Open positions

Early Career Research Group Leader for Machine Learning in Science (m/w/d; E14 TV-L, 100%)

to be filled as soon as possible.

We are looking for aspiring scientists pursuing research on the interface between machine learning and science—by developing and applying machine learning methods in a scientific discipline, be it the natural sciences, social sciences, or life sciences.  

The early career group leader positions are especially suited for researchers, either directly after completing their PhD or with some postdoctoral experience. A finished PhD is mandatory to start (but not to apply). The positions run for 6 years (with an interim evaluation after 3 years), with a salary according to the German public sector (E14 TV-L). The positions come with a guaranteed fallback option to a permanent Staff Scientist position (E13; with a regular teaching load), following a positive final evaluation. Group leaders receive funding for one PhD student as well as start-up and running costs.

The groups are embedded into the lively and interactive environment of the Cluster of Excellence “Machine Learning – New Perspectives for Science” at the University of Tübingen (www.ml-in science.uni-tuebingen.de). Our mission is to shape and understand how machine learning and artificial intelligence transform scientific discovery.  

Please send us your application (cover letter, curriculum vitae, copies of certificates, list of publications; 1 page pitch about your intended research direction) as a single PDF (no more than 5 MB) to the Central Office of the Cluster of Excellence (ml-in-sciencespam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de) by July 15, 2026. We are planning the selection process for September. Questions can be directed to the Central Office. 

The University of Tübingen is committed to the goals of equality and diversity and actively promotes equal opportunities. Severely disabled applicants with equal qualifications and abilities will be given preferential consideration. Recruitment is carried out by the Central Administration of the University of Tübingen.

My research group recently moved to the University of Tübingen, one of Europe’s most vibrant hubs for artificial intelligence research. We are hiring

two postdoctoral researchers (m/f/d, E 13 TV-L, 100 % each)

for a fixed term of 2 years, with option to extend. Start date: October 2026 (with some flexibility)

We work at the intersection of natural language processing (NLP) and the cognitive and social sciences, studying principles of representation and communication across humans and machines. Our work combines theory-driven research with state-of-the-art computational methods from machine learning and NLP.

We are embedded in one of Germany’s oldest departments of Computational Linguistics, with strong ties to the Tübingen AI community and the Cluster of Excellence “Machine Learning – New Perspectives for Science”.

For a more concrete idea about past work from my group, see here. Applicants are encouraged to propose their own projects which should fit with the broad research themes of the group:

• NLP x Computational Social Science: e.g., Media bias, framing and framing effects; diachronic lan-guage change; models of narrative texts
• NLP x Cognitive Science: e.g., Models of categorization and language learning and development based on large, naturalistic data sets
• Meaning representations in humans and LLMs: e.g., Novel methods for combining large behavioral da-ta sets with methods of mechanistic interpretability
• Secure AI: Bias and fairness; unlearning

The postdoctoral positions will provide scope for intellectual independence, to develop an independent research agenda within the broader themes of the group.

Requirements

Doctorate in Computational Linguistics, Natural Language Processing, Computer Science or related fields.

Application

If you are excited to work in a vibrant, cross-disciplinary research environment closely connected to one of Europe’s most vibrant AI hubs, send your application materials to cognition-communication-labspam prevention@frermann.de including a CV, a short motivation letter and the names and contact of two potential references. Informal inquiries can be sent to the same email address.

The opening will remain valid until June 15 2026.

The positions are funded via the Cluster of Excellence (Machine Learning for Science) and the University of Tübingen. Salary will be determined according to the German collective wage agreement in public service (100% E 13 TV-L). The University aims to increase the proportion of women in research and teaching and therefore urges suitable qualified women scientists to apply. Qualified international researchers are expressly invited to apply. Disabled candidates will be given preference over other equally qualified applicants. The University of Tübingen is committed to equity and diversity and actively promotes equal opportunities. The employment will be handled by the central administration of the University of Tübingen.