The Center for Education, Innovation, and Sustainable Development at ShanghaiTech University is a research-focused, international think tank dedicated, in the era of artificial intelligence, to tackling global challenges through innovation, advancing learning through education, and exploring optimal frameworks and policy mixes for sustainable development and global governance.

CEISD focuses on advancing the integration of AI across academic disciplines, economic systems, and societal structures. It aims to produce research outcomes, solutions, policy frameworks, and development strategies grounded in rigorous scholarship that actively inform and shape policy formulation.

The center is now inviting applications from global talent across research, technology, and administration. Open positions include:

Available positions by track

1. Research track

Researcher / Associate researcher: 1 opening

AI scientist / Data scientist: 1 opening

Young scientist / Young researcher: 4 openings

Visiting researcher / Visiting scientist: 5 openings

2. Technical track

Senior data engineer / Data engineer: 1 opening

Senior AI application engineer / AI application engineer: 1 opening

3. Administrative track

Senior project management and administration officer / Officer: 1 opening

 

Salary and benefits

In accordance with ShanghaiTech University regulations, a competitive salary, allowances, and benefits will be provided based on individual qualifications.

 

Application method

Send your resume and representative work samples to ceisd@shanghaitech.edu.cn

Note: Please include "Application for [Position title] – [Name]" in the email subject line.

 

Position descriptions

1. Researcher / Associate researcher

• Responsibilities

- Conduct original interdisciplinary research on major global challenges and frontier topics in education, innovation, and sustainable development.

- Independently lead key research projects, overseeing all stages from problem definition and research design to analysis and policy recommendations.

- Produce internationally influential research outputs, including in-depth analytical reports, policy papers, and publications in top-tier academic journals.

- Engage in building collaborative networks with leading global research institutions, international organizations, and academic communities, and participate in high-level international academic exchanges.

• Requirements

- PhD in relevant fields, including AI, computer science, data science, mathematics, physical sciences, life sciences, earth sciences, economics and finance, social sciences, and humanities, with extensive independent research experience.

- Established reputation in the field with influential, internationally recognized outputs, such as highly cited papers, key monographs, and significant policy reports.

- Imagination and passion for defining problems, commitment to producing influential original work, and ability to identify global issues and design cutting-edge research pathways.

- Broad international and interdisciplinary perspective with proven experience leading and managing complex research projects.

- Proficient in both English and Chinese communication and writing.

- Alignment with ShanghaiTech University's mission; concern for long-term human development and a desire to contribute.

 

2. AI scientist / Data scientist

• Responsibilities

- Be an expert in AI and data science and proficient with advanced algorithms, such as reinforcement learning, deep learning, causal inference, and generative AI, to model and analyze social, economic, and scientific issues, generating key insights.

- Develop and deploy innovative computational frameworks and analytical workflows to process large-scale, multimodal data and extract key information for the center's core research agenda.

- Produce high-quality papers, reports, or visualizations to communicate findings and their implications to non-specialist audiences.

- Collaborate closely with scholars in economics, social sciences, and natural sciences to explore optimal integration of technical possibilities and domain insights, producing distinctive outputs.

• Requirements

- PhD in relevant fields, including AI, computer science, statistics, mathematics, and related computational engineering.

- Internationally recognized, influential outputs, with excellent publications in top-tier AI conferences or journals.

- Strong ability to abstract problems, understand complex real-world issues, and design rigorous, effective AI-based analytical pathways.

- Excellent programming and software engineering skills, proficiency in Python and mainstream deep learning frameworks, extensive experience handling large-scale datasets, and deep research experience with LLMs.

- Strong passion to apply AI and data science to address major societal challenges.

- Alignment with ShanghaiTech University's mission; concern for long-term human development and a desire to contribute.

 

3. Young scientist / Young researcher

• Responsibilities

- Conduct original interdisciplinary research on major global challenges in education, innovation, and sustainable development.

- Employ data-driven research paradigms and computational social or natural science methods to explore underlying mechanisms of complex issues.

- Collaborate closely with AI scientists, data engineers, and scholars from other fields to co-design and execute research projects, integrating domain insights with cutting-edge technology.

- As a core contributor, produce internationally influential research outputs, including analytical reports, policy white papers, and publications in top-tier academic journals.

• Requirements

- PhD, or imminent completion of PhD, in relevant fields including AI, computer science, statistics, mathematics, physical sciences, life sciences, earth sciences, economics and finance, social sciences, humanities, and public policy.

- Demonstrated outstanding academic potential with high-quality publications in recognized journals or conferences in the field.

- Solid quantitative analysis and computational thinking skills, with practical experience applying computational methods to key scientific problems.

- Open interdisciplinary perspective and strong collaborative spirit, able to communicate and work effectively with experts from diverse technical and academic backgrounds.

