is a 1 to 3 year grant-funded position. Initial contract is for one year pending a six-month probationary period.
• The contract is renewable annually based on performance and availability of funds.
• The desired start date is September 1, 2026.
• Hybrid work but the candidate must be located in the Denver Metro area.

What We Can Offer

• Salary ranges from $65,000 to $85,000 based on experience and qualifications.
• Up to $2,500 in relocation assistance.
• This position is eligible for medical, dental, life insurance, and retirement benefits programs, and is eligible for monthly vacation and sick leave accruals.

What We Require

• PhD in computer science, human-computer interaction, or a related field.
• Multiple first-author publications in key AIED publication venues (AIED, EDM, LAK, CHI, CSCW, Cognitive Science).
• Experience working in conversational AI technologies that support collaborative learning in classrooms.
• Experience working as part of an interdisciplinary research project that includes technology developers, computer scientists, curriculum developers, and educators.

What You Will Need

• A strong theoretical background in the learning sciences and the cognitive science of learning.
• Demonstrated strong communication, interpersonal, organizational and project management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and work independently to move projects forward in ambiguous or evolving contexts.
• Demonstrated willingness to roll up one’s sleeves to get the job done.

What We Would Like You to Have

• Experience in AI technology development (beyond prompting and fine-tuning LLMs) for collaborative learning in classrooms.
• Experience with UX design and usability evaluation.
• Experience working on the entire lifecycle of AIED from design to evaluation.
• Knowledge of middle school classrooms serving a wide range of student populations.