Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi is hiring computer science faculty at every rank: assistant professor, associate professor and full professor. The posts sit in the university’s Computing and Mathematical Sciences Division and are permanent and full time. Applications are open until 30 June 2027 at 11:59pm US Eastern Time, but this is a rolling search, so earlier applications are reviewed first. You need a PhD in computer science or a closely related field and a record of strong research.
This guide covers the MBZUAI professor of computer science job in full: the research areas MBZUAI wants, the documents you must prepare (including how referees work), what the package includes, how faculty hiring in this kind of open-rank search usually runs, and how to write a research statement that fits a graduate-only AI university. MBZUAI describes the salary only as “competitive” and gives no figure.
MBZUAI computer science faculty job at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Job title | Open Rank Faculty Positions in Computer Science |
| Employer | Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) |
| Unit | Computing and Mathematical Sciences Division |
| Ranks | Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Full Professor |
| Location | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
| Contract | Permanent, full time |
| Salary | “Competitive”; no figure published |
| Relocation | Relocation support for international faculty |
| Visa sponsorship | Not mentioned in the advert |
| Start date | Not stated |
| Deadline | 30 June 2027, 11:59pm US Eastern Time |
Research areas MBZUAI wants to hire in
The advert says the Computer Science area is expanding and lists these fields:
- Computer systems: operating systems, storage, networking, embedded and real-time systems, databases and computer architecture.
- Theoretical computer science: algorithms and complexity, semantics, logic and verification.
- Security and cryptography.
- Programming languages, compilers and programming environments.
- Graphics and visualisation.
Notice what is missing. Machine learning, computer vision and natural language processing have their own departments at MBZUAI, so this search is aimed at core computer scientists. If your work is in systems or theory and you have thought about how it connects to AI, such as efficient hardware for training large models or verification of AI systems, you fit the department’s current direction. MBZUAI’s Computer Science department page lists efficient hardware, optimised training of large language models, edge computing and privacy-preserving technologies among its research themes.
Requirements
The advert keeps the requirements short:
| Requirement | What the advert says |
|---|---|
| Degree | A PhD in Computer Science or a closely related field |
| Research | Demonstrated excellence in innovative and impactful research |
| Mentoring | A passion for mentoring students |
There is no separate desirable list. Rank is set by your record. As a rough guide used across research universities, assistant professor applicants are usually fresh PhDs or postdocs with a strong first-author record, associate professor applicants have several years as faculty plus grants and graduated students, and full professors have an established international reputation. That is general sector practice, not MBZUAI’s wording.
MBZUAI salary and benefits
MBZUAI does not publish a salary. The advert says pay is competitive with leading global institutions. It lists these benefits:
- Research funding and academic freedom.
- Health and life insurance.
- Relocation support for international faculty.
- Access to advanced AI labs and high-performance computing.
- Collaboration with industry and government.
An earlier MBZUAI computer science advert on the university’s own site also mentioned generous start-up funds for research and team building. Ask about start-up funding, housing and schooling at offer stage, since this advert does not list them. The UAE does not charge personal income tax on salaries, which matters when you compare offers from other countries.
Visa sponsorship is not mentioned in the advert. In practice UAE employers arrange the residence visa for staff they hire, but confirm the details with MBZUAI’s recruitment team.
Documents you need
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Cover letter | Name your rank and area clearly |
| Curriculum vitae | Full academic CV |
| Research statement | Your agenda for the next five years |
| Teaching statement | Courses you can teach and how you supervise |
| Publication list | Include your Google Scholar h-index |
| Representative papers | Links to 3 to 5 of your best papers |
| Referees | Names and contact details for at least three |
MBZUAI contacts your referees directly and asks them to upload their letters. It does not accept letters you send yourself. Warn your referees early, because a missing letter can delay review of your file.
How to apply for the MBZUAI professor of computer science job
- Pick your rank and area: decide which of the five research areas you belong to and which rank your record supports.
- Prepare the documents above: save each as a PDF with a clear file name.
- Brief your referees: send them your CV and the advert, and tell them a request will come from MBZUAI’s system.
- Apply online: use the “Apply” button on the Times Higher Education listing, which takes you to MBZUAI’s application page.
- Apply early: the formal deadline is 30 June 2027, but in rolling faculty searches interviews start long before the closing date.
Apply early
The deadline is 30 June 2027, but open-rank searches review files as they arrive. Waiting until spring 2027 can mean the slots in your area are already filled.
What the selection process usually looks like
MBZUAI hasn’t published its interview stages for this search. Faculty hiring at research universities usually follows these steps:
- File review: a faculty committee screens CVs, statements and papers.
- Reference letters: requested for applicants who pass the first screen.
- Video interview: a first conversation with the search committee.
- Campus visit: a research talk, often a teaching demonstration, and meetings with faculty, the department chair and senior leaders.
- Offer and negotiation: salary, start-up funds, lab space and start date.
For an open-rank search the committee may suggest a different rank from the one you applied for. Be ready to discuss that.
