Post-Doc Research Associate - AI Credible Climate Mitigation

Posting Information

• Position Title:
  
  Post-Doc Research Associate - AI for Credible Climate Mitigation
• Department: UNC Institute for the Environment - 635200
• Posting Open Date: 12/04/2025
• Final date to receive applications:
  Open Until Filled (Yes)
• Position Type:
  Postdoctoral Scholar
• Full-time/Part-time:
  Full-Time Temporary
• Hours per week: 40
• FTE: 1
• Work Location:
  
  Chapel Hill, NC
• Position Location:
  
  North Carolina, US
• Hiring Range: $68,000 - $72,000
• Proposed
  
  Start Date:
  
  02/09/2026
• Estimated Duration of Appointment: 12 Months
• Vacancy

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a leading public research university, excelling in innovation, research, and public service. Carolina’s postdoctoral scholars contribute vital research across disciplines, fostering intellectual vitality and advancing knowledge. UNC-Chapel Hill offers comprehensive medical and vision coverage, paid leave, and benefits to support professional development and work/life balance.

The UNC Institute for the Environment (IE) aims to strengthen environmental research capacity, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, deliver 21st‑century educational programs, and translate new environmental knowledge into action. It also supports the Sustainable Carolina Initiative, enhancing the university’s sustainability activities.

This postdoctoral research associate will work with the Data‑Driven Enviro Lab (DDL) and the Center for Climate Leadership and AI‑driven Integrity in Mitigation (CLAIM). The role focuses on applying generative AI and large language models (LLMs) to accelerate climate mitigation while ensuring accountability and integrity of climate commitments. The position is initially for one year, with potential extension based on funding and performance.

• Develop, adapt, and evaluate LLM/genAI systems for climate mitigation intelligence, especially for tracking and assessing commitments and actions by cities, regions, and non‑state actors.
• Design and validate benchmarks, metrics, and auditing pipelines that test the accuracy, credibility, fairness, and robustness of LLM outputs related to climate targets, disclosures, and policy claims.
• Rigorously test genAI/ML models against misinformation, disinformation, and green washing, including stress‑testing models under adversarial, low‑resource, and multilingual settings.
• Study how generative AI shapes real‑world climate behavior, including impacts on corporate and subnational mitigation planning, transparency, and accountability.
• Contribute to CLAIM’s broader mission: data collection, methodological innovation, open tools, publications, and policy‑facing outputs that improve climate commitment integrity.

Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computing, Statistics, Data Science, or related disciplines.

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computing, Statistics, Data Science, or related disciplines.
• Hands‑on experience training, fine‑tuning, or adapting LLMs/genAI models (e.g., instruction tuning, domain adaptation, RAG pipelines) with evidence in publications, open‑source code, or deployed tools.
• Solid experience in LLM/genAI evaluation and benchmarking, including factuality/hallucination testing, robustness, calibration, bias/fairness, and/or adversarial stress‑testing.
• Proficient programming and ML/NLP engineering skills in Python and modern deep‑learning stacks (e.g., PyTorch, JAX, Hugging Face/Transformers, vector databases, agentic/RAG tooling), with the ability to build reproducible research pipelines.
• Working knowledge of climate change mitigation and environmental governance, familiarity with climate commitments, emissions accounting, or policy/action tracking, and motivation to apply AI in this space.
• Strong critical thinking, proactivity, and ability to work independently and in an interdisciplinary team environment.

• Excellent organization and time‑management skills.

For information on UNC Postdoctoral Benefits and Services, visit the campus website. Quick Link:

Department Contact:
Shelton Holley, HR Consultant – sholley

Postdoctoral Affairs Contact:
University Office of Postdoctoral Affairs – (919) 962‑9982 or opahr.

Note:

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs will not be able to provide specific updates regarding position or application status.

The University is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all to apply without regard to age, color, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.