Dear Colleagues,

My research group at the TIB -- Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology in Hannover, Germany, has an opening for a Research Associate/Doctoral Researcher (PhD position) focused on Natural Language Processing, Agentic AI, and Causal Scientific Reasoning.

The position is part of a newly funded https://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/en/research/collaborative-research/leib niz-collaborative-excellence Leibniz Collaborative Excellence project: EcoAIRE - AI-assisted hypothesis assessment in invasion biology and the restoration of freshwater ecosystems under fragmented and heterogeneous ecological evidence.

Position Description

The successful candidate will conduct research on developing AI methods that transform heterogeneous scientific evidence into structured, machine-actionable representations of hypotheses, variables, contextual conditions, uncertainty, and causal relationships.

The research will extend beyond conventional information extraction toward AI-supported scientific reasoning and hypothesis assessment, including causal and world-model-inspired approaches, simulation, and intervention-based reasoning.

While the doctoral research will be situated within the broader field of Computer Science, the project is inherently interdisciplinary. We particularly welcome candidates who are enthusiastic about working at the intersection of AI and ecology, with a strong willingness to collaborate closely with researchers from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, including ecologists, and to engage with scientific questions beyond their primary field of expertise.

The initial appointment is for three years, subject to final funding approval. The position is full-time (39.8 hours/week), with remuneration according to TV-L E13 (German public-sector salary scale). Flexible working arrangements and limited mobile work are possible.

Application Instructions

The application deadline is November 14, 2026.

For full details, qualifications, and how to apply, please see: https://www.tib.eu/en/tib/careers-and-apprenticeships/vacancies/details/ste llenausschreibung-nr-44-2026 https://www.tib.eu/en/tib/careers-and-apprenticeships/vacancies/details/stel lenausschreibung-nr-44-2026

I would appreciate it if you could share this opportunity with potentially interested candidates.

Best regards,

Jennifer D'Souza, Ph.D. https://www.dsouza.ai/