Research Assistant - Explainable Semantic Search

Paderborn University is a high-performance and internationally oriented university. Within interdisciplinary teams, we undertake forward-looking research, design innovative teaching concepts and actively transfer knowledge into society. As an important research and cooperation partner, the university also shapes regional development strategies. We offer our employees in research, teaching, technology and administration a lively, family-friendly and equal opportunity environment, a lean management structure and diverse opportunities. Join us to invent the future!

At the Software Innovation Lab (SI-Lab) of Paderborn University, starting on June 1st, 2025, a position as a

Research Assistant (f/m/d)

(Salary level 13 TV-L)

is to be filled with 100 % of the regular working hours. This is a fixed-term position initially until May 31st, 2028 due to third-party funding within the meaning of the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (WissZeitVG). The fixed-term period corresponds to the expected project period. The possibility for further doctoral/academic qualification is given.

Field of activity:

The project “KIntellectDetect” addresses the growing threat of product piracy and patent infringement. The goal is to develop a system that automatically identifies infringements of intellectual property rights using AI-based methods and language models. The project tasks include:

• Development of methods for detecting infringements of intellectual property rights
• Research in the field of explainable algorithms for semantic search
• Development of innovative methods for information extraction
• Analysis of requirements and scientific literature research
• Evaluation of the developed methods
• Preparation of scientific publications

Recruitment requirements:

• Scientific university degree (Master) in computer science or a related field
• Sound knowledge in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning
• Ideally experience with knowledge graphs, semantic search, graph neural networks (GNNs), explainability or information extraction
• Very good programming skills in Python
• Enjoy scientific work and publication activities
• Very good written and spoken English; knowledge of German is an advantage

We offer:

• Flexible working hours and the individual option of mobile working
• Wide range of health, counseling and prevention services
• Attractive fringe benefits such as childcare facilities and sports activities
• Opportunities for internal and external training and development
• Additional benefits in accordance with the collective agreement of the federal states (TV-L), such as annual bonuses and capital-forming benefits as well as the VBL supplementary pension scheme
• Work on highly relevant research topics and technologies

Applications from women are particularly welcome and, in case of equal qualifications and experiences, will receive preferential treatment according to state law (LGG), unless there are preponderant reasons to give preference to another applicant. Part-time employment is generally possible. Applications from disabled people with appropriate suitability are explicitly welcome. This also applies to people with equal opportunities in accordance with the German social law SGB IX.

Please send your application with all documents (cover letter, CV, certificates in a single PDF file) using the Ref. No. 6894 until April 30th, 2025 to heindorf@uni-paderborn.de.