University assistant predoctoral and project researcher (all genders welcome)

The University of Klagenfurt, with approximately 1,500 employees and over 12,000 students, is located in the Alps-Adriatic region and consistently achieves excellent placements in rankings. The motto “per aspera ad astra” underscores our firm commitment to the pursuit of excellence in all activities in research, teaching, and university management. The principles of equality, diversity, health, sustainability, and compatibility of work and family life serve as the foundation for our work at the university.

The University of Klagenfurt is pleased to announce the following open position at the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity at the Faculty of Technical Sciences, starting as soon as possible:

University assistant predoctoral and project researcher (all genders welcome)

Level of employment: 100 % (40 hours/week)

Minimum salary:  € 52,007.20 per annum (gross); classification according to collective agreement: B1

Limited to: 4 years

Application deadline: March 5, 2025

Reference code: 702/24

Your personal sphere of influence

 As a university assistant and project researcher, you will be embedded in the Cluster of Excellence (CoE) “Bilateral AI” which aims at lifting artificial intelligence (AI) to the next level. Clusters of excellence are the Austrian flagships of basic research financed by the Austrian Science Fund.

The vision of Bilateral AI is to educate a new generation of top-quality AI scientists with a holistic view on symbolic and sub-symbolic AI methods. The training will be distributed over the six participating universities. Joint seminars, scientific workshops, and compulsory courses outside the PhD students’ research fields, will also be designed to encourage interdisciplinarity. Apart from that, students will be involved in grant applications, conference organisation, Bachelor and Master student supervisions, and teaching. Each student will be supervised by two experienced and internationally renowned professors with different research fields (symbolic / sub-symbolic AI). The training will also provide a career development programme, advice and support for students with innovative business ideas, and workshops for presentation and soft skills.

You will join the research team around Prof. Gerhard Friedrich and Prof. Stefan Woltran working on the project “Boosting performance of symbolic reasoning engines.” This project has ground-breaking applications in automated engineering and production planning that are highly relevant for world-leading companies in the electronic-based industry. We aim to learn strategies for problem-solving and their incorporation into current symbolic problem-solving methods (e.g., logic programming/answer set programming or constraint programming) to move from narrow to broad AI where computers solve problems without human assistance.

If you are open to new challenges and value teamwork in a successful research environment, you are welcome to join our team

• Autonomous scientific work, including the publication of research articles in the field of artificial intelligence, with a specific emphasis on integrating symbolic AI, in particular logic, logic programming, constraint programming and optimization with machine learning based on artificial neural networks.
  • Conduct theoretical and practical (empirical) research
  • Aim to submit a dissertation and acquire a doctoral degree

• Collaboration with industry partners
• Contribution to organisational and administrative tasks
• Participation in public relations activities

The successful candidate is expected to pursue a Doctorate/Ph.D. within the thematic doctoral programme Informatics at the University of Klagenfurt and to join the doctoral school of the Cluster of Excellence (CoE) “Bilateral AI”. This position serves the purposes of the vocational and scientific education of graduates of Master’s or Diploma degree programmes with the goal of completing a doctoral degree in Technical Sciences. Therefore, applications by individuals who have already completed a subject-specific doctoral degree cannot be considered.

• Master’s degree at a domestic or foreign higher education institution in computer science or a related field.
• Solid background in one or more of the following fields: symbolic artificial intelligence, such as logic programming, constraint programming, deep learning, or reinforcement learning
• Solid communication and dissemination skills
• Fluency in English (both written and spoken)

• Ability to work in a diverse team
• Programming skills, preferably Python
• Experience with answer set or constraint programming tools, e.g., clingo or OR-Tools
• Knowledge of deep learning frameworks, like PyTorch or TensorFlow
• Scientific publication and dissemination experience (in addition to the Master’s thesis)
• Experience with university teaching (for example as tutor, teaching assistant)

German language skills are not required, but successful applicants will be expected to acquire them during their employment.

Our offer:

The employment contract is concluded for the position as university assistant (predoctoral) and stipulates a starting salary of € 3,714.80 gross per month (14 times a year).

The University of Klagenfurt also offers:

• Personal and professional advanced training courses, management and career coaching, including bespoke training for women in science
• Numerous attractive additional benefits, see also https://jobs.aau.at/en/the-university-as-employer/
• Diversity- and family-friendly university culture
• The opportunity to live and work in the attractive Alps-Adriatic region with a wide range of leisure activities in the spheres of culture, nature, and sports

The application:

If you are interested in this position, please apply in English providing the following documents:

• A letter of motivation (detailing previous research achievements, research goals, career plans)
• A complete CV (please do not include a photo), including a list of previous scientific expertise, awards, grants, stays abroad, lectures attended, summer schools attended, workshops attended, skills, and publications (if applicable)
• The Master’s thesis, including an abstract in English and a selection of research papers (if available)
• A complete list of completed studies and transcripts of all grades
• Copies of degree certificates (Bachelor and Master)
• Copies of official transcripts (Bachelor and Master) containing lists of all courses and grades
• Contact details of three reference persons (at least one academic) willing to provide information
• Optionally a proof of proficiency in English (for example, TOEFL/IELTS/CAE)

To apply, please select the position with the reference code 702/24 in the category “Scientific Staff” using the link “Apply for this position”.

In addition to the application documents, two reference letters should be sent with the subject "Candidate name_of_the_candidate" to bilateral-ai-recruiting@aau.at within two weeks from submission of the application.

Candidates must provide proof that they meet the required qualifications by March 5, 2025, at the latest.

For further information on this specific vacancy, please contact Univ.-Prof. Dr. Gerhard Friedrich (gerhard.friedrich@aau.at). General information about the university as an employer can be found at https://jobs.aau.at/en/the-university-as-employer/. At the University of Klagenfurt, recruitment and staff matters are accompanied not only by the authority responsible for the recruitment procedure but also by the Equal Opportunities Working Group and, if applicable, by the Representative for Disabled Persons.

The University of Klagenfurt aims to increase the proportion of women and therefore specifically invites qualified women to apply for the position. Where the qualification is equivalent, women will be given preferential consideration.

People with disabilities or chronic diseases, who fulfill the requirements, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Travel and accommodation costs incurred during the application process will not be refunded.

Translations into other languages shall serve informational purposes only. Solely the version advertised in the University Bulletin (Mitteilungsblatt) shall be legally binding.