Meet our new PIs: Jiancheng Yang improves healthcare with AI
Yang is one of nine new PIs at ELLIS Institute Finland
Principal Investigator positions at ELLIS Institute Finland
ELLIS Institute Finland, a newly established world-class research hub in AI and machine learning, invites applications for Principal Investigator (PI) positions. Deadline January 12, 2026.
As part of the renowned ELLIS (European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems) network, we are building a leading center for groundbreaking AI research with global impact. This is a unique opportunity to:
- Conduct pioneering AI research in an independent PI role,
- Establish and lead your own research group,
- Hold a professor position affiliated with a Finnish university, and
- Collaborate with top international experts in a dynamic and cutting-edge environment.
We are seeking independent and visionary researchers ready to push the boundaries of AI and machine learning. If you are an ambitious scientist looking to make a lasting impact, apply now to join this exciting new institute and help shape the future of intelligent systems!
What we offer
We aim to recruit outstanding researchers to Principal Investigator positions at ELLIS Institute Finland, and welcome applications across all areas of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and related disciplines where machine learning plays a central role. Interdisciplinary research is encouraged.
Our PI positions include:
- Appointment as a Fellow or Scholar of the ELLIS Society,
- Professor position at a Finnish university; determined based on mutual interests and your research focus,
- A competitive salary and substantial starting package to build your research group,
- Research and travel funding,
- Occupational health benefits,
- Easy access to top-tier computing facilities, including EuroHPC LUMI, one of the world’s fastest and greenest supercomputers, and
- A collaborative and diverse research environment, with strong ties to industry, startups, and academic institutions.
Research environment
ELLIS Institute Finland provides a co-operative and multidisciplinary environment for AI research:
- Close collaborations with other top machine learning researchers in Europe and globally,
- Well-functioning connections to Finnish universities; PIs can supervise students through their co-affiliations and benefit from extensive interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities,
- Broad range of possibilities to work with companies and startups, fostering innovation and real-world applications of AI,
- Cutting-edge computational resources, including an upcoming pan-European AI-optimized supercomputer (available by 2027), and
- An international workplace, with English as the working language.
We are strongly committed to offering everyone an inclusive and non-discriminatory working environment and warmly welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds to join our academic community.
Who we are
ELLIS (European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems) is a major European initiative in AI with a mission to strengthen Europe’s AI landscape by connecting top researchers, attracting talent, and fostering strategic collaborations. ELLIS unites leading machine learning researchers in Europe and operates as a multi-centric, pan-European AI Lab, currently spanning 44 research sites.
ELLIS Institute Finland was launched in 2025, and it is the second institute in the ELLIS network, partnering with Finnish universities to offer applicants co-affiliated tenure track professor positions. This enables researchers to engage with students, collaborate across disciplines, and benefit from the strengths and resources of their affiliated universities.
ELLIS Institute Finland aims to make machine learning more readily and widely applicable, and better at working with people – a focus we call to as the fundamentals of applied AI. The Institute builds on the strengths of its faculty, including data-efficient probabilistic machine learning, generative modelling, amortized inference, interactive and cooperative machine learning, and transformative multidisciplinary collaboration.
Meet our PIs
Meet our new faculty: Eric Malmi
Malmi joins the institute as an adjunct professor at Aalto University while continuing research at Google DeepMind.
Meet our new PIs: Qi Chen
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Meet our new PIs: Francesco Croce
Croce works on robustness in multi-modal foundation models.
Meet our new PIs: Mikko Karttunen
Karttunen joined as Principal Investigator in September 2025.
Institute faculty and staff
Meet the Institute's faculty, management, and administration
Why Finland?
Finland consistently ranks among the top countries in education, equality, safety, and quality of life. It is one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world, with a strong emphasis on design, creativity, and startup culture. Finland also leads Europe in venture capital investments relative to GDP. Whether alone or with family, Finland offers an excellent quality of life. It is a safe, politically stable, and well-organized Nordic society where equality is highly valued, and corruption is low. The country provides extensive social security and a globally recognized free, high-quality education system.
Finnish work culture values a low level of hierarchy, fostering collaboration and innovation. Finland has also been repeatedly ranked as the happiest country in the world, according to the World Happiness Report. For more information about living in Finland: www.infofinland.fi/en/frontpage and finland.fi.
Requirements and evaluation
Candidates applying to this call will be considered for ELLIS Institute PI positions and, simultaneously, for professor positions at a Finnish university. The universities may offer positions at different tenure track stages.
Applicants must have:
- A doctoral degree,
- A publication track record that typically includes publications in top-tier machine learning conferences and/or journals, demonstrating the candidate’s contributions and expertise in the field of machine learning,
- Ability to conduct excellent research, lead a high-impact research group, and contribute to the ELLIS network and international scientific community, and
- Ability to teach, advise and support both graduate and undergraduate students (teaching in English, Finnish, or Swedish is required for the professorship component).
Applicants will be evaluated based on their research achievements relative to their career stage, teaching merits, and activity in the scientific community. Recommendation letters will also be considered. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an interview and to present and discuss their research with faculty.