How to write the research statement
Your research statement should be two to four pages. A structure that works for MBZUAI:
- Your question: one paragraph on the problem that drives your work.
- What you have shown: your two or three strongest results, with venues.
- The next five years: specific projects, what each needs (students, compute, data) and what success looks like.
- Link to AI: how your systems, theory, security or languages work feeds into or uses AI. MBZUAI is an AI university, so this paragraph matters.
- Funding and collaboration: grants you have won and the UAE or regional partners you could work with.
A sample opening, for illustration only: “My research builds storage systems that keep large model training running when hardware fails, and over the next five years I plan to bring those methods to the clusters that train foundation models.” Adapt it to your own work.
The teaching statement should name the MBZUAI courses you could teach on day one and explain how you supervise MSc and PhD students, the degrees the department offers.
The cover letter
Keep the cover letter to one or two pages. Open with the rank and research area you are applying for, since an open-rank search receives files across many fields and the committee sorts them first. Then give three short paragraphs: your strongest research result and where it was published, the funding or industry links you have built, and the students you have supervised or plan to supervise. Close with one paragraph on why MBZUAI and Abu Dhabi, mentioning a named faculty member or group whose work connects to yours. Don’t repeat your CV line by line.
What “open rank” means for your application
An open-rank advert lets the university hire the best person in an area and set the rank afterwards. That helps strong early-career researchers, because you compete on the quality of your work, and it helps senior people who want to move without a named chair being advertised. It also means you should state the rank you expect and why. A postdoc with five first-author papers at top venues should say “Assistant Professor”. A tenured associate professor elsewhere with a funded group should ask for associate or full rank and make the case with numbers: grants, graduated PhD students and awards.
If you are unsure, say you are open to the committee’s view on rank. Committees usually prefer that to an applicant who asks for a rank the record can’t support.
Common mistakes
- Applying to the wrong department. If your work is mainly machine learning, look at MBZUAI’s machine learning or computer vision adverts instead.
- Sending your own reference letters. MBZUAI won’t accept them.
- Forgetting the h-index and the 3 to 5 representative paper links.
- Writing a research statement with no connection to AI.
- Leaving it until close to 30 June 2027.
Who should apply and who shouldn’t
You should apply if you hold a PhD in computer science, work in systems, theory, security, programming languages or graphics, and publish in the top venues of your field. Strong postdocs can aim for assistant professor, and established faculty for associate or full professor.
I wouldn’t apply if you don’t yet hold a PhD and won’t by the time you start, or if your record is mostly teaching with little research. The advert is built around research and graduate supervision, so a teaching-focused career doesn’t fit.
Similar faculty jobs to compare
| Role | Institution | Salary in advert | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associate/Full Professor, Human-Computer Interaction | MBZUAI, Abu Dhabi | Competitive | 30 June 2027 |
| Assistant/Associate Professor, Computer Vision and Robotics | MBZUAI, Abu Dhabi | Competitive | 30 June 2027 |
| Full/Associate/Assistant Professor in Artificial Intelligence | University of Macau | MOP 855,400 to 1,250,200 a year | 22 December 2026 |
| Professor in Cyber Security / Privacy | UM6P, Morocco | Not stated | 20 November 2026 |
If you are a student rather than a job seeker, our guides to UAE scholarships and the Khalifa University scholarship cover funded study in the same country.
About MBZUAI and Abu Dhabi
MBZUAI was established in October 2019 as a graduate research university focused on artificial intelligence. Its President is Eric Xing, and the Computer Science department is chaired by Xiaosong Ma. The department offers MSc and PhD degrees. In April 2023 MBZUAI reported that it ranked 19th in the world on CSRankings across AI, computer vision, machine learning and natural language processing combined, and first in the Middle East and North Africa. Check CSRankings for the current position, as it changes each year.
Abu Dhabi is the UAE capital. Housing is the biggest cost for most expatriate staff, and international school fees are high if you have children, so ask what the package covers before you sign. Summers are very hot, and most daily life happens indoors from June to September.
MBZUAI computer science faculty: FAQs
What is the deadline for MBZUAI computer science faculty positions?
The deadline is 30 June 2027 at 11:59pm US Eastern Time. Files are reviewed on a rolling basis, so apply early.
What is the salary of an MBZUAI professor?
MBZUAI hasn’t published a figure. The advert describes pay as competitive with leading global institutions, plus insurance and relocation support.
Does MBZUAI accept reference letters from applicants?
No. You give the names and contact details of at least three referees, and MBZUAI asks them to upload letters directly.
Can I apply to MBZUAI without a PhD?
No. A PhD in computer science or a closely related field is required.
Sources and updates
Checked on 29 October 2026 against the Times Higher Education Unijobs listing for this role (listing 416239), MBZUAI’s Computer Science department page, an earlier MBZUAI computer science faculty advert on mbzuai.ac.ae, and MBZUAI’s April 2023 news release on CSRankings. Start date, visa terms and salary were not published. We will update this page if MBZUAI changes the advert or the deadline.
I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.
