The CITEC (Center for Cognitive Interaction Technology) has the following job opening in the SFB TRR 318 [subproject C01]: 
Employment is conducive to academic qualification.
Research Position in the SFB TRR 318
ID: Wiss25366
- starting: 01.01.2026
- Vollzeit
- salary according to Remuneration level 13 TV-L
- befristet
The transregional collaborative research center (TRR) “Constructing Explainability” funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) at the Universities of Paderborn and Bielefeld, deals with explainable and explanatory artificial intelligence. The central hypothesis of the TRR is that explanations should be co-constructed by dialogue partners so that humans can make confident and informed decisions when interacting with intelligent systems.
To this end, both universities aim to contribute basic research in the areas of co-constructive explanation processes and their mechanisms, explanation as a socio-technical phenomenon, and computational representations of the dynamics of co-constructive explanation. They bring together different disciplinary perspectives both at the level of individual projects and the TRR as a whole. The goal of the second funding phase is to develop more flexible, personalized, proactive explanation systems (sXAI) that take social and situational context into account when adapting their explanatory behavior.
As part of subproject C01, ‘Healthy Distrust,’ the aim is to investigate and strengthen students' healthy distrust of large language models (LLMs) in the context of academic writing. The position will focus in particular on developing new machine learning methods that can automatically generate explanations for the unreliability of LLMs. These explanations should be presented in a way that is understandable to students and evaluated in realistic studies.
The position will be filled subject to project approval.
To this end, both universities aim to contribute basic research in the areas of co-constructive explanation processes and their mechanisms, explanation as a socio-technical phenomenon, and computational representations of the dynamics of co-constructive explanation. They bring together different disciplinary perspectives both at the level of individual projects and the TRR as a whole. The goal of the second funding phase is to develop more flexible, personalized, proactive explanation systems (sXAI) that take social and situational context into account when adapting their explanatory behavior.
As part of subproject C01, ‘Healthy Distrust,’ the aim is to investigate and strengthen students' healthy distrust of large language models (LLMs) in the context of academic writing. The position will focus in particular on developing new machine learning methods that can automatically generate explanations for the unreliability of LLMs. These explanations should be presented in a way that is understandable to students and evaluated in realistic studies.
The position will be filled subject to project approval.
Your Tasks
- research activities (90 %):
- designing machine learning approaches for the automatic generation of explanations
- developing a digital writing environment for evaluating explanations in studies
- supporting the implementation of user studies
- evaluating, publishing and presenting scientific results
- teaching of 1 LVS (5 %)
- collaboration in administration (5 %)
Employment is conducive to academic qualification.
We offer
- salary according to Remuneration level 13 TV-L
- befristet (limited until 30.06.2029 - end of project) (§ 2 (1) sentence 1 of the WissZeitVG; in accordance with the provisions of the WissZeitVG and the Agreement on Satisfactory Conditions of Employment, the length of contract may differ in individual cases)
- Vollzeit
- internal and external training opportunities
- variety of health, consulting and prevention services
- reconcilability of family and work
- flexible working hours
- good transport connection
- supplementary company pension
- collegial working environment
- open and pleasant working atmosphere
- exciting, varied tasks
- modern work environment with digital processes
- various offers (canteen, cafeteria, restaurants, Uni-Shop, ATM, etc.)
Your Profile
We expect
- completed scientific university degree (e. g. Master's or equivalent) in computer science, cognitive science or related fields
- strong knowledge of machine learning (theory and practice)
- practical experience in designing user interfaces
- interest and passion for interdisciplinary research at the interface of machine learning, psychology and educational research
- good knowledge of German and English (spoken and written)
- analytical skills and scientific mindset
- independent, responsible and committed approach to work
Preferred experience and skills
- practical experience in research on large language models, especially open weight LLMs
- knowledge of adversarial machine learning
- knowledge of explainable machine learning, especially counterfactual explanations
Application Procedure
We are looking forward to receiving your application. To apply, please preferably use our online form via the application button below.
application deadline: 13.10.2025
Contact
Prof. Dr. Benjamin Paaßen
+49 521 106-87838
bpaassen@techfak.uni-bielefeld.de
Postal Address
Universität Bielefeld
Technische Fakultät
Prof. Dr. Benjamin Paaßen
Postfach 10 01 31
33501 Bielefeld
Prof. Dr. Benjamin Paaßen
+49 521 106-87838
bpaassen@techfak.uni-bielefeld.de
Postal Address
Universität Bielefeld
Technische Fakultät
Prof. Dr. Benjamin Paaßen
Postfach 10 01 31
33501 Bielefeld
Bielefeld University has received a number of awards for its achievements as an equal-opportunity employer and has been
recognized as a family-friendly university. The university welcomes applications from women. This is particularly true with regard
both to academic and technical posts as well as positions in information technology as well as the skilled crafts and trades.
Applications are handled according to the provisions of the state statutes on equal opportunity. Applications from suitably qualified
handicapped and severely handicapped persons are explicitly encouraged.
At Bielefeld University on request positions can be carried out with reduced working hours as long as this does not conflict with official needs.
