PhD/Junior Researcher or PostDoc/Senior Researcher (f/m/x) in Knowledge Graphs and Generative AI at FIZ Karlsruhe

FIZ Karlsruhe - the Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructure in Karlsruhe, Germany is recruiting for the position of a PhD/Junior Researcher or PostDoc/Senior Researcher (f/m/x) starting at the nearest possible date. This position is part of the Platform Material Digital project (https://www.materialdigital.de/) on the sustainable digitalization of materials. Particular tasks within the project will be focused on ontological engineering, knowledge graphs and the application of generative AI for the domain of materials science engineering.

Job Description:
Conducting innovative research on FIZ ISE research topics like ontological engineering, knowledge graphs, natural language processing, deep learning and large language models, with participation in scientific publications and other academic activities.
The co-supervision of master and bachelor theses (for PostDocs also co-supervision of PhD students).

Qualifications and Skills:
- A very good master's degree (for PostDocs: PhD degree) in computer science or a comparable discipline.
- Excellent software engineering skills and the ability to develop mature software components beyond pure research prototypes.
- Excellent written and spoken English, German language skills are an advantage but are not mandatory.
- Motivation and excitement in dealing with challenging research problems and in developing convincing solutions as a team.

For PostDocs/Senior Researchers:
- Publications of research results in renowned, peer-reviewed journals and conferences.
- Experience in applying for funding from national, European and international funding agencies is highly beneficial, but not mandatory.
- Knowledge of the project’s application domain, as e.g. materials science, physics, or chemistry is highly beneficial, but not mandatory.

Optimally, you have expertise in one or more of the following research areas:
- Knowledge Graphs and Semantic Web Technologies
- Machine Learning and Deep Learning
- Natural Language Processing
- Ontology Design and Ontological Engineering

The candidate should be highly self-motivated, interested in tackling challenging research problems, have excellent organizational skills, be open minded, and have scientific leadership potential.

We offer:
- Flexible working time models and mobile working/home office – you are required to spend only 20 % of your monthly working time in the office (although we have very good coffee at FIZ Karlsruhe and are happy about exchange within the team, so attendance is always welcome).
- With us, you will get the chance to work in a diverse team [2] with colleagues that are more than happy to welcome new team members of all backgrounds, genders and ages.
- Because our team is not only based at FIZ Karlsruhe [1], but also at KIT [4], we offer you the opportunity to gain experience in teaching and to engage in discourse with students at KIT, either in person or through our online formats [5].
- In addition, we offer a productive and a constantly developing research and working environment and actively support you in your further scientific endeavors.
- The salary is based on the collective labour agreement for the public service in Germany (TVöD VKA) and in addition, you will receive the company pension plan with the VBL.
- Furthermore, we are certified by the audit berufundfamilie [6], which guarantees the compatibility of family and career.
- If you wish to combine work, sport, and sustainability, our institute also offers company bike leasing [7] options.

Excellent candidates are invited to apply with:
1) detailed curriculum vitae
2) copies of degree certificates & transcripts
3) publication record or writing samples from your thesis
4) letters of recommendation (preferably at least two)
5) a letter of motivation covering your research goals

More information about us:
Information Service Engineering (ISE) [3] at FIZ Karlsruhe, led by Prof. Dr. Harald Sack [8] who is also heading the KIT research group of the same name [9], investigates models and methods for efficient semantic indexing, aggregation, linking and retrieval of comprehensive heterogeneous and distributed data sources. To this end, both statistical and linguistic analysis methods (NLP) as well as machine learning in combination with symbolic logic are applied. ISE research relies and extends on knowledge representation standards developed for the Semantic Web. ISE research application areas include, but are not limited to, solutions for knowledge extraction, semantic annotation, semantic and exploratory search, as well as recommender systems and question answering. Besides basic methodological research, domains of applied ISE research are, amongst others, cultural heritage, digital humanities, materials science, and research data management.

FIZ Karlsruhe – Leibniz Institute for Information Infrastructure is one of the leading providers of scientific information and services and a member of the Leibniz Association. Our core tasks are the professional provision of research and patent information to science and industry as well as the development of innovative information infrastructures, e.g., with a focus on research data management, knowledge graphs and digital platforms. To this end, we conduct our own research, cooperate with renowned universities and research societies, and are internationally and interdisciplinarily networked. FIZ Karlsruhe is a limited liability company with a non-profit character and one of the largest non-university institutions of its kind.

We welcome applications from driven individuals seeking a successful scientific career in the context of knowledge graphs

Links:
[1] https://www.fiz-karlsruhe.de/
[2] https://cdn.masto.host/sigmoidsocial/media_attachments/files/109/399/653/400/469/484/original/03f89905f617c82e.jpg
[3] https://www.fiz-karlsruhe.de/en/forschung/information-service-engineering
[4] https://www.kit.edu/english/index.php
[5] https://www.youtube.com/c/ISEFIZKarlsruhe
[6] https://berufundfamilie.de/english-info
[7] https://vm.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de/politik-zukunft/nachhaltige-mobilitaet/mobilitaetsmanagement/jobbike-bw
[8] https://sigmoid.social/@lysander07
[9] https://aifb.kit.edu/web/Information_Service_Engineering/en




Prof. Dr. Harald Sack

Information Service Engineering

Institut für Angewandte Informatik und Formale Beschreibungsverfahren (AIFB)

Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie

harald.sack@kit.edu