Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor (Ladder Rank): Artificial Intelligence & Public Policy
Position overview
Position titles:Assistant Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Public Policy
Associate or Full Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Public Policy
Application Window
Open date: December 19, 2025
Next review date: Sunday, Jan 18, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.
Final date: Monday, Aug 31, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.
Position description
The University of California, San Diego invites applications for one or more ladder rank faculty appointments based in the Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute (HDSI), the academic unit of the newly formed School of Computing, Information and Data Sciences. This is an open rank search (Assistant, Associate or full Professor) for outstanding researchers to fill our need in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Public Policy.
Economics, Political Science, Sociology, and Public Policy are all seeing rapid advancement in the ability to understand human behavior in new ways through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). We seek faculty applicants who are experts in AI, data science, economics, political science, public policy, or a closely related discipline. Faculty candidates should demonstrate interest and contributions in both: (1) an aspect of data science vital to the design or implementation of public policy, including machine learning, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, network analysis, data privacy and security, or algorithmic fairness; and (2) a policy domain of long-term priority, including public health, public infrastructure (e.g., transportation, housing, smart cities), movement and settlement of peoples (e.g., migration, refugees, border issues), fairness and discrimination (e.g., in employment, housing, or criminal justice), international trade and finance, climate and energy policy, or defense and security policy. A focus on intersecting fields is encouraged, as in societal computing, innovations in community based participatory research using digital technologies, and human-in-the-loop decision support systems.
This search has the following priorities:
- Expertise in both a public policy domain and a technical domain; this is not a joint appointment, practical data science skills are necessary;
- A demonstrable history of novel technical innovation as well as the ability to point to translation and social impact from their work. Senior applicants may have concrete examples, while junior applicants may need to describe the aspirational impact their emerging work will have;
- Experience teaching across computational/numerical and public policy-related domains;
- Ability to engage with students and colleagues with substantially different training, including classical schools of thoughts and novel approaches within fields like economics;
- Demonstrated capacity (or, for junior applicants, clear plans) to build and lead cross-sector collaborations that connect academia with government, industry, and communities, as in to shape evidence-based, AI-enabled policy.
All candidates are expected to establish a rigorous program of high-quality, sustainably-funded research that focuses on innovations in the targeted search areas. This position involves teaching university students. The successful applicant(s) will be expected to teach at both the graduate and undergraduate levels in support of the Data Science major/minor degree and other programs offered by the Institute.
Appointment will be tenured or tenure-track. The level of appointment for the successful candidate(s) will be based on the candidate’s background and experience. The following link to the full description of the Ladder Rank Professor series is provided for your review: http://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/apm/apm-220.pdf
Department: https://datascience.ucsd.edu/
School: https://scids.ucsd.edu/
Qualifications
PhD or equivalent degree, or advancement to candidacy in Data Science, Computer Science, Mathematics/Statistics, Political Science, Economics, Public Policy, or related discipline.
Application Requirements by Level
Assistant (tenure-track)
Position title: Assistant Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Public Policy
References: letters of support are required at the initial review stage.
Cover Letter
Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
Statement of Research
Statement of Teaching
Teaching Evaluations (Optional)
- 3-5 letters of reference required
References: letters of support are required at the initial review stage.
Associate or Full Professor (tenured)
Position title: Associate or Full Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Public Policy
References: contact information required at time of application; letters of support will only be requested at the finalist stage.
Cover Letter
Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
Statement of Research
Statement of Teaching
Teaching Evaluations
- 3-5 required (contact information only)
References: contact information required at time of application; letters of support requested only at the finalist stage.
Help contact: d1dutson@ucsd.edu
About UC San Diego
The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.
As a university employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.
The University of California prohibits smoking and tobacco use at all of its university-controlled properties.
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As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct, are currently being investigated for misconduct, left a position during an investigation for alleged misconduct, or have filed an appeal with a previous employer.
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• “Misconduct” means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant’s previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer.
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