Professor in Social Cognition - DTU Compute

The Section for Cognitive Systems at DTU Compute invites applications for the appointment of Professor in Social Cognition. 

We are looking for outstanding and experienced researchers with a strong publication record in the field of social cognition, and solid experience in leading a research group, supervising postdocs and PhD students, obtaining competitive research funding, teaching, and course development. 

As a colleague in the Section for Cognitive Systems, you will be part of a large, vibrant world-class research environment that is welcoming and internationally rooted. The university is in the greater Copenhagen area, which is acknowledged for its excellent standards of living, childcare and welfare system.

Responsibilities and qualifications
Your focus will be to strengthen our research and education within social cognition, and your profile will contribute to DTU’s strategic focus on sustainable transformation and digitalization as well as providing Europe’s best engineering education. You will be taking a leading role in further developing the section’s activities in the field of social cognition, and human cognition more broadly. In particular, we expect that you do novel experimental research in social cognition, supplemented by computational approaches to understanding behavioural and neural mechanisms of social interaction, i.e., developing methods for analyzing behavioural and neural dynamics.

You will contribute to identifying new educational needs more broadly in cognitive science and developing our course portfolio in advanced courses in human cognition, with applications to AI. Finally, we expect you to initiate and lead innovation activities, e.g., through collaborations with companies. 

We are looking for candidates from all branches of social cognition, but we are particularly interested in candidates with research and teaching experience in experimental and computational approaches to social cognition, and in the interface between coordination dynamics, hyper scanning, and social networks. You are expected to have a strong publication record with publications in leading neuroimaging, cognitive science, and interdisciplinary journals. Furthermore, we expect that you have experience leading a research group, supervising postdocs and students at BEng, BSc, MSc and PhD levels, attracting competitive external funding, and performing services to your research institution and research community, e.g., by being part of assessments committees, performing grant evaluation, organizing workshops. 

You are expected to take a lead role in teaching at the BEng, BSc, MSc and PhD levels.

DTU employs two working languages: Danish and English. You are expected to be fluent in at least one of these languages, and in time are expected to master both.

You will be assessed against the responsibilities and qualifications stated above and the following general criteria:

• Documented experience and quality of teaching and curriculum development
• Research impact and experience, funding track record and research vision
• International impact and experience 
• Societal impact
• Innovativeness, including commercialization and collaboration with industry
• Leadership, collaboration, and interdisciplinary skills
• Communication skills

Salary and terms of employment
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union. 

The expected starting date is according to mutual agreement.

Further information
Further information may be obtained from the Head of Department, Professor Jan Madsen, jama@dtu.dk, mobile: +45 6017 1097.

You can read more about DTU Compute at www.compute.dtu.dk.  

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark. 

Application procedure
Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 30 October 2025 (23:59 Danish time). Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply now", fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file. The file must include:

• Application (cover letter) addressed to the President
• Vision for teaching and research 
• CV including employment history, list of publications indicating scientific highlights, H-index and ORCID (see http://orcid.org/)
• Teaching portfolio including documentation of teaching experience
• Academic Diplomas (MSc/PhD)

You can learn more about the recruitment process here.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply. As DTU works with research in critical technology, which is subject to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.

DTU Compute
The Section for Cognitive Systems is part of the Department for Applied Mathematics and Computer Science (DTU Compute). DTU Compute, is an internationally recognised academic environment with over 400 employees and 10 research sections. We broadly cover digital technologies within mathematics, data science, computer science, and computer engineering, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, internet of things (IoT), chip design, cybersecurity, human-computer interaction, social networks, fairness, and data ethics. Our research is rooted in basic research and centres on mathematical models of the physical and virtual world, as a basis for the analysis, design, and implementation of complex systems. We focus on ensuring that our research results contribute to creating a better society by supporting areas such as health, green transition, energy supply, and life science. 

We collaborate with universities, public and private organisations, and companies in Denmark and abroad, and through DTU’s startup ecosystem, we encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. We have a strong ethical, human, and sustainable approach that ensures integrity in our work. Therefore, we strive for and take responsibility for driving the democratisation of digital technologies, so that everyone has the opportunity to actively participate in the development, and we ensure a continued open, democratic, and inclusive society for the benefit of all. At DTU Compute, we value diversity, inclusion, and a flexible work-life balance. Read more about us at www.compute.dtu.dk.

Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear mission to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That mission lives on today. DTU has 13,500 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.