Postdoctoral Researcher

As the Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology – Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB) – we ensure the infrastructural foundations for high-quality information and literature provision for research in science and industry with our forward-looking services. With the Open Research Knowledge Graph (ORKG), we are working to revolutionize the exchange and use of scientific knowledge in the digital age.

The Technische Informationsbibliothek (TIB) – Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology – Program Area D, Open Research Knowledge Graph, is looking to employ a

Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/d)

to join the Lab Knowledge Infrastructures (Dr. Markus Stocker) starting in the first quarter of 2025 (as early as January 1st, 2025).

The position is contingent upon final contractual agreements with the European Commission and the consortium. It is initially limited to three years, with the possibility of extension. The regular weekly working hours are 39.80 (full-time, 100 %). Part-time arrangements may be possible to a limited extent and can be discussed later in the project. Relocation to Hannover or the surrounding area is preferred, with an expected on-site presence of at least 20 % of the average monthly working hours. Additional remote work within Germany may be arranged on a case-by-case basis, depending on individual circumstances.

The remuneration is based on pay scale group 14 TV-L.

The Horizon Europe project “FAIR to Adapt to Climate Change” (FAIR2Adapt) aims to transform data into actionable knowledge to shape climate adaptation strategies. The project's vision is to support European regional and local authorities to build resilience to the impacts of climate change through efficient knowledge sharing and reuse. Its mission is to leverage the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and improve machine-assisted discovery, selection, access, and utilisation of pertinent climate adaptation-related data, knowledge and services to enable the development of comprehensive and scientifically-sound climate adaptation strategies and plans.

Your challenge is to lead Work Package (WP) 4 and coordinate the development of user-facing knowledge services in support for climate adaptation together with a dozen European partner institutions. Specifically, WP4 objectives are to (1) align services for spatio-temporal data handling and for transdisciplinary knowledge synthesis in Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) with the FAIR Digital Objects framework; (2) enable multilingual generative question answering on structured and unstructured data in CCA; and (3) advance the presentation of knowledge in CCA with customizable dashboards. The Open Research Knowledge Graph (ORKG) is a service of particular interest to FAIR2Adapt and a concrete aim will be to advance its capabilities to support scientific knowledge integration, synthesis and presentation.

Furthermore, you will have the opportunity to

• Support the TIB's role as a FAIR2Adapt co-lead and contribute at the highest level of project leadership in collaboration with the project's coordinator, Simula (Norway)
• Drive the development and application of the ORKG in Earth System Sciences, Climate Sciences and beyond
• Drive the implementation of the FDO framework in real-world systems
• Contribute to ORKG research and development, and be part of an exceptional team of doctoral and postdoctoral researchers as well as research software engineers
• Represent FAIR2Adapt, the ORKG and the TIB in international initiatives, such as RDA and FDOF

Co-supervise doctoral researchers and support the publication and presentation of research results in top-tier research conferences and journals

• Doctoral degree (PhD, Dr. rer. nat., or similar) in a relevant field such as informatics or computer science, successfully completed with excellent grades or sufficiently advanced to take on this new role in addition to degree finalisation
• An excellent research track record, including relevant articles published in top-tier journals or conferences
• Excellent software development skills in frontend development (e.g. using React) and/or web-based API and backend development (e.g. using Kotlin, Java Spring Boot, database technologies) as well as script-based data processing and analysis (e.g. Python or R)
• Good command of Semantic Web technologies, conceptual modelling with ontologies and related technologies and tooling such as JSON or graph databases
• Solid understanding of data and metadata standards commonly used in research data management, in particular those relevant to the Earth System Sciences community and related technologies such as persistent identifier systems
• Demonstrable interest in working with research communities, understanding their needs and translating their requirements into high-quality digital services
• English proficiency at a minimum of C1 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), with excellent communication skills

Desirable additions to your profile

• Broad, applied understanding of techniques in Artificial Intelligence
• Work experience in larger teams, in academia and/or industry
• Experience managing research projects, e.g. WP co-leadership
• Experience writing research proposals

Our mission is to keep rethinking and innovating the provision and use of research data and information. In TIB's Open Research Knowledge Graph Department, you have the opportunity to advance your career in a sizable, dynamic and excellent research and development environment. We provide a scientifically and intellectually inspiring environment with an entrepreneurial mindset embedded in a leading technical university and one of the largest technical information centers being part of the Leibniz Association. TIB collaborates closely with the L3S Research Centre at Leibniz University Hannover, one of the world's leading research institutes in the field of Web & Data Science, within the Leibniz Joint Lab Data Science & Open Knowledge. Last but not least, we attach great importance to an open, creative and fun work atmosphere.

Furthermore, we offer

• A job in the public service oriented towards the common good on the basis of the collective agreement for the public service of the German states (TV-L) with a salary in pay scale group 14 TV-L
• A flexible workplace in terms of time and space with offers to reconcile work and family life, such as mobile, location-flexible working
• A special annual payment at the end of the year and 30 days of vacation per year with a five-day working week
• A modern workplace in a central location of Hannover with a collegial, attractive and versatile working environment
• An employer with a wide range of internal and external further education and training measures, workplace health promotion and a supplementary pension scheme for the public sector (VBL)
• Employee discount in the canteens of the Studentenwerk Hannover as well as the possibility to use the various offers of the University Sports Hannover at a discount
• Independent and future-oriented activities that offer variety and room for personal development
• Funding for necessary equipment, conference and research visit travel
• Work in the context of a European research and innovation project
• A portfolio of technology components to build on, including ORKG, OpenResearch.org, TIB AV-Portal, DBpedia.org and other

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