29.05.2025 Job advertisement for the position of a PostDoc

The Department of Psychology, research group on “Psychological Methods”, PI: Prof. Dr. Daniel Heck, is currently accepting applications for a Postdoc. The position is offered for a period of 4 years and is expected to start on October 1st, 2025. The position is full-time, with salary and benefits commensurate with a public service position in the state Hesse, Germany (TV-H E 13).

Link to the job advertisement

The project “Bridging the Gap Between Verbal Psychological Theories and Formal Statistical Modeling with Large Language Models,” funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, explores the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) as a tool in psychological research. The primary focus is on employing LLMs to bridge verbally formulated theories and constructs with statistical modeling and the quantitative analysis of empirical experiments. Using LLMs, stimuli such as words, sentences, and vignettes can be systematically generated to achieve a well-defined and higher variability of stimuli for empirical research. Additionally, LLMs are well-suited for coding stimulus materials and open-ended responses. As part of this project, robust workflows will be developed and evaluated to ensure that the application of LLMs in psychological research is valid, transparent, and reproducible.

Tasks include research in the field of psychological methods and statistical modeling, the development, application, and evaluation of LLMs in psychology including the collaboration with other research groups, scientific contribution to publications and grant applications for third-party funded projects, the presentation of research findings at (inter)national conferences, teaching psychological methods for bachelor's and master's psychology programs, amounting to 4 semester hours per week (only during the first year of employment; no teaching obligation thereafter). This is a project position that is not limited according to § 2, 1 WissZeitVG.

Your Profile includes a MSc degree or equivalent, and a PhD in psychology, cognitive science, statistics, or a related field, a strong interest in methodology, statistics, and artificial intelligence, and their application to psychological research, strong programming skills (e. g., in Python or R), excellent English, proficiency and strong teamwork skills. The ability to offer courses in German is a plus. Prior experience with LLMs or statistical modeling is advantageous.
 
We offer freedom to develop independent research ideas, including their elaboration and publication, a strong supervision and a supportive team, an attractive, well-equipped research environment, excellent national and international networking opportunities, flexible working hours and a family-friendly work environment, a salary based on the collective agreement of the state of Hesse (Tarifvertrag), including a ticket for free use of public transport in the state Hesse, Germany (Landesticket).

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Prof. Dr. Daniel Heck (0 6421-28 23669;  daniel.heck@uni-marburg.de).

We support women and strongly encourage them to apply. In areas where women are underrepresented, female applicants will be preferred in case of equal qualifications. As a certified family-friendly university, we support our employees in balancing family and career. Sharing a full-time position (§ 8 Abs. 2 S. 1 HGlG) as well as a reduction of working time is possible. Applicants with a disability as discribed in SGB IX (§ 2 Abs. 2, 3) will be preferred in case of equal qualifications. Application and interview costs can not be refunded.

Please apply until June 15th, 2025 by submitting your application documents (motivation letter, CV, certificates, as well as two research papers, such as manuscripts or journal articles) using the application-button (see job advertisement).