Research Software Engineer for Digital Cultural Heritage, Semantic Data Transformation and Agentic Workflows (m/f/d)

Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB); Germany; On-site; EUR 30,000 - 45,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

TV-L pay grade 13

End-of-year bonus

30 days vacation

Central Hannover location

Further education opportunities

VBL pension scheme

Job summary

Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB) in Hannover seeks a Research Software Engineer for Digital Cultural Heritage to advance Open Science Lab projects. The role focuses on semantic data transformation, agentic workflows and open-source research software development within national and international funded projects.

You contribute to data management, interoperability, provenance tracking and AI-enabled curation, collaborating with researchers and partners in a multidisciplinary team.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Information Processing, Computer Science, Information Science, Digital Humanities or a related field.
• Practical experience in software development and implementing web-based applications or research software.
• Experience translating complex scientific/technical/user requirements into software concepts and features.
• Knowledge of data modelling, metadata, semantic data representation or transforming heterogeneous datasets.
• Familiarity with Digital Humanities, Digital Cultural Heritage, research data management or cultural heritage requirements.
• Ability to work independently on complex tasks and collaborate in international teams.
• Very good written and spoken English and willingness to work in an international research environment.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement and evaluate software components and workflows for transformation, enrichment, harmonisation and integration of cultural heritage data.
• Research AI-assisted and agentic workflows for metadata curation and semantic data transformation.
• Develop features supporting semantic data representation, interoperability and provenance tracking.
• Translate requirements into software concepts and specifications in collaboration with researchers and developers.
• Design and evaluate user interfaces for complex data processing and curation workflows, including usability testing.
• Contribute to architecture, testing, documentation and maintenance of open-source research software.
• Collaborate with international project partners and participate in technical discussions and dissemination.

Skills

Software development

Web-based applications

Ambitious English skills

Education

Master's degree in Information Processing/CS/Information Science/Digital Humanities

Tools

Wikibase

Kompakt

Job description

Organisation/Company Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB) Research Field Computer science » Other Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Positions Master Positions Application Deadline 29 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Berlin) Country Germany Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Part-time Hours Per Week 19,90 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Other EU programme Reference Number 50/2026 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

As the German National Library of Science and Technology, our future-oriented services ensure the infrastructural requirements for a high-quality supply of information and literature for research in science and industry. With the Open Research Knowledge Graph ( ORKG ), we are working to revolutionise the exchange and use of scientific knowledge in the digital age.

Research Software Engineer for Digital Cultural Heritage, Semantic Data Transformation and Agentic Workflows (m/f/d)

to work in the Open Science Lab( OSL ) at the earliest possible opportunity.

The position is fixed-term until the end of the project duration of the project “ NFDI4Culture – Consortium for Research Data on Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage”, which is funded by the German Research Foundation ( DFG ) and the European Union-funded project “European Cultural Heritage Optimized Linked Open Tools ( ECHOLOT )” until 31st December 2028. The regular weekly working hours are 19.90 (part-time, 50 %). The remuneration is based on pay scale group 13 TV-L .

The OSL ofthe TIB is concerned with the development towards digital, open and collaborative science and supports scientific and cultural institutions by developing and testing new methods and software tools together with their communities. We are looking for a communicative and entrepreneurial person with a strong technical background to support the activities of the OSL in national and internationally-funded projects primarily focusing on research data management and open science for the cultural heritage sector.

You will contribute to the development of open-source software and research infrastructure supporting the semantic enrichment, interoperability and reuse of digital cultural heritage data. In the context of third-party funded projects, OSL works with many partners whose data needs span complex 3D models, A/V files, entire digitised cultural heritage corpora, and more. These partners will use services like Wikibase and Kompakkt as repository infrastructure, and require various customisations and increasingly the inclusion of natural language and agentic AI-based interactions in the way the data is presented and made accessible to external users. You will be part of a multidisciplinary team and will have an opportunity to be an active voice in strategic discussions around the roadmap and development of services at OSL and TIB at large.

Your tasks include

• Independently designing, implementing and evaluating software components and workflows for the transformation, enrichment, harmonisation and integration of heterogeneous cultural heritage data.
• Researching, designing and implementing AI-assisted and agentic workflows for metadata curation and semantic data transformation, combining automated processing with human review and validation.
• Developing and integrating software features that support semantic data representation, interoperability, provenance tracking and the sustainable reuse of research data.
• Analysing scientific and technical requirements, translating them into software concepts and specifications, and developing solutions in collaboration with researchers, developers and cultural heritage professionals.
• Designing and evaluating user-oriented interfaces and interaction concepts for complex data processing and curation workflows, including user research, prototyping and usability testing where appropriate.
• Contributing to the architecture, implementation, testing, documentation and maintenance of sustainable, collaboratively developed open-source research software.
• Collaborating with international project partners and contributing to technical discussions, workshops, project meetings and the dissemination of software development practices and results.

