Research Assistant (m/f/d) Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Professorship for Experimental Psychology

Helmut-Schmidt-Universität / Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg

At Helmut Schmidt University / University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg (HSU / UniBw H), Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Professorship for Experimental Psychology (Univ.‑Prof. Dr. Jacobsen), a position is available from the next possible date for a

Research Assistant (m/f/d)
(salary group 13 TVöD [Collective agreement for the public service];
39 hours per week)

for a limited period until 30.06.2029. The scientific activity takes place within the framework of the third-party funded research project “Understanding Written Artefacts: Material, Interaction, and Transmission in Manuscript Cultures”. The project forms part of the Cluster of Excellence “Understanding Written Artefacts: Material, Interaction and Transmission in Manuscript Cultures’. It is also embedded in the Experimental Psychology Unit of HSU / UniBw H. Research focus of the professorship includes experimental aesthetics and the neurocognitive psychology of aesthetics; auditory processing (speech perception, natural language processing, pre-attentive language comprehension, auditory deviance detection / mismatch negativity (MMN), sensory memory); and executive functions. Responsibilities:

• Conduct independent research within the third-party funded project, including project planning, literature review, study design (semiotic and cognitive), fieldwork / surveys / experiments, data analysis, and dissemination; present and publish results in English and engage in regular project communication in English; active participation in collaborative activities (research meetings, organizing scholarly events, network building across disciplines)
• Possibility of further academic qualification (e.g., doctorate or habilitation)
• Carrying out general administrative work as well as academic activities in academic self-administration

Qualification requirements:

• A completed university degree (Diploma [univ.] or Master) in psychology, cognitive science, neuro­science or a related field
• Knowledge of foreign language in English with a proficiency level that corresponds at least to the language level B2 to C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

Furthermore desired:

• Structured and independent working style
• Ability to work in a team and engage in collaboration across disciplinary boundaries
• Ability to present / publish in English and collaborate in international teams
• Confident use of modern collaboration and project-management tools; ability to streamline communication and keep projects transparent and well-organized (e.g., shared drives, task boards, Slack / Teams, version control)
• Good command of statistics and quantitative methods (e.g., linear / mixed-effects models, power analysis), with analysis and visualization in R, Python or SPSS (or other)
• Advantageous: experience with collaborative writing / reference tools (Overleaf / LaTeX or Google Docs; Zotero / EndNote)
• Advantageous: experience with survey / panel platforms (e.g., Qualtrics / SoSci, Prolific) and reproducible workflows (clean documentation, Git)
• Fast learner for new digital tools; proactive, structured working style

Features of this position:

• Capital-forming benefits
• Annual bonus payment
• Company pension scheme
• Flexible working hours
• DeutschlandJobTicket with employer subsidy if the necessary requirements are met
• Possibility of claiming a childcare place in a daycare centre close to the campus if the necessary preconditions are met
• You will benefit from targeted personnel development and an extensive range of further training and education opportunities
• Budget-friendly meals in the campus canteen with three meals a day
• You have the opportunity to participate in workplace health promotion offers (for more information, see: www.hsu-hh.de/bgm/)
• Free parking on the campus grounds
• Possibility of using the Bundeswehr’s own car-sharing service (for more information, go to: www.bwcarsharing.de)

For questions related to scientific or technical aspects, please contact Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jacobsen, e-mail: jacobsen@hsu-hh.de, or Dr. Weiler, e-mail: weiler@hsu-hh.de. The employment is based on the TVöD in conjunction with the Wissen­schafts­zeitvertrags­gesetz (German Act on Fixed-Term Scientific Contracts). In principle, the activities correspond to pay group 13 (E13). Classification up to pay group 13 of the TVöD shall be made in accordance with § 12 of the TVöD with regard to the activities to be performed on a more than temporary basis and the fulfilment of the personal or collective agreement requirements (job characteristics). Part-time employment is possible. The Federal Armed Forces promotes professional equality between women and men and therefore particularly welcomes applications from women.
In accordance with the Sozialgesetzbuch IX (Social Code Book IX) and the Disability Equality Act, we expressly welcome applications from severely disabled persons; the fulfilment of the requirements for the advertisement will be considered on an individual basis. More information about the university and the professorship can be found at: www.hsu-hh.de and www.hsu-hh.de/epu/en. Please send your application with the usual documents exclusively in electronic form (pdf file), quoting the reference number GeiSo-1625, by 11.01.2026 to: personalabteilung@hsu-hh.de. Note:
Information on data protection in the application process can be found on the website www.hsu-hh.de under the heading “Universität – Karriere – Daten­schutz­informationen”. Applications without reference number will not be considered and will be deleted immediately for data protection reasons.