University Assistant Predoctoral, Philological and Cultural Studies

At the University of Vienna almost 11,000 personalities work together towards answering the big questions of the future. Around 7,700  of them do research and teaching, around 3,000 work in administration and organisation. We are looking for a/an

University assistant predoctoral

45 Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies
Startdate: 01.11.2026 | Working hours: 30 | Collective bargaining agreement: §48 VwGr. B1 Grundstufe (praedoc)
Limited until: 31.10.2030
Reference no.: 6141

Explore and teach at the University of Vienna, where more than 7,500 academics thrive on curiosity in continuous exploration and help us better understand our world. Does this sound like you? Then join our accomplished team!

The Department at the University of Vienna is the largest academic center covering all fields relating to the German language and German-language literatures. The core areas are Modern German Literature, Medieval German Language and Literature, Germanic Linguistic, German as a Foreign and Second Language, and German Teaching Methodology. In addition, the areas of Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, Media Theory, Literary Theory, and Literature for Children and Young Adults are well established. More than 5000 students are enrolled.

Your personal sphere of influence:

The Department of German Studies is engaged in teaching and research and provides training for students on various degree programmes. The academic staff are involved in numerous university committees and maintain various links with institutions both in Germany and abroad.

As a Praedoc university assistant, you will join our diverse research team specialising in variationist linguistics, corpus linguistics and computational linguistics. Our research focuses on phenomena of language variation and language change in German, both past and present, and has a strong digital orientation. What sets us apart as a team is an intensive and lively exchange in our joint research, which goes hand in hand with the strengthening and development of individual research profiles.

The contract term for permanent employment is 4 years. Initially limited to 1.5 years, the employment contract is automatically extended to 4 years unless the employer issues a notice of non-renewal within the first 12 months.

Your future tasks:

You actively participate in research, teaching & administration, which means:

• You will contribute to our wide-ranging research activities and academic studies relating to language and language variation (with a focus on German). This includes participating in the collection and analysis of linguistic data, as well as in the publication of research findings and other dissemination activities (lectures, media contributions, conferences, etc.).
• You work on your dissertation (focusing on language in the context of generative AI). We expect you to finalize your dissertation agreement within 12-18 months.
• You hold courses independently within the scope of the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement.
• You take on administrative tasks in research, teaching and administration.

This is part of your personality:

• Completed diploma, teacher training or Master’s degree in German or another philology, linguistics, computational linguistics, digital humanities or a related subject
• A (planned) PhD project focusing on language in the context of generative AI
• Key research areas (demonstrable through final-year dissertations, previous publications or project experience) in at least one of the following thematic areas (with a focus on the German language): variationist linguistics, corpus linguistics, computational linguistics, digital humanities
• Experience in the collection, processing and analysis of spoken and/or written German language data
• Knowledge of  NLP methods, as well as experience with large language models, would be desirable.
• Experience in academic writing
• Didactic competences / experience with e-learning
• Excellent command of written and spoken English
• You are a team player with strong interpersonal and communication skills

What we offer:

Work-life balance: Our employees enjoy flexible working hours and can partially work remotely.

Inspiring working atmosphere: You are a part of an international academic team in a healthy and fair working environment.

Good public transport connections: Your workplace is easily accessible by public transport.

Internal further training & Coaching: Opportunity to deepen your skills on an ongoing basis. There are over 600 courses to choose from – free of charge.

Fair salary: The basic salary of EUR 3.776,10 (on a full-time basis) increases if we can credit professional experience.

Equal opportunities for all: We welcome every additional/new personality to the team!

It is that easy to apply:

• With your scientific curriculum vitae and a detailed personal statement
• A summary of your research interests, previous academic experience (teaching assignments, work placements, projects, etc.) and an initial dissertation proposal (maximum 4 pages in total)
• Official notice of completion of a Master’s or Diplom degree, degree certificates 
• if available: list of publications, evidence of teaching experience
• Via our  job portal / Apply now - button

If you have any content questions, please contact:

Alexandra Lenz

[email protected]

We look forward to new personalities in our team!
The University of Vienna has an anti-discriminatory employment policy and attaches great importance to equal opportunities , the advancement of women and diversity . We place particular emphasis on enhancing women’s representation among the academic and general university staff, particularly in leadership roles, and therefore expressly encourage qualified women to apply. Given equal qualifications, preference will be given to female candidates.

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Application deadline: 10/06/2026

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