Open Positions

We are actively looking for postdoc researchers, prospective PhD students, research assistants, and visiting scholars, to join our lab. We are growing the team, so please feel free to reach out even if there is no specific opening advertised below.

General Information

  • Requirements:
    • Good communication skills.
    • Self-motivated.
    • Strong background in either (or multiple): machine learning/optimization/math/programming.
  • What we offer:
    • Competitive salary.
    • Strong supervision.
    • Excellent research environment.
    • World-class collaborations.
  • How to apply:
    • Interested applicants please always (first) send application materials to lins-lab.hr [at] westlake.edu.cn and cc lintao [at] westlake.edu.cn. You can follow this guide when composing your email.
    • Please try your best to convince us of your background and interests.
    • Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis (we might not respond to generic requests).

Prospective Ph.D. Students

We still have 2 Ph.D. positions available for Fall 2025. Please apply through this online application system.

NOTE: Candidates with whom we worked are preferred (or shortlisted): it is strongly recommended that you first apply for any of the (paid) research positions. We also recommend you read posts about the Factors to Consider When Choosing a Lab for Ph.D. Training and A Survival Guide to a Ph.D..

Topics for Fall 2025

  • Collaborative (multi-modal) LLM agents
  • Efficient (collaborative) learning and inference systems

Topics for Fall 2026

  • Optimization for Deep Learning
  • Theory for collaborative learning under imperfect distributed environments

Research Assistants

We have several (at least 3 months, but >= 6 months is preferred) open positions.

Available topics

  • Optimization for Deep Learning
  • Data-centric Deep Learning
  • Collaborative multi-modal LLM agents
  • Algorithm and system co-design for large-scale Distributed Deep Learning
  • Collaborative project with Dr. Sebastian U. Stich (TT Faculty at CISPA, Germany): Collaborative deep learning for multi-modal data
  • Please feel free to reach out to discuss other potential research topics

Postdoc Researchers

We have multiple postdoc positions available (flexible starting dates). Applicants with a Ph.D. degree who have a background in one or more of the following research topics are encouraged to apply:

  • (Distributed) machine learning/deep learning.
    • efficient learning and inference methods.
    • distributionally robust optimization, and out-of-domain/out-of-distribution generalization.
    • efficient and/or robust collaborative learning methods.
    • algorithms/applications for semi-supervised learning or self-supervised learning.
    • understanding of loss landscape, training dynamics, etc.
    • theory for deep learning.
    • methods beyond back-prop.
    • etc.
  • computer science/electrical engineering/etc (with provable strong programming/math background).
  • applied math, operations research, optimization, statistics, control theory, or information theory.

A Joint Postdoc Position

We have a special joint postdoc position with Dr. Sebastian U. Stich (TT Faculty at CISPA, Germany).

The candidate will be affiliated with Westlake University (two-year contract) and will interact and collaborate closely with both faculty in a hybrid collaboration form, with the possibility to visit each group with a similar time percentage. He/she will work on foundational machine learning challenges and will lead projects. We offer a competitive salary. Please reach out to us if you have further questions on the project organization.

Applicants with a Ph.D. degree and a strong academic track record in one or more of the following research topics are encouraged to apply: (a) optimization for deep learning, (b) distributed and federated optimization, and (c) efficient/robust deep learning and inference.

You may also get extra support through CSC-DAAD Fellowship or Westlake Postdoctoral Fellowship for Women.