As part of the German government's artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, the successful Saxon competence center ScaDS.AI Dresden/Leipzig (Center for Scalable Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence) is being expanded into a leading German AI competence center for Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI). For TUD Dresden University of Technology diversity is an essential feature and a quality criterion of an excellent university. Accordingly, we welcome all applicants who would like to commit themselves, their achievements and productivity to the success of the whole institution.
At the Center for Interdisciplinary Digital Sciences (CIDS), the Department for Scalable Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (ScaDS.AI Dresden) offers a full-time project position as
Research Associate / PhD Student (m/f/x)(subject to personal qualification, employees are remunerated according to salary group E 13 TV-L)
starting September 1, 2026. The position is limited to 3 years. The period of employment is governed by § 2 (2) Fixed Term Research Contracts Act (Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz - WissZeitVG).
The LLM-OCR-D project, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), aims to create adaptive full-text transformation of extensive historical collections using generative language models. The project seeks to develop a production-ready solution, i.e., one that is high-quality, robust, and scalable for the semi-automated full-text transformation of diverse digitized collections, building on tools from the OCR-D ecosystem. The focus lies on the intelligent selection and execution of OCR workflows, quality assurance and post-correction using large language models (LLMs), as well as structured preparation for scholarly reuse. In addition, the project will examine the practical suitability of novel multimodal LLMs that can operate directly on scans and thus potentially replace or simplify traditional OCR processing steps. The project therefore combines established tools from the OCR-D ecosystem with innovative AI-based methods and near-production execution on high-performance computing systems at ScaDS.AI providing direct added value for libraries, humanities research, and digital infrastructures.
Professional assignment: Chair of Scalable Software Architectures for Data Analytics (Prof. Dr. Michael Färber)
Research areas: Natural Language Processing, Large Language Models, Knowledge Graphs, and related fields (e.g. Graph Machine Learning)
Tasks:
scientific research in at least one of the above-mentioned research areas collaboration in national and international research projects, possibly with an industrial collaboration presentation and publication of research results in top-tier conferences/journals project-based support for students
The position comes with access to high performance computing resources and access to training opportunities within ScaDS.AI.
Requirements:
university degree (M.Sc., or similar) in Computer Technology, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics, Physics, Computational Linguistics, or a related field strong interest in foundational research in the above-mentioned research areas strong programming skills, preferably in Python, including experience with deep learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow) and related tools good written and spoken English skills strong analytical and problem-solving skills highly motivated and able to work independently and in teams prior research experience (publications, theses, projects) in the above-mentioned research areas is a strong plus
TUD strives to employ more women in academia and research. We therefore expressly encourage women to apply. The university is a family-friendly university. We welcome applications from candidates with disabilities. If multiple candidates prove to be equally qualified, those with disabilities or with equivalent status pursuant to the German Social Code IX (SGB IX) will receive priority for employment.
Application: Please submit your detailed application with the usual documents (e.g., cover letter, CV, and other supporting documents), quoting the job reference "ScaDS.AI Färber LLM-OCR-D" by May 12, 2026 (stamped arrival date of the university central mail service or the time stamp on the email server of TUD applies), preferably via the TUD SecureMail Portal by sending it as a single pdf file to jobs-scads.ai@tu-dresden.de or to:
TU Dresden, ScaDS.AI, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Färber, Helmholtzstr. 10, 01069 Dresden, Germany.
Please submit copies only, as your application will not be returned to you. Expenses incurred in attending interviews cannot be reimbursed.
Reference to data protection: Your data protection rights, the purpose for which your data will be processed, as well as further information about data protection is available to you on the website: .
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TU Dresden
Excellence – A matter close to our hearts
Excellence? Elitism? Opportunity or risk? The Excellence Programme, initially launched in 2005 by the German government has aroused passionate debate right from the start and still has the potential to polarise opinion.
TU Dresden (TUD) looks at it this way: excellence is all about performance and having the right attitude. For everyone here at TU Dresden – one of eleven Universities of Excellence in Germany since 2012 – it is also a matter very close to our hearts. Firstly because of the extra motivation and impetus generated, and secondly, because of the way we handle this role.
Our vision for the future can be summed up as follows: “Let us become one of the leading centres for research and teaching, with our own individual character and a special talent for networking, able to attract the best minds in Germany and from further afield.” After all, it is a well-known fact that excellence in research and teaching presupposes excellent conditions. Or, to put it figuratively, for excellent crop yields, you need the right soil and weather.
TU Dresden is a comprehensive university with 18 faculties and works in close collaboration with its top performers: three Clusters of Excellence, including the “Centre for Tactile Internet” (CeTI), the Cluster “Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter” (ct.qmat) and the Cluster “Physics of Life” (PoL). The guiding principle here is that strong individual elements become even stronger when they work together.
The vision for the future takes this principle beyond the confines of the university: with the research network DRESDEN-concept ( D resden R esearch and E ducation S ynergies for the D evelopment of E xcellence and N ovelty), TU Dresden has been creating an alliance of research and cultural facilities in the city, an “excellent playground for excellent people”. This bond is unique in Germany and has evolved over many years. It is not necessary to create anything new here, as it is simply a matter of building further storeys on top of an already solid structure. The measures envisaged as part of the DRESDEN-concept contribute to the overall development of TU Dresden and form an integral part of the university strategy.
Excellence is understood and practised in Dresden as an opportunity for the entire university, and in this spirit, TU Dresden takes those measures that lead to excellence – by the university, for the university – in cooperation with colleagues here and all over the world. But at the same time neither elitist nor exclusive. TUD’s excellence comes from the heart – from and for our about 32,400 students, 600 professors and about 8,400 members of staff. In this way, excellence becomes the basis, the objective, the approach and the driving force. And that’s why being a top performer can also be so rewarding and enjoyable.
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Location
Dresden
01069 Dresden
Germany