About us:

LMU is a leading research university in Europe. Since its founding in 1472, it has been committed to the highest international standards of excellence in research and teaching. Under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Alexander Wuttke, the Unit for Digitalization and Political Behavior at the Geschwister-Scholl Institute of Political Science examines the state of liberal democracy from the perspective of citizens and explores the challenges and opportunities arising from digitalization.

Are you curious about how large language models can be used as interviewers?

Become a part of the Emmy Noether Research Group “Predictably Paradoxical: Mapping the Democratic Mind with AI”. The group uses large language models as interviewers in semi-structured interviews. With AI Conversational Interviewing (Wuttke et al. 2025), respondents describe in their own words what democracy means to them, while the AI interviewer asks follow-up questions. As a research assistant, you will support the computational side of this work as well as general activities such as workshops and administrative tasks. You will help us run and test AI interviewers, check the quality of the interview data they produce, and annotate interview transcripts so that we can validate how well AI interviewers and automated text analysis actually perform.

We are looking for you:

Research Assistant in Computational Social Science (m/f/x)

in Munich

Your tasks and responsibilities:

• Check interview transcripts and datasets for quality, consistency and errors
• Annotate interview transcripts and compare human with LLM-generated annotations
• Document your work so that analyses are transparent and reproducible
• Data processing and LLM-based text analysis
• Provide general support for the group's day-to-day work, including assistance with workshops, administrative tasks, and routine office activities

Your qualifications:

No candidate is expected to meet all the criteria listed below. Please explain in your cover letter how your profile relates to the following qualifications.

• Enrolled in a BA/BSc or MA/MSc program in the Social Sciences, Psychology, Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, Statistics/Data Science, or a related field
• Computational skills, which are especially useful for this position:
  • Good Python/R skills (e.g., pandas, working with APIs)
  • First experience working with LLMs or text-as-data methods and natural language processing
• Interest in data quality, annotation and the careful validation of computational methods
• Interest in survey research, political psychology or democratic attitudes
• Good written and oral English communication skills; German language skills are an advantage for working with German-language interview data

Benefits:

• Insight into a current DFG-funded research project at the intersection of political science, psychology, and computational social science
• Hands-on experience with state-of-the-art LLM methods, from AI interviewers to LLM-based annotation and evaluation
• Practical skills in Python, data management and reproducible research that are valuable for your thesis and beyond
• Flexible working hours that fit around your studies and exam periods
• Access to computational resources (LRZ, local AI server, etc.)
• A welcoming, inclusive team that values collaboration and individual contribution.

We welcome applications from women and other groups that are currently underrepresented in the academic system.

People with disabilities who are equally as qualified as other applicants will receive preferential treatment.

Contact:

Please send a short cover letter, your CV, a current transcript of records and, if available, a code or writing sample (e.g., a GitHub repository, term paper or thesis) as a single PDF to christopher.klamm@lmu.de. We review applications on a rolling basis, so the earlier you apply, the better. Please submit your application no later than 27.11.2026 (17:59). Your cover letter should explain how your profile relates to the ideal profile outlined above.

Short Zoom interviews will begin in December 2026.

Where knowledge is everything.

LMU researchers work at the highest level on the great questions affecting people, society, culture, the environment and technology — supported by experts in administration, IT and tech. Become part of LMU Munich!