Open positions

3-year Research Position as a Ph.D. Student
(w/m/d, E13 TV-L, 75%)

starting on 15th September 2026 or as soon as possible.

The position

The position is available within a multidisciplinary effort to develop new machine learning-based techniques for Natural Products Genome Mining at the Cluster of Excellence Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections (CMFI).

As a researcher, you will be welcomed at Pfeifer Lab and a vibrant campus environment in charming Tübingen. We have extensive knowledge at the interface between statistical machine learning, digital medicine, and computational biology, and plenty of collaboration opportunities beyond international borders. Prof. Nico Pfeifer is a member of the Cluster of Excellence Machine Learning: New Perspectives for Science, a PI in the Cluster of Excellence Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections, and a faculty member of the International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems.

Your Responsibilities

• develop and extend ML-based methods for Genome Mining
• collaborate closely with colleagues in machine learning, genome mining and infection biology
• present findings in peer-reviewed publications and international conferences

Your Profile

• a university degree (M.Sc. or equivalent) in Machine Learning, Bioinformatics, Medical Informatics, Computer Science, or a related discipline
• strong programming/scripting skills (Python, R, C++, Java) and knowledge of ML frameworks (PyTorch, etc.)
• a keen interest in interdisciplinary teamwork
• proficiency in English
• experience in Data Science, Machine Learning or Statistics
• experience in the analysis of high-throughput data (multi-omics)
• experience with Vibe Coding is a plus
• experience in Chemistry is a plus

Our Offer

• cutting-edge research at a highly renowned university,
• collegial work atmosphere,
• remuneration in accordance with the TV-L (collective agreement for public employees of the German federal states) as well as all corresponding benefits,
• international collaboration opportunities,
• local & global networking opportunities incl. conferences, workshops, summer schools, etc.
• 30 days/year of paid vacation,
• life and family-friendly work conditions,
• career mentoring,
• visa and onboarding assistance,
• access to sports facilities, libraries, discounted public transportation, etc.

We value diversity in science, and particularly look forward to receiving applications from women, non-binary people and researchers from underrepresented groups across cultures, genders, ethnicities, and lifestyles. We actively promote the compatibility of science, work, professional development, family life and care work. In case of equal qualification and experience, physically challenged applicants are given preference.

How to apply

Please email your application (including your motivation letter, curriculum vitae, certificates, and contact details of 2 academic references) with the subject “Application CMFI PhD” to Prof. Dr. Nico Pfeifer: mm-coordinator@inf.uni-tuebingen.de. 

Application deadline: 6th July 2026.

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.