Co-design Lead for Scholarly Search Tool

Freelance Position on Co-Design for Scholarly Search Tool Development We're seeking a freelancer with expertise in participatory design, HCI, or information science to lead the co-design process for scaling VibeSearch—a scholar-led AI search tool for academic literature—across UvA faculties in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam’s UvA AI Chat. This role focuses on the UX and co-design process of a pedagogical tool that will be launched in late 2026. Project Context:  VibeSearch is a vector search tool for scholarly material (prototype: [Upgrade to PRO to see link] This Grassroots+ project will explore how to scale VibeSearch across select disciplines and stakeholder groups within the university. The process will include a cross-disciplinary co-design that explores how to integrate it within UvA AI Chat ([Upgrade to PRO to see link] infrastructure while preserving key pedagogical and scholarly values. Responsibilities: Identify and engage stakeholders across UvA faculties and departments Facilitate a co-design methodology. This can involve workshops, interviews, persona research, etc. with faculty and students from diverse disciplines Develop UX framework in collaboration with PIs Coordinate with UvA AI Chat team on the UX design feasibility and integration pathways Conduct user study during pilot testing phase Co-author project documentation, with a view towards an academic article (target: Digital Creativity, Convergence, or similar venue) Qualifications: MsC, PhD, or similar education in design, HCI, information science, or related field Experience with participatory/co-design methodologies Strong facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills Interest in educational technology and responsible AI (technical AI knowledge not required, as it’s covered by UvA AI Chat team, but interest in vector search/experimentation with AI is a plus) Interdisciplinary experience in communicating with or working across the humanities and sciences/computation Details: Freelance work, total fee of 8000 euros.  Preference will be given to Amsterdam or Netherlands residents as the co-design elements benefit from in-person engagement  Close collaboration with project PIs (Gabriel Pereira and Steve Jankowski) and the UvA AI Chat team Interested?  Contact Gabriel Pereira ([Upgrade to PRO to see contact]) and Steve Jankowski ([Upgrade to PRO to see contact]) with CV/portfolio and a brief statement of interest (maximum 200 words) by 15 May 2026. Following our review of all applications, shortlisted candidates will be contacted to schedule an interview. The interview will include a discussion of your proposed methodology for the project, as well as a high-level plan showing how you would distribute your hours across its various phases. Once we've made our final selection, we'll ask the chosen candidate to send a final quote detailing the work.