PhD Position in Human-Centered AI for Programming Environments

Do you want to rethink how programming environments are designed and for whoIf your answer is yes please continue reading!

Join Us!

Join us to rethink what programming environments can be! In this PhD you will design and implement AI-powered IDE tools while working closely with users through participatory and inclusive research. We are looking for technically strong candidates who are excited to learn qualitative methods who value accessibility and neurodiversity and who want their work to contribute to more just and inclusive computing futures.

Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) are a core infrastructure in computing education and professional software development. Simultaneously generative AI tools such as large language models are increasingly embedded in programming workflows shaping how code is written debugged and learned. While these tools have the potential to support programmers meaningfully they also risk reinforcing exclusion if accessibility cognition and power relations are treated as secondary concerns.

This PhD project focuses on the design implementation and evaluation of human-centred AI-powered programming environments. It investigates how IDEs and generative AI tools can be technically redesigned to better support diverse cognitive styles and learning practices with a particular focus on (self-identified) neurodiverse women in computing. The project is grounded in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) software engineering and applied AI combining building systems with participatory and qualitative research methods.

The PhD is embedded in the Digital Interactions Lab at the Informatics Institute University of Amsterdam (UvA) and will be supervised by Dr Siân Brooke.

What are you going to do

As a PhD candidate you will conduct technically intensive research at the intersection of software engineering Artificial Intelligence and Human-Computer Interaction. You will be responsible for designing implementing and evaluating working IDE extensions and AI-assisted programming tools for example as plugins for environments such as VS Code.

A core expectation of the project is that you take technical ownership of the software artefacts developed during the PhD. This includes architectural design implementation iteration and evaluation of programming tools that integrate generative AI functionality.

Prior experience with participatory and qualitative research methods is not required. However the successful candidate must be genuinely open to participatory qualitative and user-centred research and be strongly motivated to learn and apply these approaches as a central part of the project. Close supervision and support will be provided to help the candidate develop these skills as needed. The research broadly unfolds in three phases:

1. Analysing technical and usability barriers in existing IDEs and AI-powered programming tools through user studies and qualitative research.
2. Co-designing new interaction concepts and AI-supported features together with neurodiverse women and stakeholders.
3. Implementing and evaluating an AI-enhanced IDE extension using iterative development controlled experiments and usability testing.

You will build on your existing technical background by combining hands-on software development with qualitative and mixed-methods research including focus groups interviews co-design workshops and A/B testing. By the end of the PhD you will have deep expertise in evaluating human-centred AI systems for programming environments alongside strong qualitative and mixed-methods research capabilities.

The research may involve activities such as:

• Designing and implementing IDE plugins or extensions for example using the VS Code Extension API.
• Developing modular configurable software components for programming environments.
• Integrating large language models and other AI techniques into developer tools.
• Running usability studies focus groups and co-design workshops with programmers.
• Conducting mixed-methods evaluations of programming tools including task-based studies and A/B testing.
• Managing and maintaining research codebases and open-source repositories.
• Publishing and presenting results at international venues such as ACM CHI ICER or ICSE.

Who are we looking for

We are looking for a candidate with demonstrated technical expertise who is motivated to work on inclusive socially engaged software systems and who is comfortable combining software development work with user-centred research.

Essential requirements:

• A Masters degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science Software Engineering Artificial Intelligence HCI or a closely related field.
• Strong software engineering skills including experience designing and implementing non-trivial software systems.
• Experience developing plugins extensions or modular software components for example for IDEs editors or similar platforms.
• Proficiency in relevant programming languages such as JavaScript TypeScript Python.
• Ability to work with APIs SDKs and external services including AI or cloud-based systems.
• Fluency in English both written and spoken.

Desirable experience includes:

• Experience with IDEs such as VS Code and their extension ecosystems
• Experience working with generative AI or large language models in applied settings
• Experience conducting qualitative or mixed-methods research such as interviews or usability testing
• Familiarity with HCI accessibility standards or inclusive design literature
• Experience working with open-source software or research codebases
• Willingness to acquire new technical methodological and theoretical skills

We particularly encourage applications from candidates who approach computing from a feminist queer-inclusive and/or social justice-oriented perspective and who are interested in how power and exclusion shape technical systems.

We are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive research environment. Accessibility needs will be taken seriously throughout the recruitment process and during the PhD including interview formats supervision styles and working schedules. This explicitly includes accommodations related to neurodiversity disability chronic illness or other access needs.

This is what we offer you

A temporary contract for 38 hours per week for the duration of 4 years (the initial contract will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of 4 years).The preferred starting date is September should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. We also expect you to assist in teaching undergraduates and master students.

The gross monthly salary based on 38 hours per week and dependent on relevant experience ranges between 3059 to 3881 (scale P). This does not include 8% holiday allowance and 83% year-end allowance. The UFO profile PhD Candidate is applicable. A favourable tax agreement the 30% ruling may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Universities of the Netherlands is applicable.

Curious about our extensive secondary benefits package You can read more about it here.

You will work in this team

TheFaculty of Science has a student body of around 8000 as well as 1800 members of staff working in education research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works be it elementary particles the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The mission of the Informatics Institute (IvI) is to perform curiosity-driven and use-inspired fundamental research in Computer Science. The main research themes are Artificial Intelligence Computational Science and Systems and Network Engineering. Our research involves complex information systems at large with a focus on collaborative data driven computational and intelligent systems all with a strong interactive component.

The Digital Interactions Lab (DILAB) is a Human-Computer Interaction research group within the Informatics Institute at the University of research bridges the gap between the technology-oriented and market-led formulation of the smart agenda with a sociological and psychological understanding of what people need artificial intelligence to be and how data science might enhance our societies.

Want to know more about our organisation Read more aboutworking at the University of Amsterdam.

If you feel the profile fits you and you are interested in the job we look forward to receiving your application. You can apply online via the red button. We accept applications until and including 28 April 2026.

Applications should include the following information (all files besides your cv should be submitted in one single pdf file:

• a detailed CV including the months (not just years) when referring to your education and work experience;
• a letter of motivation;
• a list of publications;
• the names and email addresses of two references who can provide letters of recommendation.

A knowledge security check can be part of the selection procedure.
(for details:national knowledge security guidelines)

If you have any questions about the position such as technical scope please feel free to contact

• Dr Siân Brooke .

If you would like to speak to a current PhD student of Dr Brookes please feel free to contact

• Maria Mlocka .