PhD researcher on German legal question answering (m,f,x)

Introduction

In order to fill a fixed-term position in full-time (39.83 hours/week = 100%) at the earliest possible date, we are looking for 1

PhD researcher on German legal question answering (m,f,x)

The Trustworthy Human Language Technologies (TrustHLT) group conducts bacis research in two areas of natural language processing (NLP), namely in privacy-preserving NLP and legal NLP. The TrustHLT group's research on privacy in NLP focuses on developing methods and models to protect sensitive information in text processing tasks. Our work explores privacy-preserving techniques such as differential privacy, text rewriting, and private data generation in various NLP areas. We address challenges like balancing privacy with downstream performance, scalability, or linguistic quality. In the domain of legal NLP, TrustHLT investigates approaches to enhance the understanding and analysis of legal documents. Our research includes tasks such as legal argument mining, summarizing legal texts, and answering legal questions from laypeople. Our interdisciplinary projects aim at providing valuable insights in fields like court decision analysis and civil law procedures.

The Ruhr-Universität Bochum is one of Germany’s leading research universities, addressing the whole range of academic disciplines. A highly dynamic setting enables researchers and students to work across the traditional boundaries of academic subjects and faculties. To create knowledge networks within and beyond the university is Ruhr-Universität Bochum’s declared aim.

Your tasks:

As a research assistant (m/f/x), you will independently and reliably prepare and carry out experiments, analyse the results and …

• Conduct empirical and theoretical interdisciplinary research on legal question answering in German laymen questions
• Design and execute state-of-the-art NLP experiments and user studies
• Independently analyze qualitative and quantitative data
• Collaborate with researchers from other disciplines to develop innovative approaches to legal NLP
• Publication of research results in leading international venues

Your profile:

• Master degree in computer science or related fields (AI, mathematics, statistics) with excellent grades
• Proven experiences in contemporary natural language processing, legal NLP is a plus
• Near-native proficiency in German, as the focus is on German legal data processing; C1 as a minimum for second language speakers
• High proficiency in English, both written and spoken, for scientific publications and presentations

The campus languages are German and English. Competence in at least one of the two languages and the willingness to learn the other are a prerequisite.

We offer

Scope: full-time
Duration: fixed-term, 3 Jahre
Start: at the earliest possible date

We offer:

• Options for flexible working (mobile working and teleworking)
• Collaboration in a committed and appreciative team
• Challenging and varied tasks with a high level of independence

Further information:

The position is salaried and based on the collective agreement of the Länder (TV-L).If the personal and collective agreement requirements are met, the employee will receive pay grade E13 TV-L.

Further information can be found at https://oeffentlicher-dienst.info/ (in German).

The place of work is Ruhr University Bochum.
If the position is funded by third-party funds the employee has no teaching obligation.

At the request of the applicant, the position can also be filled on a part-time basis.RUB provides corresponding free courses for employees.
German language courses are offered by the University Language Center (ZFA) in the field of German as a Foreign Language (DaF).https://www.daf.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/sbgk/index.html.en
The Staff Council has the right to participate in all selection interviews. At the request of a candidate (m/f/x), it will ensure its participation in the entire procedure.

The Ruhr-Universität Bochum stands for diversity and equal opportunities. For this reason, we favour a working environment composed of heterogeneous teams, and seek to promote the careers of individuals who are underrepresented in our respective professional areas. The Ruhr-Universität Bochum expressly requests job applications from women. In areas in which they are underrepresented they will be given preference in the case of equivalent qualifications with male candidates. Applications from individuals with disabilities are most welcome.

Contact

Apply by:
2026-04-14

Please apply via the application portal and upload the following documents: (recent CV, a cover letter describing your motivation and suitability for the position, and a transcript of your academic records) in the form of a single PDF document (max. 10 MB).If you have any questions about the vacancy, please contact Prof. Habernal: [email protected]
RUB sees itself as a university with an international presence. Please contact [email protected].

Contact persons for further information:

Laura Knittig-Christophliemk 0234/32-15508

Travel costs, accommodation costs and loss of earnings or other application costs for job interviews can unfortunately not be reimbursed.

We look forward to receiving your application via our online application portal by 2026-04-14. Please make sure to mention the reference number ANR 5496.