Open positions

The Chair of Machine Learning Methods in Business and Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Tübingen and the Cluster of Excellence “Machine Learning in Science” invite applications for the position of a 

Postdoctoral Researcher (f/m/d) in Applied Microeconomics (E13 TV-L, 100%) 

Intended starting date is May 1, 2027, but an earlier or later date is possible. The contract duration is for three years. An extension may be possible.

Our research 

The research of our newly formed team spans labor, development, and political economy using both microeconometric methods and field experiments. Beyond this, we aim to develop and apply machine learning methods to both accurately identify economic effects and draw insights from unconventional or unstructured data (e.g., image, video, text, audio). 

The position 

The post-doctoral position is a full-time research position without a regular teaching load. The successful candidate will be engaged in and take the lead in joint research projects in addition to continuing work on his/her own projects.

We offer: 

• A lively, internationally oriented, collaborative, and friendly research environment
• High-quality research seminar series in economics, machine learning, and management studies
• Funding to finance conference trips, hire student research assistants, run experiments, invite coauthors etc.

Your profile 

We are seeking a highly motivated, curiosity-driven candidate that holds (or is about to finish) a Ph.D. in economics or a related discipline (e.g., data science). The candidate should have a keen interest and strong background in applied microeconomics (especially labor, political economy or development) as well as a strong interest in exploring unstructured data (e.g. image, text, video,…) using machine learning methods. Candidates with experience in field experiments are particularly encouraged to apply. Fluency in English is indispensable. German skills are not necessary. 

Environment

The University of Tübingen, spread across the small and picturesque town of Tübingen in south-west Germany, is one of 11 Universities of Excellence in Germany, with a Cluster of Excellence for Machine Learning in Science. The University’s School of Business and Economics hosts more than 40 faculty, including professors, junior professors, and post docs. It attracts excellent students in its B.Sc. and M.Sc. programs, in part due to its strong international orientation. We offer an open and supportive work environment with a strong research orientation, which is also part of our teaching philosophy. 

The University of Tübingen aims to increase the proportion of women in research and teaching and therefore particularly encourages qualified women scientists to apply. The University of Tübingen is committed to equal opportunities and diversity and actively promotes gender equality. Disabled candidates will be given preference over other equally qualified applicants.

How to apply 

Please submit your application including a cover letter, job market paper, CV, and at least two letters of recommendation via econjobmarket.org/positions/12911 by 15 November 2026. In case you have questions about the application process or the position, please contact Prof. Felix Rusche.

The employment will be arranged by the Central Administration of the University of Tübingen.

The Junior Professorship "Machine Learning Methods in Economics and Business" is looking for a 

student research assistant for 25 hours per month, 

starting January 2027 and running for an initial six months with the possibility of extension.

Tasks will include:
- Collecting, cleaning, preparing, and analysing data for empirical research projects in R or Python
- Assisting with the design and implementation of field experiments
- General support of the chair, including data entry etc.
- Literature searches and summaries

Your Profile (not all boxes need to be checked)
- Interest in doing research, especially in Applied Economics / Data Science in Economics
- (Advanced) master's student in economics or a related field (e.g. political science or data science with a minor or bachelor's in economics)
- Solid training in econometrics/statistics/data science and experience with R or Python
- Careful and independent working style
- Good grades and English skills (German not required)

The position offers insight into ongoing research on labor markets, development economics, and media economics and is suited to students considering a PhD.

The University of Tübingen is committed to equity and diversity and actively promotes equal opportunities. Equally qualified candidates with disabilities will be given preference in the hiring process. The University of Tübingen is committed to increasing the percentage of women in research and teaching and thus encourages women with adequate qualifications to apply.

Please send a short statement of interest, your CV, and a current transcript of records as a single PDF with the subject line “Economics/ML: Student Research Assistant" to economicsspam prevention@wiwi.uni-tuebingen.de by November 8, 2026. Any questions may be sent to felix.ruschespam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de.

Subject to final approval as part of the interdisciplinary project ‘Human-Centered Agentic Science’, the Everyday Media Lab is offering a

PhD Position (m/f/d)Part-time 75%, fixed term for three years (one year extension negotiable), 

starting January 2027 or later (the latest April 2027).

The Everyday Media Lab investigates (incidental) knowledge processes that occur when people engage with social media or communicative AI, whether in everyday life or in professional contexts. Human-Centered Agentic Science is an interdisciplinary project funded through the Innovation Fund Program of the Cluster of Excellence – Machine Learning for Science. The project is run jointly by researchers from different departments of the University of Tübingen (Prof. Dr. Carsten Eickhoff and Dr. Harrisen Scells (both Health NLP Lab); Prof. Dr. Christoph Bareither (Cultural Anthropology and Digital Anthropology)).

