Postdoctoral Research Opportunity: Postdoc in Sustainable Generative Artificial Intelligence for Media – KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Postdoctoral Research Opportunity: Postdoc in Sustainable Generative Artificial Intelligence for Media – KTH Royal Institute of Technology

• Institution: KTH Royal Institute of Technology

• School: School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

• Project: FrugalAI

• Position: Postdoc in Sustainable Generative Artificial Intelligence for Media

• Reference Number: PA-2026-3304

• Appointment Type: Full-Time, Temporary Postdoctoral Position

• Duration: Up to 2 years

• Number of Positions: 1

• Location: Stockholm, Sweden

• Full-Time Equivalent: 100%

• Salary / Remuneration: Monthly salary; exact amount not specified

• Published: October 1, 2026

• Application Deadline: November 5, 2026

• Start Date: By agreement

Overview of the Opportunity

KTH Royal Institute of Technology invites applications for a postdoctoral position within the FrugalAI project, a five-year research initiative examining the environmental and social impacts of generative artificial intelligence used for media creation.

The project focuses on developing more sustainable alternatives to large-scale commercial GenAI systems by prioritizing smaller models, ethically sourced datasets, local computation, reduced resource use, and human-centered AI principles.

Research Focus

The FrugalAI project aims to:

• Estimate the environmental impact of current large-scale generative AI.

• Develop open-source frugal GenAI tools based on small and ethically sourced datasets.

• Examine the social sustainability implications of frugal AI.

• Compare environmental impacts of frugal and large-scale GenAI systems.

• Develop evaluation metrics that incorporate resource consumption.

• Investigate implications for other GenAI applications, including image generation.

The research sits broadly within Human-Centered AI, HCI, Machine Learning, Sustainable AI, and Media Technologies.

Key Responsibilities

The successful candidate will:

• Contribute to development of an interactive online broadcasting environment.

• Design and maintain project software.

• Develop pipelines for automated media-program creation.

• Develop systems for automated monitoring of offensive content.

• Estimate and track energy use associated with GenAI systems.

• Research methods for reducing model size, data requirements, and computation.

• Apply state-of-the-art machine-learning methods to frugal AI.

• Develop multi-objective sustainability metrics covering:

  • Environmental dimensions

  • Economic dimensions

  • Sociocultural dimensions

• Help organize and run workshops with the research team.

• Collaborate with engineers, musicologists, designers, and other researchers.

Required Qualifications

Applicants must have:

• A doctoral degree or equivalent foreign degree.

• The doctoral-degree eligibility requirement fulfilled no later than the employment decision.

• Fluency in English.

• Background related to:

  • Human-Computer Interaction

  • Machine Learning

• Strong collaborative abilities.

Preferred Qualifications

Preference may be given to candidates who:

• Obtained their doctoral degree within the three years prior to the application deadline.

• Demonstrate awareness of diversity and equal-opportunity issues, particularly gender equality.

• Can work independently.

KTH states that strong emphasis will be placed on personal skills.

Application Checklist

Applicants should submit:

1. Curriculum Vitae

   • Include relevant professional experience and knowledge

2. Copies of Diplomas and Grades

   • From previous university studies

3. Cover Letter – Maximum 2 Pages

   • Explain how the applicant’s background aligns with the position

   • Explain interest in the overall FrugalAI project

Important Dates

• Published: October 1, 2026

• Application Deadline: November 5, 2026

• Start Date: By agreement

• Maximum Appointment Duration: 2 years

Applications must be received by midnight CET/CEST on November 5, 2026.

Application Process

Applications must be submitted through KTH’s electronic recruitment system.

Reference Number: PA-2026-3304

Application Link:
https://kth.varbi.com/en/what:login/jobID:974287/type:job/where:51/apply:1/

Research Contact: Bob L. T. Sturm
Email: bobs@kth.se

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