Evaluation for the professor position will follow the processes and criteria of the respective universities. Evaluation for the ELLIS Institute PI position will focus on research excellence and alignment with the Institute’s mission. Only candidates who pass both evaluations will be considered for ELLIS Institute PI positions in this call. The whole selection process will emphasize the candidate’s potential to lead a high-impact research group and contribute to the broader ELLIS network.
How to apply
Applications must be submitted electronically through the Apply now! link below. The call will close on January 12, 2026 at 23:59 EET (UTC+2).
Required documents (in English and in PDF format):
- Cover letter (summary of merits and key achievements)
- Curriculum vitae (example template)
- Research statement (recommended length: max. four pages)
- Teaching statement (recommended length: max. four pages)
- List of publications, highlighting up to five key papers with links
Additionally, please provide 4–5 referees (name, position, affiliation, email) in the application system who are available to submit recommendation letters. We will contact the referees of the shortlisted candidates directly at a later stage to request recommendation letters.
Please do not add other attachments than what is required above.
The professorship will be located at one of the Finnish universities partnering with ELLIS Institute Finland. In the application form, you can indicate which universities you are interested in or leave this open, in which case we will assist in finding suitable matches during the selection process. Read more about the professorships in the FAQ / Question 1.
Note: You will log in to the recruitment system using an email account. This email address will be used for communication throughout the review process. Please ensure that you use an email account which you check regularly, and that the same email address appears in all your application documents (e.g., CV).
Interested? Leave your application to our recruitment system →
Further information
See the FAQs below.
For inquiries, please email contact@ellisinstitute.fi, and we will direct your question to the appropriate party.
FAQ
The professor position will be located at one of the Finnish universities partnering with ELLIS Institute Finland. In the application form, you can indicate which universities you are interested in or leave this open, in which case we will assist in finding suitable matches during the selection process.
The universities participating in this call and the available professor positions include:
- Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Fundamental Machine Learning
- Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Applied Machine Learning
- Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Machine Learning in Wireless Networks, Positioning and Sensing
- Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Physics of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
- Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in AI in Health
- Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in AI/ML for Microphysiological Systems
The University of the Arts Helsinki
- Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in AI methods in Science and Engineering
- Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Health Sciences (AI in Multimodal Health Data Integration)
- Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Computational Precision Health
- Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Reliable Communicative AI
- Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Machine Learning
- Assistant/Associate Professor in Mathematics (Probabillity / Mathematical Foundations of Data Science)
- Assistant Professor in Artificial Intelligence
- Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
- Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Health AI
We aim to select a diverse set of candidates who will advance AI and machine learning research. The number of positions filled is not fixed and depends on the quality and alignment of the applications received. We anticipate funding multiple PI positions in line with the institute's research priorities and universities’ professor positions.
In this call, we are primarily seeking individuals for ELLIS Institute PI positions, who will concurrently hold a professor position with an affiliation at one of the Finnish universities. However, exceptions may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The starting date can be negotiated and depends on what suits you the best. Generally, the sooner the better.
The duration of the initial contract is a minimum of four years, and it depends on the tenure track level at which you will be placed.
The call includes professor positions at various tenure track levels, starting from the assistant professor level. During the track, the individual gains academic merits to qualify for a permanent, tenured professor position. Career advances are based on university-specific evaluation principles and scheduled performance assessments.
All positions will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis. The salary depends on the level of the position and the previous experience. Relocation support is also available. All contracts include occupational health benefits, and all employees are covered by the Finnish national health insurance system.
Yes, in some universities it is possible to have a part-time position, e.g., while working part-time in industry. Please indicate your interest in a part-time position in your application’s cover letter. All details will be agreed upon separately on a case-by-case basis.
Yes, you can apply for all positions available in this call with a single application. In the application form, you may specify which universities you are interested in or leave this open, in which case we will assist in finding suitable matches during the selection process. You will also be asked to describe your research interests using a few keywords.
You may receive multiple job offers through this call. You are completely free to choose which offer you want to accept. We will coordinate the timelines of any offers to ensure you have sufficient time to make your decision.
The Institute’s research environment includes national and local computational services, including research software engineer support.
ELLIS Institute’s researchers are provided easy access to the services of the Finnish IT Center for Science (CSC), spearheaded by EuroHPC LUMI, one of the fastest and greenest supercomputers in the world. With a new, next-generation pan-European supercomputer and AI Factory, these resources will be further developed in the coming years, and the new AI-optimized supercomputer should be available by 2027.
The local computing infrastructure for ELLIS Institute’s researchers currently provides a system with about 10000 computing cores. The system also contains over 200 NVIDIA cards for GPU computing, additional interactive GPU resources for fast development, and over 5 PB of fast storage capacity suitable for handling large datasets. All parts are connected with a fast Infiniband network to support parallel computing and fast data access. The infrastructure is further enhanced by a highly skilled local support team that provides agile assistance. The system will be upgraded based on researchers' needs. Additionally, all resources are integrated with the national resources allowing easy migration to even larger resources when necessary.
