The Department of Computer Science invites applicants for a 24 month Postdoc in Logic and Symbolic AI for Computational Law and Declarative Business Process Management. The project is part of the larger research project “XHAILe” (Explainable Hybrid AI for Computational Law and Accurate Legal Chatbots), in collaboration with the Faculty of Law and Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics, DTU Compute, and industrial partners: DCR Solutions, KL (Local Government Denmark) and TietoEvry. The project is financed by Innovation Fund Denmark.

Start date is October 1st, 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The project
The XHAILe project aims to provide efficient and accurate hybrid AI technologies for computational law and natural language interaction with e-government solutions along with trustworthy benchmarks and guidelines for legal use of the technology. The successful candidate is expected to conduct research in logic and symbolic AI for computational law and declarative process management to contribute to its application in the project.

The project will be building on research of the PI and his research groups jointly with the industry partner DCR Solutions, which is a spin-off from a prior research project, centred around the development of a graph-based modelling language, DCR Graphs, for the declarative modelling of law and business processes. The DCR Graphs language is today used widely and successfully in the public sector.

Who are we looking for?
We are looking for candidates with a PhD degree and demonstrable experience in the field of logic, symbolic AI or declarative decision and business process modelling; additional experience in computational law would be an advantage.

Our group and research- and what do we offer?
We offer a position that is part of a large collaboration between several faculties within the University of Copenhagen, Technical University of Denmark, Local Government Denmark - and with a reference group of governmental institutions and leading international experts in the field. The postdoc or assistant professor will be positioned at the Computer Science Department, University of Copenhagen, in the research section for Software, Data, People & Society. There will be close collaboration with the industry partner DCR Solutions and DTU Compute, at which the co-supervisor is located. Hereto comes regular interaction with researchers in the NLP Research Section as well as regular collaboration with the other partners in the project. The entire project is affiliated to the AI Pioneer Centre and has the ambition to play an important role in the trustworthy and effective application of AI in the public sector.

The University of Copenhagen was founded in 1479 and is the oldest and largest university in Denmark. It is often ranked as the best university in Scandinavia and consistently as one of the top places in Europe. Within computer science, it is ranked number 2 in the European Union according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) 2021. Copenhagen is one of the 10 most livable cities in the world with a rich culture within music, theater and associations. Life for families is made easy by a publicly supported daycare and health care system, dual career opportunities, maternity/parental leave and six weeks of paid annual vacation. International candidates may find information on living and working in Denmark here. Useful information is also available at The International Staff Mobility office (ISM) at the University of Copenhagen (link). ISM offers a variety of services to international researchers coming to and working at the University of Copenhagen.

Principal investigator is Prof Thomas T. Hildebrandt, [email protected].

Link to research project: di.ku.dk/english/research/research-projects/xhaile/

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Responsibilities and tasks

• Develop a scalable Symbolic AI modelling language based on the declarative DCR Graphs language and related logics that enables explainable executable models of complex laws
• Participate in a larger, multidisciplinary team of postdocs and senior researchers at Copenhagen University and DTU
• Interact with industrial and governmental partners
• Write scientific papers of high quality

We are looking for the following qualifications:

• A PhD degree in a relevant field (logic, declarative decision and business process models, computational law, symbolic AI/knowledge-based systems, or equivalent computer sciences)
• An inquisitive mind-set with a willingness to work with people having different scientific backgrounds
• Good language skills in English (the professional language of communication); familiarity with the Danish language is not required but a plus.

Applicants are encouraged to read the University of Copenhagen's guidance on the merit criterion Innovation and Societal Impact here [link to Guidance on the merit criterion Innovation and Societal Impact for applicants and assessors]. However, it will be taken into consideration that a freshly graduated PhD will have limited merits in Innovation and Societal Impact.

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Application and Assessment Procedure
Your application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking Apply for position below.

Please include:

• Motivated letter of application (max. one page), that describes your motivation for applying for the position
• Curriculum vitae including information about your education, experience, language skills and other skills relevant for the position
• Original diplomas for MSc and PhD and transcript of records in the original language, including an authorized English translation if issued in another language than English or Danish. If not completed, a certified/signed copy of a recent transcript of records or a written statement from the institution or supervisor is accepted.
• Plan for continued research and application for funding (optional for postdoc position)
• Full publication list
• Reference letters (if available)

We reserve the right not to consider material received after the deadline, and not to consider applications that do not live up to the abovementioned requirements.

The further process
After deadline, a number of applicants will be selected for academic assessment by an unbiased expert assessor. You are notified, whether you will be passed for assessment.

The assessor will assess the qualifications and experience of the shortlisted applicants with respect to the above mentioned research area, techniques, skills and other requirements. The assessor will conclude whether each applicant is qualified and, if so, for which of the two levels of positions. The assessed applicants will have the opportunity to comment on their assessment. You can read about the recruitment process at https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/.

Interviews with selected candidates are expected to be held in week 35 (August 24th-28th, 2026).

Info
Application deadline: 02-08-2026

Employment start: 01-10-2026

Working hours: Full time

Københavns Universitet giver sine knap 10.000 medarbejdere muligheder for at udnytte deres talent fuldt ud i et ambitiøst, uformelt miljø. Vi sikrer traditionsrige og moderne rammer om uddannelser og fri forskning på højt internationalt niveau. Vi søger svar og løsninger på fælles problemer og gør ny viden tilgængelig og nyttig for andre.

Kontakt
Thomas Troels Hildebrandt
E-mail: [email protected]

Info
Ansøgningsfrist: 02-08-2026

Ansættelsesdato: 01-10-2026

Arbejdstid: Fuldtid

Afdeling/Sted: Department of Computer Science