Postdoctoral Fellow (Researcher Artificial Intelligence and Learning Sciences)

Overview

Georgia Tech prides itself on its technological resources, collaborations, high-quality student body, and its commitment to building an outstanding and diverse community of learning, discovery, and creation. We strongly encourage applicants whose values align with our institutional values, as outlined in our strategic plan. These values include academic excellence, diversity of thought and experience, inquiry and innovation, collaboration and community, and ethical behavior and stewardship. Georgia Tech has policies to promote a healthy work-life balance and is aware that attracting faculty may require meeting the needs of two careers.

About Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech is a top-ranked public research university situated in the heart of Atlanta, a diverse and vibrant city with numerous economic and cultural strengths. The Institute serves more than 45,000 students through top-ranked undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs in engineering, computing, science, business, design, and liberal arts. Georgia Tech's faculty attracted more than $1.4 billion in research awards this past year in fields ranging from biomedical technology to artificial intelligence, energy, sustainability, semiconductors, neuroscience, and national security. Georgia Tech ranks among the nation's top 20 universities for research and development spending and No. 1 among institutions without a medical school.

Georgia Tech's Mission and Values

Georgia Tech's mission is to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute has nine key values that are foundational to everything we do:

1. Students are our top priority.

2. We strive for excellence.

3. We thrive on diversity.

4. We celebrate collaboration.

5. We champion innovation.

6. We safeguard freedom of inquiry and expression.

7. We nurture the wellbeing of our community.

8. We act ethically.

9. We are responsible stewards.

Over the next decade, Georgia Tech will become an example of inclusive innovation, a leading technological research university of unmatched scale, relentlessly committed to serving the public good; breaking new ground in addressing the biggest local, national, and global challenges and opportunities of our time; making technology broadly accessible; and developing exceptional, principled leaders from all backgrounds ready to produce novel ideas and create solutions with real human impact.

Atlanta, Georgia

College of Lifetime Learning

The Georgia Tech College of Lifetime Learning is a research-driven academic college advancing learning across the full arc of life. We integrate academic rigor, workforce-aligned learning, and flexible pathways to serve learners at every stage, from early exploration through advanced study and professional reinvention.

Founded in 2024, the College is redefining education for a world of constant change. Traditional degree models alone are no longer sufficient for careers, technologies, and communities that evolve continuously. Our work focuses on designing and studying learning systems that adapt over time, supporting individuals as they grow, shift roles, and navigate repeated transitions across their lives.

Through research, teaching, and engagement, we advance the science and practice of learning systems to better understand how people learn most effectively and how education can remain relevant, accessible, and connected to real-world outcomes. This work informs undergraduate and graduate degrees, non-credit credentials, and professional learning experiences that emphasize stackable pathways, learner agency, and reduced friction.

As part of a leading public research university, the College positions Georgia Tech as a global leader in lifetime learning. Faculty and staff contribute to a mission-driven environment focused on real-world impact, interdisciplinary collaboration, and building a learning society prepared for what comes next.

CLASS Lab 2.0

CLASS Lab 2.0 conducts interdisciplinary research on the design, development, and evaluation of technologies and learning environments that support meaningful human learning. The lab's research spans areas including AI-powered learning, stealth and embedded assessment, creativity and durable skills, and lifetime learning.

A central theme across the lab's work is understanding how emerging technologies, particularly generative AI, can augment human learning and thinking while preserving the productive cognitive, social, and creative processes through which learning and expertise develop.

The postdoctoral researcher will join a growing research group and will have opportunities to help shape its research directions, collaborations, and culture.

The College of Lifetime Learning at the Georgia Institute of Technology invites applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join (Creative Learning through AI & Stealth Assessment in STEM) CLASS Lab 2.0, directed by Dr. Seyedahmad Rahimi.

The successful candidate will contribute to research at the intersection of AI-powered learning, learning sciences, and computational assessment. The position is particularly suited for a researcher interested in designing and studying AI-supported learning environments that foster productive thinking, creativity, collaboration, learner agency, and durable learning.

The postdoctoral researcher will contribute primarily to two complementary lines of research: AI-supported productive failure and mathematics learning and AI-supported creativity, disciplinary learning, and AI literacy. The researcher will also be encouraged to develop self-initiated projects aligned with the broader mission of CLASS Lab 2.0.

This is a two-year appointment, with the possibility of extension to a third year based on performance and availability of funding.

The position is designed to provide substantial opportunities for research leadership, first-author publications, proposal development, interdisciplinary collaboration, mentoring, and development of an independent research agenda.

Primary Research Areas

ProductiveMath

The postdoctoral researcher will contribute to ProductiveMath, an AI-supported research and development initiative focused on productive failure and collaborative mathematical problem solving.

Research may include designing and evaluating AI tools that support teachers in developing high-quality learning activities, evaluating student-generated solutions and learning processes, analyzing interaction and process data, and investigating how AI can support learning without prematurely removing productive struggle.

