Start date: as soon as possible
Advertised on: 21 April 2026
/ Application deadline: 11 May 2026
The research groups of Michael Hahn and Alexander Koller are jointly looking for a PhD student. The student will be jointly advised by both professors.
The position is funded through the new project “Structural generalization in transformer-based LLMs”, which is part of the DFG Special Priority Program Robust Assessment and Safe Applicability of Language Modeling: Foundations for a New Field of Language Science and Technology. The goal of the SPP is to bring together research in linguistics and LLMs so they can mutually inform each other.
The starting point of the project is the observation that transformers struggle with structural generalization: they do not perform well on test instances that are more complex than the training instances. We see this e.g. when parsing complex sentences or when managing complex reasoning chains. In the project, we want to develop theory that explains this limitation, carry out empirical research to pinpoint the transformer’s capabilities, understand them through mechanistic interpretability, and find ways to improve structural generalization in transformers. Methods range from formal language theory to training and prompting-based experiments to circuit analysis. We will carry out the project in collaboration with Will Merrill and Yuekun Yao.
This is a position on the German TV-L E13 scale (100%). The starting salary of a 100% TV-L E13 position is a bit over 50,000 Euros per year and increases with experience. The position is funded for three years; we expect to be able to extend it to four. We can be flexible with the start date (within the year 2026).
Requirements
We are looking for candidates who have finished, or are about to complete, an excellent Master’s degree in computer science, computational linguistics, or a related discipline. The ideal candidate will have outstanding programming skills and algorithmic understanding; a strong understanding of current methods in machine learning; and strong communication skills in English (spoken and written).
About the group
Saarland University is one of the leading centers for computational linguistics in Europe, and offers a dynamic and stimulating research environment. The Department of Language Science and Technology consists of about 100 research staff in ten research groups in the fields of computational linguistics, psycholinguistics, and language science. It hosts the SFB 1102 “Information Density and Linguistic Encoding”.
Michael Hahn and Alexander Koller are members of the Research Training Group “Neuroexplicit Models of Language, Vision, and Action”, one of the largest centers for research on neurosymbolic models in the world. They actively collaborate with colleagues at the university’s computer science department, the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, and the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security. The Saarland Informatics Campus brings together 1000 researchers and 2600 students from 81 countries; SIC faculty have won roughly 50 ERC grants.
Saarland University is located in Saarbrücken, a city of roughly 180k people in the tri-border area of Germany, France, and Luxembourg. Saarbrücken combines a lively culture scene with a relaxed atmosphere, and is quite an affordable place to live in. Our department maintains an international and diverse work environment. The primary working language is English; learning German while you are here will make it easier to connect with the local culture, but is not necessary for your work.
How to apply
Please submit your application by email to apply-ak@coli.uni-saarland.de and include the reference number W2846. Preference will be given to applications received by 11 May 2026.
Include a single PDF file with the following information:
Saarland University especially welcomes applications from women and people with disabilities.
The legally binding version of this job ad is here: W2846.
Start date: April 2026 or later
Advertised on: 03 February 2026
/ Application deadline: 22 February 2026
We are looking to fill a research and teaching position in computational linguistics at the Department of Language Science and Technology at Saarland University, as part of the research group of Prof. Alexander Koller.
This position offers great flexibility in developing your own research and teaching agenda. We are particularly interested in expanding the group’s expertise in dialogue systems by hiring a postdoc with experience in this field.
Research collaborations within and across research groups are encouraged, and you should be willing to take an active role in shaping the research and teaching environment of the department.
The position includes a teaching load of up to four hours per week in the BSc Computational Linguistics (in German) and/or the MSc Language Science and Technology (in English). Both programs attract excellent and highly motivated students; it is not unusual for our students to publish papers at peer-reviewed conferences before graduation. The MSc students in particular are a very international crowd, with two thirds joining us from abroad. You will typically teach two seminars per semester on topics of your choice, which will allow you to motivate students to do BSc and MSc theses under your supervision.
This is a position on the German TV-L E13 scale (100%). The starting salary of a 100% TV-L E13 position is approximately 57,000 Euros per year and increases with experience. The initial appointment will be for two years; the position can be extended up to the limits of the German law for academic contracts (WissZeitVG). The position is available right now; we can negotiate a start date that works for you.
Requirements
We are looking for candidates who have finished, or are about to complete, an excellent PhD degree in computational linguistics, computer science, or a related discipline. You should have demonstrated your research expertise through high-quality publications and be able to develop a vision for your future research through a compelling research statement.
You must be proficient in English (spoken and written); the ability to teach in German is a plus.
About the group
Saarland University is one of the leading centers for computational linguistics in Europe, and offers a dynamic and stimulating research environment. The Department of Language Science and Technology consists of about 100 research staff in ten research groups in the fields of computational linguistics, psycholinguistics, and language science. It hosts the SFB 1102 “Information Density and Linguistic Encoding”.
Alexander Koller is the speaker of the new Research Training Group “Neuroexplicit Models of Language, Vision, and Action”, one of the largest centers for research on neurosymbolic models in the world. His group actively collaborates with colleagues at the university’s computer science department, the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, and the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security. The Saarland Informatics Campus brings together 1000 researchers and 2600 students from 81 countries. SIC faculty have won more than 40 ERC grants, and one out of every two ACM Fellows in Germany works in Saarbrücken.
Saarland University is located in Saarbrücken, a city of roughly 180k people in the tri-border area of Germany, France, and Luxembourg. Saarbrücken combines a lively culture scene with a relaxed atmosphere, and is quite an affordable place to live in. Our department maintains an international and diverse work environment. The primary working language is English; learning German while you are here will make it easier to connect with the local culture, but is not necessary for your work.
How to apply
Please submit your application by email to apply-ak@coli.uni-saarland.de and include the reference number W2793. Preference will be given to applications received by 22 February 2026.
Include a single PDF file with the following information:
Saarland University especially welcomes applications from women and people with disabilities.
The legally binding version of this job ad is here: W2793.