2026 Postdoc Researcher positions for Societal Computing SOUNDS at Saarland University

This position is a joint appointment between SOUNDS and the Societal Computing Group, reflecting the close scientific and strategic collaboration between both initiatives. The successful candidate will contribute to and shape research across both environments, benefiting from their complementary strengths in data-intensive, interdisciplinary research and international engagement. The joint nature of the position offers a unique opportunity to work at the interface of computer science and the social sciences, contribute to long-term institution-building efforts, and translate scientific insights into real-world societal and policy impact.

Job requirements and responsibilities:

* Conducting internationally visible research in the field of computational social science, natural language processing, computer vision or geoinformatics that has the potential to have a real-world impact.
* Building partnerships with regional, national and international stakeholders to strengthen societal progress through data science.
* Supervising Bachelor/Master/PhD theses
* Support of teaching activities in the group which might include: 

• Compilation and communication of the curriculum contents
• Coordination of communication with students, principal investigators (PIs), administrative staff, and committees
• Development of concepts for individual courses within the curriculum
• Evaluation and documentation of courses

* Support in data integration and pre-processing for the SOUNDS database, including preparation of datasets for research use
* Sue and develop state-of-the-art methods for analyzing diverse datasets
* Communication with data archives, survey institutes and cooperation partners
* Support in the organization of conferences, workshops and project meetings
* Contribution to joint project proposals and grant applications
* Reporting on research activities and project progress
* Communication with cooperation partners and administrative units
* Writing of academic scientific texts in English

Table of Content

• Summary
• Benefits
• Requirements
• Application Documents
• Application Deadline
• How To Apply

Summary

• Application DeadlineFebruary 27, 2026
• Study LevelPostdoctoral Fellowships
• SponsorSaarland University
• City to studySaarland
• School to studySaarland University
• Eligible CountryAll Countries

Benefits

• A flexible work schedule allowing you to balance work and family, among other things the possibility of teleworking
• Secure and future-oriented employment with attractive conditions
• A broad range of further education and professional development programmes (for example courses on project management skills, language and many more )
• Supplementary pension scheme (RZVK)
• Discounted “Deutschlandticket” (‘D-Ticket‘ as jobticket via saarVV)
• An occupational health management model with numerous attractive options, such as our university sports programme

Requirements

Your academic qualifications:

• Doctoral Degree / PhD in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Digital Humanities or related fields (completed or completed at time of the commencement of work)

The successful candidate will also be expected to have:

• Strong experience in applied machine learning
• Hands-on experience working with large datasets related to earth observation or (social) networks
• Independent research experience (for example evidenced by internationally visible publications)
• Established international networks in research, international development or public sector consulting
• Very good command of written and spoken English

Application Documents

• A letter of motivation
• A Curriculum Vitae
• A list of publications

* In a PDF file

Application Deadline

How To Apply

• Submit your application (incl. a letter of motivation, a Curriculum Vitae, a list of publications, in a PDF file) by 27.02.2026 to [email protected]. Please include the reference number W2801 in the subject line of the e-mail.

For more information, kindly visit the Saarland University website.