AI-Supported Creativity, Learning, and AI Literacy

The postdoctoral researcher will also contribute to research on generative AI coaches and learning environments that support creativity, disciplinary learning, and AI literacy while preserving learner agency and ownership.

This work examines questions such as when and how AI should provide assistance, when learners should continue exploring independently, how AI can foster rather than replace generative and creative thinking, and how learning and human-AI interaction can be assessed using process and interaction data.

Independent Research Opportunities

Beyond these primary areas, the postdoctoral researcher will be encouraged to develop an independent research agenda and initiate projects that complement the broader mission of CLASS Lab 2.0.

Opportunities may include leading new studies and publications, contributing to grant proposals, establishing interdisciplinary collaborations across Georgia Tech, mentoring graduate and undergraduate researchers, and developing new research directions at the intersection of artificial intelligence and human learning.

Candidates are not expected to have expertise in all of these areas. We are particularly interested in applicants whose expertise complements the interdisciplinary work of the lab and who are interested in expanding their methodological and substantive expertise during the postdoctoral appointment.

Prior expertise in mathematics education is welcomed but not required.

Lead and contribute to research studies involving AI-supported learning environments.

Take substantial ownership of research activities, from study conception and design through analysis, publication, and dissemination.

Contribute to the design, development, and evaluation of generative AI and other computational learning technologies.

Design and conduct classroom, laboratory, and/or online studies.

Analyze learning, interaction, and process data using appropriate quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, and computational approaches.

Develop frameworks, measures, and AI-based methods for evaluating learning processes and human-AI interactions.

Lead and contribute to manuscripts for publication in high-quality journals and conferences.

Present research findings at national and international conferences.

Collaborate with faculty, students, developers, teachers, and external research partners.

Mentor graduate and undergraduate researchers.

Contribute to research proposals and the development of new externally funded projects.

Pursue self-initiated research aligned with the lab's research areas.

Participate actively in the intellectual and collaborative life of CLASS Lab 2.0 and the College of Lifetime Learning.

A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in Learning Sciences, Artificial Intelligence in Education, Educational Technology, Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, Learning Analytics, Educational Data Mining, Educational Psychology, Educational Assessment, Cognitive Science, or a closely related field by the start of the appointment.

Evidence of the ability to conduct high-quality empirical research.

Experience with quantitative, qualitative, computational, or mixed research methods.

Evidence of strong scholarly writing and potential to publish in leading journals and conferences.

Strong communication and collaboration skills.

Interest in interdisciplinary research involving artificial intelligence and human learning.

Generative AI and large language models

Artificial Intelligence in Education

Human-AI interaction

Learning sciences

Learning analytics or educational data mining

Educational assessment or psychometrics

Evidence-Centered Design

Creativity and creative thinking

AI literacy

Productive failure or productive struggle

Collaborative learning

Learning experience design

Design-based research

Classroom-based research

Computational analysis of interaction or process data

Programming in Python, R, JavaScript/TypeScript, or related languages

LLM-based application development, RAG, AI agents, or automated evaluation

Design and evaluation of interactive learning technologies

Proposed Salary: $65,000. Commensurate with education and experience.

Curriculum Vitae

Research statement describing prior research, relevant expertise, research interests, and potential alignment with the research directions described above

Three representative scholarly writing samples, which may include published, accepted, under-review, or working manuscripts

Names and contact information for three professional references

The University System of Georgia is comprised of our 25 institutions of higher education and learning as well as the System Office. Our USG Statement of Core Values are Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values serve as the foundation for all that we do as an organization, and each USG community member is responsible for demonstrating and upholding these standards. More details on the USG Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct are available in USG Board Policy 8.2.18.1.2 and can be found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section8/C224/#p8.2.18_personnel_conduct.

Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 6.5 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/C2653.

The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The Institute is committed to maintaining a fair and respectful environment for all. To that end, and in accordance with federal and state law, Board of Regents policy, and Institute policy, Georgia Tech provides equal opportunity to all faculty, staff, students, and all other members of the Georgia Tech community, including applicants for admission and/or employment, contractors, volunteers, and participants in institutional programs, activities, or services. Georgia Tech complies with all applicable laws and regulations governing equal opportunity in the workplace and in educational activities.

Equal opportunity and decisions based on merit are fundamental values of the University System of Georgia ("USG") and Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech prohibits discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, on the basis of an individual's race, ethnicity, ancestry, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, genetics, or veteran status in its programs, activities, employment, and admissions. Further, Georgia Tech prohibits citizenship status, immigration status, and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, and recruitment, except where such restrictions are required in order to comply with law, regulation, executive order, or Attorney General directive, or where they are required by Federal, State, or local government contract.

Appointment: Two years, with the possibility of extension to a third year based on performance and availability of funding

Anticipated Start: Negotiable; preference may be given to candidates who can begin in Fall 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

A successful candidate must be able to pass a background check. Please visit: https://usg.policystat.com/policy/19298143/latest