Research Assistant in Digital Humanities
Application Deadline: 28 October 2026
The Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture – Simon Dubnow (DI) is advertising the following position to be filled from 1 January 2027:
Research Assistant in Digital Humanities in the “Materiality of Jewish Culture” research laboratory
Full-time (40 hours per week)
The Dubnow Institute conducts interdisciplinary research across multiple eras of Jewish history in Central and Eastern Europe from the early modern era to the present day. Its research adopts a pan-European perspective in addition to the regions of Jewish emigration, in particular Israel and America. It teaches this subject in university courses and presents the results of its research to both the academic and general public in various formats. The Dubnow Institute works closely with Leipzig University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Furthermore, it maintains collaborative relationships with numerous academic institutions in Israel, the United States, Europe, and Germany, and serves as a hub for exchange among scholars from around the world.
From 2027, a research laboratory will be established at the Dubnow Institute dedicated to the content and methods of material culture research. The project will take into account the fact that research into Jewish history requires an epistemology focused on loss and fragmentation that goes beyond general theories of collections and archives.
As an experimental, interdisciplinary unit, the laboratory will draw on thematic ideas from the institute’s three research divisions – “Politics,” “Law,” and “Knowledge” – and combine them with new methodological approaches. This strategic expansion will be linked to the development of an open science strategy and the digital transformation of research and knowledge transfer practices in line with the FAIR principles.
The position, contingent on relevant qualifications, will be remunerated according to pay grade 13 TV-L. It will initially be limited to a period of two years, but may be converted into a permanent position thereafter. Full-time preferred; part-time possible.
Your responsibilities:
Interface management/liaising between academic and data management departments
Designing and, where appropriate, carrying out independent digital humanities research within the research laboratory’s thematic area
Modelling data and metadata as well as their provenance using established standards such as XML/TEI, RDF, and CIDOC-CRM
Developing and documenting workflows for data processing and publication, from image and text digitization (OCR, HTR) through annotation to publication and archiving
Contributing to the development of open-source software components
Planning, managing, and monitoring work processes, timetables, and milestones
Processing, enriching, integrating, linking, and publishing research data (for example, in the areas of collection portals, research data repositories, and online publications)
Documentation and quality assurance; preparation of reports and project documentation in accordance with the guidelines and requirements of the funding bodies
Your profile:
A completed university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in digital humanities or general humanities, with relevant knowledge of computer science
Experience with web-based software development and architecture
Experience with carrying out and coordinating digital humanities projects
In-depth knowledge of common data standards and data modelling in the context of memory institutions and/or digital editing (meta- and standard data standards, TEI-P5/XML, Linked Open Data, etc.)
Detailed knowledge of and a keen interest in digital humanities methods such as statistical techniques for text analysis and classification (named entity recognition and disambiguation, stylometry, etc.) and historical network analysis
Contributions to academic publications and research projects
A very good command of German and English
A proactive approach, personal responsibility, solution-oriented working style, as well as strong teamwork and communication skills
Desirable:
Experience in the field of text recognition using machine learning techniques
Proven experience with programming using common programming languages (e.g. JavaScript, Python)
Experience in the field of digital editions
We offer:
Remuneration and social benefits in accordance with the collective agreement for the public sector in the German federal states (TV-L), including an additional company pension scheme (VBL)
An interesting and varied job in an international environment and interdisciplinary setting
A workplace in a central location in Leipzig (with excellent public transport links) and in a region offering a high quality of life
Good opportunities to combine career and family, with flexible working hours in line with the requirements of the work area (flexitime)
We value a diverse team. We therefore welcome all qualified applicants, regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic or social background, or religion. Applications from people with severe disabilities will be given preferential consideration where qualifications and abilities are equal. The DI promotes the balance between family, care responsibilities, and work through a flexible working hours model.
Please send your application, including a cover letter, a tabular CV, degree transcript(s), and copies of relevant certificates and references, no later than 2026, October 28
by email to bewerbung(at)dubnow.de
Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture – Simon Dubnow
Director
Prof. Yfaat Weiss
Goldschmidtstraße 28
04103 Leipzig
Applications should consist of a single PDF file. Applications via email are not encrypted and may therefore entail data protection concerns. The applicant takes full responsibility for this.
For content-related questions, please contact: Dr Caroline Jessen, Tel. 0341-21735-691, jessen(at)dubnow.de
For organizational questions, please contact: Mandy Fitzpatrick, bewerbung@dubnow.de
Personal data you share in the application procedure will be processed by the DI. The DI will use this data only for the purposes of the application procedure. Data is not shared with third parties. The DI can unfortunately not cover the costs associated with an interview.
