Data Scientist

The Cluster of Excellence HUMAN ORIGINS invites applications for a

Data Scientist (m/f/d, E13 TV-L, 100%)

to join the Cluster’s Research Data Management Unit. The position is expected to start on January 1st, 2027, and is limited until the end of the current Cluster funding period (December 31st, 2032).

In the HUMAN ORIGINS Cluster of Excellence more than two dozen PIs and their teams engage in interdisciplinary research into the last five million years of human history, combining scientific, archaeological and humanities approaches. The Cluster’s Research Data Management Unit is responsible for research data and research software management, as well as research infrastructure and instrumentation. The unit is jointly led by the Quantitative Biology Center (QBiC) and the Digital Humanties Center (DHC), two of the University’s Core Facilities for research data management. The position is expected to complement the unit’s data stewards with a strong data science expertise and experience and will be jointly supervised by QBiC and DHC.

Duties and responsibilities will include:

• Building, testing, and deploying custom research software, web applications, and interactive dashboards/portals to facilitate cluster-wide data exploration, integration, and visualization.
• Developing and applying state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, machine learning, or NLP solutions to extract patterns, classify artifacts/data, and support hypotheses in and across human origins research projects.
• Designing, implementing, and maintaining scalable analytical pipelines and workflows for heterogeneous, multimodal datasets (e.g., 3D scans, ancient genomics, archaeological spatial data, and text corpora).
• Developing interfaces between the research infrastructure of QBiC and DHC to ensure interoperability of computational environments and tools.
• Partnering closely with the Cluster’s PIs and research teams to translate complex research questions into robust computational methods and contribute to scientific publications.
• Establishing and applying best practices for Research Software Engineering, including version control, containerization, automated testing, and open-science compliance in close coordination with the unit’s data stewards.

Expected applicant profile:

• Completed university degree (Master’s or equivalent), preferably with a doctorate, in computer science, data science, or a related field. A background or experience in the humanities is a plus.
• Experience in applying data science methods and tools in research projects, preferably in one or more of the disciplines relevant to the Cluster.
• Strong software development and web engineering skills.
• Experience in developing and applying artificial intelligence solutions in data science and software engineering.
• Openness to interdisciplinary data science and management covering a broad range of research domains, data modalities, methodologies, software and tools.
• Strong organizational and communication skills, with the ability to work autonomously in an international and interdisciplinary environment.
• Very good English language skills, written and spoken.

The Cluster and the University of Tübingen offer excellent opportunities for cutting-edge collaborative, interdisciplinary research, state-of-the-art laboratories, and access to a wide range of facilities.

The position can be split. The University aims to increase the proportion of women in research and teaching and therefore particularly encourages qualified women scientists to apply. The University of Tübingen is committed to equal opportunities and diversity and actively promotes gender equality. Female candidates are expressly invited to submit their application. Disabled candidates will be given preference over other equally qualified applicants.

Applications should be submitted electronically no later than November 15, 2026. They should include: (1) cover letter; (2) curriculum vitae; (3) certificates / diplomas / references.

Please submit your application as a single PDF file (max. 10 MB) to admin.human-origins@ifu.uni-tuebingen.de

For any further questions regarding this job posting please contact human-origins@dh-center.uni-tuebingen.de

The appointment will be made by the Central Administration (Zentrale Verwaltung).