Open-Rank Natural Language Processing Professor | MBZUAI

Job Description

The Natural Language Processing (NLP) area within the Division of Computing and Mathematical Sciences at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) invites applications for multiple open-rank faculty positions in Natural Language Processing.

Applications are welcome at the Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Full Professor levels.

MBZUAI welcomes outstanding candidates working across all areas of NLP, with particular recruitment priorities in Arabic and multilingual language technologies and speech and spoken-language technologies.

Employer: Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI)
Division: Computing and Mathematical Sciences
Area: Natural Language Processing
Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Academic Rank: Assistant Professor / Associate Professor / Full Professor
Field: Natural Language Processing / Artificial Intelligence
Open Date: 16 October 2026
Application Deadline: 30 June 2027 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time

Natural Language Processing Professor – Position Overview

Successful candidates will contribute to MBZUAI’s NLP research and teaching environment through:

• Independent research.
• High-quality teaching.
• Student mentoring and supervision.
• Curriculum development.
• Academic service.
• Research leadership.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Industry and government engagement.

Expectations will be commensurate with the academic rank of appointment.

Natural Language Processing Research

MBZUAI welcomes candidates working in any area of Natural Language Processing.

Research priorities include:

• Arabic language technologies.
• Multilingual language technologies.
• Speech technologies.
• Spoken-language technologies.
• Related areas of NLP and Artificial Intelligence.

Successful candidates will develop and lead independent research programmes that complement and expand the strengths of the NLP Area.

Arabic Language Technologies

A key recruitment priority is research in Arabic language technologies.

This may include work across NLP methods and systems focused on Arabic language processing, modelling, understanding, generation, or related applications.

Multilingual Language Technologies

The search also prioritises candidates working on multilingual NLP.

Relevant research may involve:

• Multilingual language models.
• Cross-lingual methods.
• Language transfer.
• Multilingual understanding and generation.
• Low-resource language technologies.

Speech and Spoken-Language Technologies

Candidates working in:

• Speech technologies.
• Spoken-language technologies.
• Speech recognition.
• Speech understanding.
• Related multimodal or language-processing areas.

are also strongly aligned with the search priorities.

Independent Research Programme

Successful candidates will be expected to:

• Develop an independent research programme.
• Lead high-quality research.
• Produce impactful scholarly work.
• Build collaborations within and beyond MBZUAI.
• Contribute to the continued growth of the NLP Area.

Teaching Responsibilities

Faculty members will teach relevant courses within their area of expertise.

Responsibilities include:

• Delivering high-quality instruction.
• Supporting student learning.
• Contributing to programme delivery.
• Developing and updating curriculum.

Student Mentoring and Supervision

The successful candidates will mentor and supervise students and researchers.

Responsibilities may include:

• Academic mentoring.
• Research supervision.
• Supporting student research.
• Developing future NLP researchers.

Curriculum Development

Faculty members will contribute to:

• Curriculum development.
• Academic programme enhancement.
• Updating teaching content in line with developments in NLP and AI.

Academic Service

The role includes participation in:

• Academic service.
• Committees.
• Area and Division activities.
• Wider University responsibilities.

Research Collaboration

Faculty members will have opportunities to collaborate:

• Across MBZUAI.
• With industry partners.
• With government agencies.
• With research institutions.

These collaborations support both fundamental research and applied AI initiatives.

Required Qualification

Applicants must hold a:

• PhD in Computer Science or a closely related field.

Assistant Professor Requirements

Candidates applying at the Assistant Professor level should demonstrate:

• Original research contributions.
• Strong potential to develop an independent research programme.
• Potential to teach effectively.
• Potential to mentor students.

Associate Professor Requirements

Candidates applying at the Associate Professor level should demonstrate:

• An established record of research independence.
• Scholarly impact.
• Effective teaching.
• Effective mentoring.
• Research leadership.

Full Professor Requirements

Candidates applying at the Full Professor level should demonstrate:

• Sustained research leadership.
• International recognition.
• Strong record of developing research programmes.
• Strong record of mentoring students and researchers.

Why Join MBZUAI?

MBZUAI offers an environment designed to support advanced AI research, teaching, and innovation.

The University highlights:

• Competitive compensation.
• Research funding.
• Academic freedom.
• Comprehensive health insurance.
• Life insurance.
• Relocation support for international faculty.
• Cutting-edge AI laboratories.
• High-performance computing.
• Industry collaboration.
• Government collaboration.

MBZUAI also states that it is ranked eighth worldwide in NLP by CSRankings.

Research Infrastructure

Faculty members can access:

• Advanced AI laboratories.
• High-performance computing.
• Research resources supporting ambitious NLP and AI projects.

Industry and Government Collaboration

Faculty members may collaborate with:

• Leading AI researchers.
• Technology firms.
• Government agencies.
• Policymakers.
• Research institutions.

Recommended Professional Development

🎓 Recommended Course: Machine Learning Specialization

The Machine Learning Specialization from DeepLearning.AI and Stanford Online provides structured learning in core machine-learning methods that underpin many contemporary NLP systems, including modern language models and AI applications.

It may be particularly relevant to NLP researchers, AI academics, doctoral candidates, machine-learning practitioners, and professionals working on language technologies.

👉 Explore the Machine Learning Specialization on Coursera

Affiliate disclosure: Arab Academic Jobs may receive a commission if you enroll through this link, at no additional cost to you.

Application Requirements

Applicants should submit:

• Cover letter indicating the appointment level sought.
• Curriculum Vitae.
• Statement of research achievements and future research plans, including how the proposed programme would complement and expand the NLP Area’s strengths.
• Statement of teaching interests, experience, and philosophy.
• Three selected publications, with a brief explanation of their significance and the applicant’s contribution.
• Google Scholar profile link, if available.
• Names, affiliations, and contact details for three referees.

Reference letters will be requested through Interfolio during the recruitment process.

Application Process

Applications are managed through Interfolio Faculty Search.

Applicants receive access to a free Interfolio Dossier account and may submit application materials and confidential recommendation letters through the platform.

Application Deadline

Applications must be submitted by:

30 June 2027 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time

Job Summary

Employer	Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI)
Division	Computing and Mathematical Sciences
Area	Natural Language Processing
Location	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Position	Open-Rank Faculty in Natural Language Processing
Academic Rank	Assistant Professor / Associate Professor / Full Professor
Field	Natural Language Processing / Artificial Intelligence
Recruitment Priorities	Arabic NLP, multilingual language technologies, speech and spoken-language technologies
Required Qualification	PhD in Computer Science or closely related field
Assistant Professor Requirement	Original research contributions and strong potential for independent research, teaching and mentoring
Associate Professor Requirement	Research independence, scholarly impact, effective teaching/mentoring and research leadership
Full Professor Requirement	Sustained research leadership, international recognition and strong mentoring record
Core Responsibilities	Research, teaching, supervision, curriculum development and academic service
Open Date	16 October 2026
Application Platform	Interfolio
Application Materials	Cover letter, CV, research statement, teaching statement, 3 selected publications, Google Scholar link, 3 referees
Application Deadline	30 June 2027 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time