Research Associate for the Project “Discourse Analysis Tool Suite” § 28 Subsection 3 HmbHG

Institution: Hub of Computing and Data Science (HCDS)

Salary level: EGR. 13 TV-L

Start date: 01.01.2027 pending approval of external funding, fixed until 31.12.2029 (This is a fixed-term contract in accordance with Section 2 of the academic fixed-term labor contract act [Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz, WissZeitVG]).

Application deadline: 2026-10-23

Scope of work: full-time position suitable for part-time

The Hub of Computing and Data Science (HCDS) is a competence unit for research and forms the core element for the central support of digitalization and digital transformation in research at the University of Hamburg.

Your responsibilities

Duties include academic services in the project named above. Research associates may also pursue further academic qualifications outside of their work responsibilities.

In the project “Discourse Analysis Toolsuite (DATS) you will build state of the art research software for interdisciplinary qualitative research. DATS combines methods from Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Computer Vision (CV) to analyze heterogeneous, unstructured and multimodal research data. You will systematically improve the software and add novel features based on emerging requirements.

planning, implementation and maintenance of the DATS
creation of user-friendly interfaces tied to expertise and needs of the users
requirements analysis with the prospective users (researchers of all fields)
development of all data-driven plugins for DATS, all the way from advanced data analytics to multimodal transformer models
evaluation and quality assurance of the applications
analysis and recommendation of state-of-the-art technologies for both models and infrastructure
DevOps tasks within the scope of application development
work at the interdisciplinary intersection within the scope of application development
consulting for scientists of all domains about possibilities and implementations of DATS extensions

Your profile

A university degree in a relevant field.

a university degree in a relevant field with a high share of data analytics and/or software development, esp. computer science, data science or information systems.
programming knowledge (preferably in Python)
experience with one or more of the following:
- Machine Learning (esp. transformer models)
- RAG and multi agent infrastructures
- Databases and Data Engineering
- Infrastructure for search
- Knowledge-based systems
- Data visualization
- Frontend development
interest in interdisciplinary research on digitalization challenges
interest and expertise in interdisciplinary research
knowledge about Elasticsearch, Jupyter Notebooks, Docker and PostgreSQL is advantageous
knowledge about DevOps, MLOps and Cloud Infrastructure is advantageous

We offer

Reliable remuneration based on wage agreements

Continuing education opportunities

University pensions

Attractive location

Flexible working hours

Work-life balance opportunities

Health management, EGYM Wellpass

Educational leave

30 days of vacation per annum

Universität Hamburg—University of Excellence is one of the strongest research educational institutions in Germany. Our work in research, teaching, educational and knowledge exchange activities is fostering the next generation of responsible global citizens ready to tackle the global challenges facing us. Our guiding principle “Innovating and Cooperating for a Sustainable Future in a digital age” drives collaboration with academic and nonacademic partner institutions in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region and around the world. We would like to invite you to be part of our community to work with us in creating sustainable and digital change for a dynamic and pluralist society.

The University of Hamburg is committed to equity. Diversity enriches our university life, whether in our studies, research, teaching, education, or workplace. We therefore welcome all applications, regardless of gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnic or social background, age, religion or belief, disability, or chronic illness.

The University of Hamburg strives to increase the number of women in academia, and encourages qualified female academics to apply.

Severely disabled and disabled applicants with the same status will receive preference over equally qualified non-disabled applicants.

Notice regarding the background check under Section 34a of the Hamburg security clearance act (Gesetz zur Regelung der Sicherheitsüberprüfungen, HmbSÜG): On behalf of the person chosen in the selection procedure, this office submits an inquiry to the state office for the protection of the constitution (Landesamt für Verfassungsschutz) regarding any available findings/information which meet the statutory requirements (background check and data protection information).