The Leibniz-Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut (HBI) in Hamburg is seeking to fill the following position starting May 1, 2025: Research associate (PhD student) (f/m/d) in the field of Computer Science / Computational Social Science. Limited until 31.12.2028 | full-time | pay group 13 TV-L | Location Hamburg.
The internationally renowned Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut in Hamburg (HBI) conducts high-level research on media transformation and the associated structural changes in public communication. Combining fundamental and applied research, HBI operates in an interdisciplinary and independent manner, generating knowledge relevant to politics, business, and civil society. The institute stands out for its unique combination of social science, communication science, and legal regulatory research, with an increasing emphasis on computer science.
This position is part of the DFG and FWF-funded research group 5656, “Communicative AI: The Automation of Societal Communication,” within project P6: Political discourse: ComAI and deliberative quality (principal investigators: Prof. Dr. Cornelius Puschmann, Dr. Gregor Wiedemann).
The Research Unit explores how communicative AI transforms societal communication. During the first funding period (2025-2028), the focus will be on the emergence and construction of communicative AI, including its governance by corporations and legal frameworks, its appropriation in journalism, online public discourse, and education. The group employs cutting-edge social science and HCI methods, including digital and computational approaches.
For more details visit: https://www.comai.space.
Job description
Project P6 is jointly based at the ZeMKI, University of Bremen, and the Leibniz Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut, Hamburg. The project examines communicative AI in political discourse through online discourse monitoring and intervention. Using an experimental approach, we will investigate the impact of social bots on the quality of public deliberation on social media with the help of large language models (LLMs). Combining discourse theory with the latest AI advancements, we aim to both monitor and actively intervene in public policy discussions
Your Responsibilities
As a research associate (f/m/d), you will develop and evaluate LLM-based systems for assessing discourse quality and AI-driven interventions in social media communication. Specific tasks include:
- Automated content analysis using LLMs for thematic classification and operationalizing discourse quality.
- Developing prompt strategies and training/evaluation of data sets for LLMs.
- Collaborating with communication science researchers to define content-analysis categories and discourse intervention strategies.
- Building LLM-based chatbots with API interfaces for various social media platforms.
- Monitoring and evaluating debates on social media platforms.
- Publishing research findings in scientific publications and presenting at conferences.
The position offers the opportunity to pursue a PhD, which should be completed within the project timeframe (by 2028).
Your Profile
- Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science, with a focus on Natural Language Processing (NLP). Candidates from other disciplines must demonstrate proven expertise in NLP.
- Strong programming skills in Python.
- Experience with open source LLMs.
- Familiarity with NLP/LLM frameworks, such as Huggingface, Transformers, LangChain, Ollama, or Unsloth.
- Knowledge of automatic content analysis methods.
- German language proficiency (B2 level or higher).
- Excellent English skills (written and spoken).
- Commitment to pursuing a PhD in Computer Science or Computational Communication Science.
- Strong communication skills and willingness to collaborate in an interdisciplinary team.
Desirable Skills
- Experience with argument mining.
- Familiarity with databases.
- Experience working with command line interfaces (CLI) and cloud computing platforms (AWS, Google Cloud).
- Knowledge of the development of communicative AI.
- Prior experience in interdisciplinary projects.
What We Offer
- A dynamic research environment at a leading interdisciplinary research institute.
- Opportunities to work with state-of-the-art AI technologies in applied research.
- Flexible working hours and a family-friendly work culture (certified by audit berufundfamilie)
- A collaborative and informal work environment, distinct from traditional academic structures.
- Hybrid work options (remote work possible in coordination with the team).
- Employment benefits in accordance with the TV-L collective agreement.
- Employer-subsidized Deutschlandticket for public transport.
Contact
Gregor Wiedemann (g.wiedemann@leibniz-hbi.de) will be happy to answer any job-related questions you may have. If you have any procedural questions, please contact our HR department (personal@leibniz-hbi.de).
Your application
If this position interests you, please submit your application by March 23, 2025, including the reference “INF25-07” to: bewerbung@leibniz-hbi.de
Please attach your application documents as separate PDF files.
We value diversity and encourage applications regardless of background, gender identity, nationality, age, religion, or disability. We are committed to equal professional opportunities and will give special consideration to applicants with disabilities if equally qualified (as per SGB IX).
Please note: Your application documents will be processed and stored as part of the recruitment process.
We look forward to hearing from you!