Job Advertisement for a Research Associate at the TCDH

Trier University conducts socially relevant research and teaching that is in step with the times, with a strong focus on digitalization, interdisciplinarity, and diversity. The human being and their relationship to society, law, the economy, and the environment are at the heart of its mission. With over 10,000 students and around 2,000 employees, Trier University is one of the largest employers in the cross-border region around Trier. A green campus with short distances, a vibrant academic life, and an open working culture offer many opportunities to make a difference.

At the Trier Center for Digital Humanities (TCDH) of Trier University, a position is available from August 1, 2025, as

Research Associate (m/f/d) (E 13 TV-L, 100%, fixed-term according to WissZeitVG)

The position is limited until March 31, 2029.

Since its founding in 1998, the TCDH (tcdh.uni-trier.de) has developed into a nationally and internationally established center for Digital Humanities (DH). Its goal is to support research in the humanities, cultural studies, and social sciences through the development and application of innovative IT methods and tools, to establish new research approaches in these disciplines, and to contribute to the development of new research fields and methodologies in disciplines closely related to computer science. The center focuses on Digital Editions and Lexicography, Digital Literary and Cultural Studies, and Software Systems and Research Infrastructures. We develop, link, and visualize foundational works in the humanities and cultural sciences, publish dictionaries and multifunctional editions online, open up new perspectives for researching sources, documents, artifacts, and other knowledge objects, apply network analysis to uncover and map relationships, and use statistical methods to explore semantic structures in texts.

The key responsibilities of the Research Associate will include working in the research group "Ashkenaz in New Worlds: Spaces, Actors, and Practices in Jewish History of Central Europe in the 15th and 16th Centuries."

This research group, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), aims to develop a deeper understanding of Jewish life under the conditions of fundamental societal change during the transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. In six interdisciplinary sub-projects, it will examine typical dynamics of transformation and reformation in Jewish living environments. A central component will be the Index fontium historiae Judaicae, a working and publication platform implemented as part of a coordination project, based on the virtual research environment FuD (www.fud.uni-trier.de) developed at Trier University. This platform will design and implement innovative concepts for modeling and visualizing dynamic, time-dependent person and source data.

Within this and other initiatives, the TCDH has long been developing tools to support digital editions and multifunctional forms for their online presentation. You will be responsible for designing data models, developing software components and web applications in close collaboration with participating researchers, using state-of-the-art software technologies and architectures.

We expect applicants to have:

• An excellent academic degree in Computer Science or Information Technology
• Experience in web application development, with very good knowledge of scripting languages such as JavaScript/TypeScript and web frameworks such as Node.js and Angular
• Strong expertise in database management systems (MySQL, Elasticsearch)
• Desirable: familiarity with X-technologies (XML, XSLT) and open data modeling (RDF, LOD)
• Excellent written and spoken German and English
• High level of commitment and flexibility
• Strong communication and teamwork skills

We offer:

• Collaboration within an interdisciplinary, international, and open-minded team at an established research center
• Participation in exciting research projects at the intersection of history and Digital Humanities
• Creative freedom in an innovative field of work
• Opportunities for professional development and training

Hiring requirements are based on § 57 sections 2 and 3 of the Higher Education Act of Rhineland-Palatinate. A Master’s, Diploma, or equivalent degree in Computer Science or Digital Humanities with above-average results is particularly required.

This position is suitable for part-time work. Trier University is committed to increasing the number of women in its workforce and strongly encourages qualified women to apply. Severely disabled persons or those with equivalent status (according to § 2 section 3 SGB IX) will be given preference if equally qualified (please include proof).

Please send your detailed application in a single PDF file by May 23, 2025 to Prof. Dr. Christof Schöch, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, University of Trier, Universitätsring 15, 54296 Trier, Germany (schoechuni-trier.de (schoech[at]uni-trier[dot]de)). Further information can be obtained from the Center’s management: Dr. Thomas Burch (burchuni-trier.de (burch[at]uni-trier[dot]de)) or Dr. Claudia Bamberg (bamberguni-trier.de (bamberg[at]uni-trier[dot]de)).

For details on how your personal data is processed during the application procedure, please refer to our privacy notice for application procedures pursuant to Article 13 of the GDPR, available on our website.