Fixed-term postdoctoral researcher (M/F), 18-month contract, as part of the ANR SyncoGest project

Job Description

Missions

As part of the ANR SyncoGest project (2025–2030), the Praxiling laboratory (UMR 5267, Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 University / CNRS) is recruiting a postdoctoral researcher (M/F) specializing in multimodal linguistics (the study of co-verbal manual gestures).

The SyncoGest project (2025–2030) is an interdisciplinary project conducted jointly by computer scientists (Loria – University of Lorraine / Inria / CNRS), linguists (Praxiling – Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 University / CNRS), and movement science experts (EuroMov DHM – University of Montpellier / CNRS). Its aim is to model the articulation between gesture and speech through the study of authentic data and the use of artificial intelligence techniques, with the long-term objective of developing automatic recognition and generation systems to animate avatars.

The linguistic component, led by Domitille Caillat (Praxiling / Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 University), involves the collection, annotation, and analysis of multimodal data using both manual and computer-assisted techniques.

In close collaboration with the project's principal investigator and partner laboratories, the postdoctoral researcher recruited at Praxiling will be responsible for the linguistic analysis and modeling of the multimodal data collected within the project (audio-video recordings of dyads conducted in a studio setting).

Activity

The successful candidate will have the following main responsibilities:

- Contribution to the annotation protocol: defining annotation categories; describing the criteria and procedures to be adopted; drafting the coding manual.

- Supervision of expert multimodal annotations:
o Delivering training on annotation procedures to the research engineers recruited for this task, based on the established annotation protocol;
o Overseeing the synchronization week organized to harmonize and ensure consistency in the annotation practices of the recruited annotators;
o Reviewing and harmonizing the annotations produced by the annotators.

- Supervision of novice multimodal annotations: organizing and conducting annotation sessions carried out by non-expert annotators on a participatory platform.

- Conducting multimodal analyses:
o Analyzing the verbal, prosodic, and gestural annotations produced within the project;
o Investigating the formal and functional properties of gestures and their relationship to discourse.

- Support for computational modeling:
o Contributing to the gesture–speech modeling carried out by Loria, based on the linguistic analyses provided;
o Evaluating the results of the prediction and classification models developed by Loria.

Your Profil

Skills

Education: PhD in Linguistics, Cognitive Science, Computer Science, or a related discipline. An interdisciplinary profile combining expertise in multimodal analysis and computational sciences is particularly sought.

- Experience in the analysis of co-verbal gestures and multimodal speech.

- Familiarity with multimodal speech processing software (ELAN, Praat, Anvil, or equivalent): development of comprehensive annotation templates/schemes (hierarchical organization; stereotypes; lexicons) and automatic integration of tiers generated through automated multimodal data processing.

- Programming and computational skills (development of automated data-processing pipelines and interfaces): Python (numpy, scipy, pandas, PyQt5, matplotlib, pympi.Elan, torch, etc.), R/RStudio, automatic speech processing systems (e.g., Nemo, MFA), and NLP packages (such as spaCy).

- Familiarity with machine learning principles and generative/classification models (PyTorch Lightning, torch, scikit-learn, etc.), as well as data/model analysis methods (PCA, t-SNE, etc.).

- Proficiency in French and English.

Personal qualities: precision and attention to detail; strong analytical skills; autonomy and reliability; ability and willingness to work collaboratively; strong communication skills; interest in interdisciplinary research.

Your Work Environment

Praxiling is a Joint Research Unit (UMR 5267) under the joint supervision of the CNRS and Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3. It brings together a transdisciplinary team of 26 members, including linguists, phoneticians, and neuropsychologists. Its main objective is to explore the interactions between language, cognition, and social practices, by analyzing both concrete language use and the underlying cognitive mechanisms.

The successful candidate will be fully integrated into the project team and will participate in all meetings related to their assigned tasks. They will work under the supervision of Domitille Caillat (Associate Professor), scientific lead of the linguistic component of the project, in close collaboration with project partners from Loria and EuroMov DHM.

The position will be based at the Praxiling laboratory premises (Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, Route de Mende campus, 34090 Montpellier, France). A hybrid working arrangement (on-site/remote) is possible.

Depending on project needs, the recruited candidate may apply for a six-month contract extension.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

Starting from €3,071 gross per month, depending on experience.

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

The research professions