The Faculty of Physics has the following job opening: 
Research position (PhD student) (m/f/d)
ID: Wiss25529
- starting: as soon as possible
- part-time 65 %
- salary according to Remuneration level 13 TV-L
- fixed-term
Applications are invited for a PhD position funded by the Collaborative Research Center “Strong Interaction Matter under extreme conditions” (CRC-TR211) in the lattice QCD group at Bielefeld University. The research project aims on the understanding of the phase diagram of QCD and properties of QCD matter at non-zero temperature and density including universal critical behaviour in the chiral limit and near the QCD critical end point. For this purpose, effective large scale lattice QCD calculations with highly improved staggered quarks (HISQ) on various HPC systems shall be performed and analyzed at lighter than physical quark masses and imaginary chemical potentials. The possibility to improve numerical calculations with artificial neural networks shall be investigated.
Part time of the work should be devoted to the Software Development Center project Z02 to continue development tasks that are foreseen for the SIMULATeQCD software package and to provide support for lattice practitioners in the CRC on the application of SIMULATeQCD and other numerical tools.
Employment is conducive to scientific qualification and provides the opportunity for further academic development.
Part time of the work should be devoted to the Software Development Center project Z02 to continue development tasks that are foreseen for the SIMULATeQCD software package and to provide support for lattice practitioners in the CRC on the application of SIMULATeQCD and other numerical tools.
Your Tasks
- contribute to research on QCD at high temperatures and/or density by means of numerical simulation of the lattice regularized theory (ca. 50 %)
- develop AI supported algorithms to generate lattice gauge configurations within SIMULATeQCD (20%)
- hardware-aware optimization of simulation and analysis codes for lattice QCD using different discretization schemes in preparation for heterogeneous pre-exascale and exascale high-performance compute systems (10 %)
- coordinate the exchange of expert knowledge on numerical tools, research software engineering (RSE), and data analysis within the CRC (5%)
- provide monitoring and improvements of the data-management policy and provide the necessary technical infrastructure for collaborative work on joint software projects (5%)
- participate in the teaching activities in the Physics department (1 LVS, 8 %)
- participate in the organization of the academic life in the Physics department (2 %)
Employment is conducive to scientific qualification and provides the opportunity for further academic development.
Your Profile
We expect
- completed relevant university degree (master or equivalent) in Physics
- Programming experience (e. g. C++, Python)
- good knowledge of English (written and spoken)
- good communication skills (written and spoken)
- ability to work in a team
- self motivation
- very good presentation and moderation skills
Preferred experience and skills
- experiences with numerical lattice QCD calculation (e.g. with SIMULATeQCD) and neural networks
We offer
- salary according to Remuneration level 13 TV-L
- fixed-term (3 years) (§ 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)
- part-time 65 %
- internal and external training opportunities
- variety of health, consulting and prevention services
- reconcilability of family and work
- flexible working hours
- good transport connection
- collegial working environment
- open and pleasant working atmosphere
- exciting, varied tasks
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: 26.02.2026
Contact
PD Dr. Christian Schmidt-Sonntag
schmidt@physik.uni-bielefeld.de
Postal Address
Universität Bielefeld
Fakultät für Physik
Susi v. Reder
Postfach 10 01 31
33501 Bielefeld
PD Dr. Christian Schmidt-Sonntag
schmidt@physik.uni-bielefeld.de
Postal Address
Universität Bielefeld
Fakultät für Physik
Susi v. Reder
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.