Specific Requirements

• You have a completed university degree at Master's level in Information Processing, Computer Science, Information Science, Digital Humanities or a related field.
• You have practical experience in software development and the implementation of web-based applications or research software.
• You have experience translating complex scientific, technical or user requirements into software concepts, functional specifications and implementable features.
• You have an understanding of data modelling, structured metadata, semantic data representation or the transformation and integration of heterogeneous datasets.
• Knowledge of Digital Humanities, Digital Cultural Heritage, research data management or the requirements of cultural heritage institutions.
• You are able to work independently on complex tasks, take responsibility for technical and conceptual decisions within your area of responsibility, and collaborate effectively in interdisciplinary and international teams.
• You have very good written and spoken English skills and are willing to work in an international research environment.

Desirable additions to your profile

• Experience in Research Software Engineering and the development of sustainable, openly licensed software in research or infrastructure projects.
• Experience with semantic technologies, Linked Open Data, knowledge graphs, ontologies, entity linking or metadata mapping and reconciliation.
• Experience designing or implementing AI-assisted or agentic workflows, particularly for data enrichment, information extraction and metadata generation.
• Experience with open-source software projects, including feature conception, requirements engineering, user-centred design, prototyping or usability evaluation.
• Familiarity with Wikidata, Wikibase, MediaWiki, Europeana data models or related cultural heritage data infrastructures.
• Experience documenting software architectures, workflows, data transformations and technical decisions for developers and research communities.

Our mission is to keep rethinking and innovating the provision and use of research data and information. In TIB’s Research and Development Department , you have the opportunity to advance your career in a sizable, dynamic and excellent environment. We provide a scientifically and intellectually inspiring environment with an entrepreneurial mindset embedded in a leading technical university and one of the largest technical information centers being part of the Leibniz Association . TIB collaborates closely with the L3S Research Center at Leibniz University Hannover, one of the world’s leading research institutes in the field of Web & Data Science, within the Leibniz Joint Lab Data Science & Open Knowledge.

Last but not least, we attach great importance to an open, creative and fun work atmosphere.

Furthermore, we offer

• a job in the public service oriented toward the common good under the collective agreement for the public service of the German states (TV-L), with a salary in pay scale group 13 TV-L , provided that the requirements are met.
• a special annual payment at the end of the year and 30 days of vacation per year with a five-day working week as well as additional days off on Christmas Eve (December 24th) and New Year's Eve (December 31st).
• a modern workplace in a central location of Hannover with a collegial, attractive and versatile working environment.
• an employer with a wide range of internal and external further education and training measures, workplace health promotion and a supplementary pension scheme for the public sector ( VBL ).
• independent and future-oriented activities that offer variety and room for personal development.
• funding for necessary equipment, conference and research visit travel.
• to work in the context of a national, European or international research and innovation project.

In the case of foreign university degrees, it is mandatory to submit a Statement of Comparability from the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) for the final assessment of the hiring requirements during the hiring process ( link for more information ). A fee will be charged for this. This obligation does not apply if the foreign university degree has already been assessed by an expert and is listed in the ANABIN database of the ZAB as an equivalent university degree ( link to ANABIN database ).

Who we are
TIB, being part of the Leibniz Research Association, is with around 600 employees one of thelargest technical information centres in Germany,having three main functions:

• Acting in the capacity of theLeibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology, our forward-looking services secure the infrastructural requirements for providing researchers in science and industry with high-quality information and literature.
• Carrying out cutting edge research to further expand TIB’s role as a German information centre for the digitisation of science and technology.
• Offer library services for the Leibniz University Hannover.

TIB is an equal opportunity employer, providing ideal working conditions, and continuously taking action to enable its employees to combine career interests with family life. It wants to promote equal career opportunities for women and men in particular and therefore urges qualified women to apply.

Severely disabled candidates and those with equivalent status will be given preferential consideration in the event of equal suitability. If you wish your rights as a person with a severe disability or as a person deemed equivalent to a person with a severe disability to be taken into account during the selection process, please inform us of this voluntarily at an appropriate place in your application (e.g. in the cover letter or CV, or at another clearly highlighted point) and enclose appropriate proof (e.g. a copy of the disability certificate).

Equal opportunity is one of our core organizational values. We therefore welcome applications regardless of nationality, ethnic and social origin, gender identity, gender expression and/or gender characteristics, religion and worldview, age, sexual orientation, and identity.