- Imagination and passion for defining problems, committed to producing original work with both theoretical depth and real-world influence.

- Fluent in English and Chinese, with effective communication and writing abilities in both.

- Alignment with ShanghaiTech University's mission; concern for long-term human development and a desire to contribute.

 

4. Senior data engineer / Data engineer

• Responsibilities

- Collaborate with researchers and scientists to design data analysis frameworks and technical pathways for complex research projects.

- Independently handle data tasks, including processing large-scale unstructured data, conducting causal inference, or applying statistical and machine learning methods for analysis.

- Independently lead the programming implementation of core algorithms and analytical models, ensuring accuracy and robustness of results.

- Explore and integrate new data sources and analytical methods to enhance the center's comprehensive research capabilities.

• Requirements

- Master's or higher in computer science, data science, or other related fields, with relevant work experience.

- Expert in data analysis and Python programming, with a systematic understanding of statistics and machine learning.

- Proven experience independently leading end-to-end complex data analysis projects, translating ambiguous research challenges into clear analytical solutions.

- Proficient in SQL, with experience handling various databases and large-scale datasets.

- Familiar with data processing workflows for LLM-based scientific research.

- Excellent communication and collaboration skills in connecting domain research and advanced data science.

- Alignment with ShanghaiTech University's mission; concern for long-term human development and a desire to contribute.

 

5. Senior AI application engineer / AI application engineer

• Responsibilities

- Independently or collaboratively lead AI analysis modules in research projects, using generative AI, computational modeling, and other tools for data processing, insight extraction, and scenario simulation; serve as a lead contributor to high-quality research and policy reports.

- Lead in AI technology and research by prototyping and engineering AI research workflows, designing and implementing AI-powered research solutions.

- Continuously track the latest AI application tools and platforms, promptly assess their research potential, and transform them into applicable research methods and analytical tools.

• Requirements

- Master's or higher degree, with an interdisciplinary background in data science, digital humanities, or solid AI application experience in economics, finance, social sciences, or humanities.

- Excellent holistic understanding, analytical ability, and logical reasoning, able to clearly and rigorously present complex AI analysis results as insightful research reports.

- Extensive experience with large language models, proficient in advanced prompt engineering and retrieval-augmented generation principles and practices.

- Strong hands-on skills and rapid learning ability.

- Alignment with ShanghaiTech University's mission; concern for long-term human development and a desire to contribute.

 

6. Senior project management and administration officer / Officer

• Responsibilities

- Manage the full lifecycle of core research projects, from initiation, planning, and resource coordination to delivery and summary.

- Ensure project progress, coordinating internal researchers, engineers, and external partners to facilitate smooth execution.

- Establish and maintain global collaboration networks to support international research projects.

- Develop and optimize lightweight, efficient project management processes, identify and manage risks to ensure timely, high-quality completion.

- Lead or contribute to the promotion of project outcomes.

• Requirements

- Bachelor's or higher in a relevant field, with at least three years of experience managing complex projects in academic institutions, think tanks, or high-tech industries.

- Deep understanding of academic or think tank operations, capable of effectively supporting interdisciplinary teams of researchers and technical experts.

- Excellent organizational, coordination, and communication skills, adept at prioritizing and problem-solving in a multitasking, fast-paced environment.

- Strategic thinking and a high sense of responsibility, passionate about supporting cutting-edge research with rigorous project management.

- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.

- Alignment with ShanghaiTech University's mission; concern for long-term human development and a desire to contribute.

 

7. Visiting researcher / Visiting scientist

• Responsibilities

- Lead or deeply engage in frontier research projects in education, innovation, and sustainable development.

- Independently or collaboratively take charge of key project modules, covering research design, analysis, and output production.

- Independently or collaboratively produce internationally influential research outputs, including analytical reports, policy papers, and publications in top-tier academic journals.

- Engage in building collaborative networks with leading global research institutions, international organizations, and academic communities, participating in high-level international exchanges.

• Requirements

- PhD in relevant fields including AI, computer science, data science, mathematics, physical sciences, life sciences, earth sciences, economics and finance, social sciences, and humanities.

- Independent research experience with an excellent academic record and a main contributor to high-quality outputs, including research reports, policy papers, monographs, and academic publications.

- Imagination and passion for defining problems, committed to producing influential original work, and able to identify global issues and design cutting-edge research pathways.

- Broad international and interdisciplinary perspective with proven experience advancing and executing complex research projects.

- Fluent in English and Chinese, with effective communication and writing abilities in both.

- Alignment with ShanghaiTech University's mission; concern for long-term human development and a desire to contribute.

 

Sources: ShanghaiTech University, Official WeChat account of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (ID: "rsbwwx")