Doctoral Researcher in Computational Social Science with a focus on AI agents (CSS-118)

GESIS – Leibniz‑Institute for the Social Sciences is an internationally active research institute funded by federal and state governments and is a member of the Leibniz Association.

Starting on July 1, 2026 , our Department Computational Social Science (CSS) , Team Digital Society Observatory located in Cologne , is looking for a Doctoral Researcher in Computational Social Science with a focus on AI agents (Salary group 13 TV‑L, working time 75 %, limited for four years) .

The Department Computational Social Science (CSS) collects digital behavioural data and provides computer‑based methods for collecting and analysing such data for social‑science research. It also supports scientists with the integration of digital behavioural data into their research designs. The department’s research focuses on the quality of digital behavioural data, the development of AI methods for analysing and simulating human behaviour, and the transformation of digital societies.

The services and research of the Team Digital Society Observatory focus on the observation of society through the lens of online‑platform data and AI‑generated data. The team conducts substantive and methodological research on digital society and the tools that can be used to study it.

Your profile:

• Master’s degree in a field relevant to CSS, e.g., computer science, data science, information science, sociology, communication science, political science, linguistics
• Strong programming skills in Python and/or R
• First experiences in building and orchestrating AI agent systems, including configuring, prompting, and fine‑tuning Large Language Models; additional experience in machine learning, natural language processing, database systems, and causal inference is a plus
• Interest in open science, data documentation, and data quality assessments
• Excellent command of written and spoken English; German skills are a plus

Our Benefits:

• An international and interdisciplinary working environment that will also support you in developing your own research profile
• Opportunity to pursue a PhD at RWTH Aachen University, one of Germany’s top‑ranked excellence universities
• Access to unique digital behavioural datasets, survey data, and cloud computing within the department
• Flexible working hours and regulations for mobile working
• Very good conditions for reconciling work and family life, e.g., subsidies for childcare for children who haven’t yet attained the age of compulsory schooling
• Holistic company health management and discounted participation in the university’s sports programme
• Generous support for your pension provision as a direct insurance policy
• Promotion of your skills through further training measures

Your tasks will be:

• Contribution to the design and collection of datasets based on digital behavioural data (e.g., social media data, web‑tracking data, sensor data)
• Contribution to the development of AI agents to collect information, simulate, and reason about human behaviour in different contexts
• Conducting research on the use of AI agents in the social sciences with a focus on the usage of AI agents in the context of surveys in an international and interdisciplinary team
• Publication of research results as part of your Ph.D.
• Support of the open‑science strategy of GESIS by improving the reproducibility and reusability of research data and methods