The successful candidate will work alongside three other PhD students (two from computer science and one from anthropology) on the question of how agentic AI can be integrated into the research process. The subproject Advancing Human-centered Agentic Science through Psychological Approaches at the IWM focuses on potential unintended effects of agentic science. These effects will be studied on three levels: researcher’s motivation, researcher’s reputation within the scientific community, and broader societal perceptions. The successful candidate will conduct surveys and experiments among scientists from various disciplines as well as members of the general public. Once prototypes have been developed within the first two subprojects, additional studies with test users will be carried out. The subprojects are tightly integrated and require interdisciplinary collaboration.

Your responsibilities will include designing, conducting, and analyzing empirical studies, presenting findings at national and international conferences, and publishing in peer-reviewed international journals. Participation in regular events organized by the Cluster of Excellence - Machine Learning for Science is expected. You will also be involved in the establishment/expansion and co-supervision of an interdisciplinary “Hub for Human-Centered Agentic Science,” in which activities in the field of agentic science within the Cluster of Excellence are consolidated and networked with other institutions. In addition, you will support the administrative management of the lab. Writing your doctoral thesis on a self-generated research question in one of the research areas of the lab is desired and explicitly supported.

Your profile:

• Above-average degree (Master's or equivalent) in psychology, cognition science or related disciplines
• Experience in the design, planning, conduction and analysis of quantitative empirical studies
• Interest in machine learning / agentic AI and working in interdisciplinary teams and contributing to a culture of shared learning
• Self-motivated and pro-active working style with an open and curious mindset
• Very good command of English; knowledge of German is an asset

We offer:

• An exciting and varied field of research with creative freedom in an interdisciplinary and internationally oriented research institute located in central Tuebingen (Germany)
• Work in an cooperative an enthousiastic team as well as a stimulating, international and interdisciplinary oriented research environment
• Remuneration based on the collective agreement for the public service in the federal states of Germany, including the social benefits customary in public service
• Employment, remuneration (pay group 13 TV-L) and social benefits, including company pension scheme and 6 weeks annual leave, are based on the collective agreement for the public service in the federal states of Germany (TV-L)
• Reconciliation of work and family life, family-friendly working hours, cost subsidy for pre-school childcare
• Mobile working option (hybrid), subsidy towards the Deutschlandticket as a job ticket, occupational health management (OHM)

Apply now

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact Prof. Dr. Sonja Utz by phone +49 7071 979-308 or email: s.utzspam prevention@iwm-tuebingen.de.

Please send your application in a single PDF file with the covering letter, curriculum vitae and certificates by quoting reference number 1013-2026 to careerspam prevention@iwm-tuebingen.de. Preference will be given to applications received by October 9th, 2026.

The IWM is committed to equality for all people and therefore expressly welcomes applications regardless of age, disability, ethnic, cultural or social background, gender, religion, belief or sexual identity. Applications from equally qualified candidates with disabilities will be given preference.

Our group builds artificial intelligence systems for discovering new concepts, experiments and ideas in physics. To accelerate this effort, we need your help! We have

several fully-funded open PhD and Post-Doc positions (m/f/d)

at the University of Tübingen, one of Europe’s most vibrant hub for artificial intelligence research. 

A list of concrete potential projects:

• Development of modern auto-differentiation (JAX-based) physics simulators for the discovery of new physics experiments (example here)
• AI-driven discovery of hardware for some of the most thought after quantum information technology, quantum-enhanced microscopes and telescopes (example here), and AI-driven discovery of new physics experiments to test quantum-gravity and observe gravitational waves (examples here and here)
• Developing and testing state-of-the-art AI-driven exploration, optimization, and search algorithms in extremely complex and enormously large spaces motivated by physics and chemistry
• Agentic frameworks (e.g. LLMs with tool-use) for closed-loop idea generation for physics (example here)

Other projects are certainly possible too. In general, we believe that building autonomous scientific systems is not just a technical question, but requires understanding and insights from the philosophy of science – see e.g. here.

If you are excited to use artificial intelligence techniques for scientific discoveries in physics, send us your application, including a CV, a short motivation letter, the names & contact of two potential references to mario.krennspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de. The opening will remain valid until 15.07.2026.

PhD positions will be for a duration of 3 years, post-doc positions will be for 2 years.

Requirements: Master/Bachelor in Physics, Computer Science or related fields (for PhD); Doctorate in Physics, Computer Science or related fields (for Post-Docs).

The positions are funded via the Cluster of Excellence (Machine Learning for Science), the ERC Starting Grant ArtDisQ and the University of Tübingen. Salary will be determined according to the German collective wage agreement in public service (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 is committed to equal opportunities and diversity. It therefore takes individual situations into account and asks for relevant information. The employment will be handled by the central administration of the University of Tübingen.

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