Professor position evaluations will follow the process of the respective universities, while ELLIS Institute PI position evaluations are conducted by a separate, external recruitment committee set by the ELLIS Society.
Timeline is as follows (minor changes to the schedule are possible):
- Review against eligibility criteria – mid-January
- Evaluation in universities – mid-January to early February
- Evaluation by the ELLIS recruitment committee – mid-February
- Interviews and site visits of the shortlisted candidates – mid to late March
- The review process will be finalized between late March and April for most Assistant Professor level positions. For other professor levels, the review may take a few months longer.
1. Cover letter (summary of merits and key achievements) – Provide a short letter (recommended length: 1 page) including your research interests, career goals, previous experience, and qualifications relevant to this call.
2. Curriculum vitae (example template) – You may use the template provided or follow a corresponding structure.
3. Research statement (recommended length: max four pages) – Describe 1) your past research, including your most important recent achievements and outputs, and 2) your goals and plans for future research, explaining how your work contributes to research excellence and advances the field, and creates impact beyond the academic community.
4. Teaching statement (recommended length: max four pages) – Provide a brief account of your teaching merits or a teaching portfolio, including your experience and vision for the future directions of teaching in your field.
5. List of publications, highlighting up to five key papers with links – Provide a full publication list. Additionally, select up to five papers that best demonstrate your competence in relation to this call.
All the applicants benefit from the possibility to simultaneously apply to all universities partnering with ELLIS Institute Finland. Thus, all these universities will be organized an access to the application documents each applicant submits. The access is admitted to the personnel involved in the recruitment process, especially HR personnel and academic experts participating in the evaluation of the candidates´ merits as well as members of relevant decision-making bodies of each university.
We may collect and process the following categories of personal data about you:
- Contact information (name, address, email, phone number)
- Personal details (date of birth, nationality, gender)
- Degree information
- Professional skills, employment history and qualifications (such as CV, research statement, teaching statement, list of publications, description of societal impact and international collaboration, recommendations)
- Documents concerning recruitment process and decisions (interview notes, statements and assessment results)
- Research area(s) that the applicants are interested in working
- Names of the persons giving recommendations
- Recommendations of the persons named by the applicants
- Statements by the ELLIS Society academic experts (ELLIS Recruitment Committee)
- Any other personal data that applicants provide during the recruitment process.
Aalto University will, on behalf of all involved universities, receive and collect the application documents as well as the identification data needed for the recruitment process. Aalto University stores the data during the process and provides a safe access to the recruitment system for the representatives of other partner universities.
We collect and process your personal data for the following purposes:
- Assessing your suitability for employment within our respective organizations
- Evaluating your professional skills and qualifications
- Contacting you for interview purposes
- Communicating with you about the recruitment process
- Complying with legal obligations and reporting requirements
In the first phase, all universities will jointly gather the necessary information and handle the applications to ensure the optimal matching of interests expressed by the applicants and the available positions.
In the second phase, your application and other recruitment data is processed by each university according to their own processes and practices, and you will be contacted by the representatives of that organization. Each university processes data that is necessary to fill the respective ELLIS Institute PI position located in that organization. Documents necessary for each university’s own recruiting procedure, decision-making and archiving purposes will be safely provided for universities.
In the third phase, universities cooperate with ELLIS Institute to evaluate the qualifications required by the institute. ELLIS Recruitment Committee will be provided application data of all short-listed applicants.
During and after the application round, Aalto University will store all the application data. Aalto University data retention rules (Data Management Plan TOS) will be followed, and no information is kept longer than necessary.
Please find the privacy notices of each partner universities to get more information on the legal basis for processing the personal data as well as practices of processing of the personal data in partner universities’ standard recruitment processes:
- Aalto University: privacy_notice_recruitment_20180525_paivitys_020120.pdf (aalto.fi)
- LUT University: https://www.lut.fi/sites/default/files/media/documents/LUT-privacy_notice_job-applicants-2024_0.pdf
- Tampere University:
Privacy notice - HR Services of Tampere University | Tampere universities (tuni.fi) - University of Eastern Finland:
Processing of personal data | University of Eastern Finland (uef.fi) -> Recruiting - University of Helsinki:
Data protection | University of Helsinki -> Recruitment - University of Jyväskylä:
Privacy notice for job applicants | University of Jyväskylä (jyu.fi) - University of Oulu:
Data privacy notice - Job applicants at the University of Oulu | University of Oulu - University of the Arts Helsinki:
https://www.uniarts.fi/en/general-info/data-protection-statement-for-prospective-employees/ - University of Turku:
Privacy Notice | University of Turku (utu.fi) - University of Vaasa:
https://www.uwasa.fi/en/data-protection - Åbo Akademi:
Privacy Notices | Åbo Akademi University (abo.fi)
The partner universities are joint controllers of your personal data. Should you have any questions concerning the processing of personal data in the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to contact the coordinating organization, Aalto University contact at ellisinstitute dot fi. Read more on your rights as data subject in here: https://www.aalto.fi/en/services/privacy-notices#8-rights-of-the-data-subject .