University assistant predoctoral

University assistant predoctoral

The University of Vienna is a community of almost 11,000 individuals, including approximately 7,700 academic staff members, who passionately pursue answers to the profound questions that shape our future. We are currently seeking a University assistant predoctoral.

53 Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy

Job vacancy starting: 01.10.2026 | Working hours: 30.00 | Classification CBA: §48 VwGr. B1 Grundstufe (praedoc)

Limited contract until: 30.09.2030

Job ID: 6107

Your personal sphere of play:

As a PhD student (PraeDoc) you will work in the Spatial Data Science and GeoCommunication group led by professor Krzysztof Janowicz, consisting of international and interdisciplinary researchers with backgrounds including GeoAI, geo-semantics, cognitive and behavioral geography, geographic information retrieval, social sensing, knowledge graphs, geocommunication and geo-visualization. The team values motivation, teamwork, openness to challenges and independent work. The exact dissertation topic remains flexible, but an intellectual connection to the research agenda is important.

Your future tasks:

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

• While your key task will be research, work will also include teaching and administration, for example co-organizing academic events such as workshops.
• Participation in research projects and research studies.
• Participation in publications, academic articles and presentations.
• You work on your dissertation and its completion.
• Involvement in the organization of meetings, conferences and symposiums.
• International travel, for example to conferences.
• Communication and collaboration with international partners including major international industry players and NGOs.
• Independent teaching in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement.
• You will become an active member of the Vienna International School of Earth and Space Sciences doctoral school.

This is part of your personality:

• Completed Master's or Diploma degree in Geoinformatics, GIScience, Cognitive Science, Computer Science, Data Science, Geography, Digital Humanities, Philosophy, Communication Studies, Computational Social Sciences or related disciplines.
• Clear ability to identify and explain the overlap between the group's research in GeoAI, knowledge graphs, knowledge representation, AI ethics and social sensing and your own ideas.
• Self-motivation, creativity, eagerness to grow and ability to work independently on long-term goals.
• Strong team skills and ability to work in international, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams.
• Ability to manage project work, write documentation, deliver project results on time and present them to others.
• English language skills are required.
• Experience in using Spatial Data Science libraries and/or Geographic Information Systems.
• Software engineering and programming skills.
• Experience in scientific writing and research methods.
• German language skills are a plus but not required.
• Technical knowledge of Linux servers, versioning, research data management and reproducible research practices is a plus.

What we offer:

Work-life balance: Flexible, family-friendly working hours and partly remote work within Austria by agreement.

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

Good public transport connections: Your workplace in the center of Vienna is easily accessible by public transport.

Internal further training and coaching: Opportunity to deepen your skills on an ongoing basis with over 600 free courses.

Fair salary: The basic salary is EUR 3,776.10 on a full-time basis, paid 14 times per year, and increases if professional experience can be credited.

Equal opportunities for all: The University of Vienna looks forward to diverse personalities in the team.

The employment duration is 4 years. Initially limited to 1 year, the employment relationship is automatically extended to 4 years if the employer does not terminate it within the first 12 months by submitting a non-extension declaration.

It is that easy to apply:

• With your scientific curriculum vitae.
• One page motivation statement including your research interests and how they relate to the group's research.
• Degree certificates.
• List of publications, if available.
• Via the job portal / Apply now button.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Krzysztof Janowicz

krzysztof.janowicz@univie.ac.at

Application deadline: 20.09.2026