PostDoc and PhD Positions in Machine Learning for Materials Science (with focus on frontier models)

General Information

Position: PhD and PostDoc Positions
Organization: Friedrich Schiller University of Jena and Helmholtz Center Berlin
Location: Jena, (Berlin) Germany
Type: Full-time
Remote Work: Possible

Job Description

Frontier models offer an unprecedented possibility to solve tasks in the chemical sciences that no other modeling approach would be able to solve.

Recently, we have systematically measured the performance of such models and have shown that they perform “superhuman” and also built the first eval framework for multimodal vision-language models in chemistry and materials science.

We currently spend much of our effort on building similar frameworks for consequential real-world tasks, including agentic frameworks and lab automation.

At the same time, we are building the modeling frameworks to “solve” those benchmarks.

We do this with both industrial and academic collaborators across the globe.

For more background on Kevin’s thinking see his website and publications.

Qualifications

  • A Master’s degree or a four- or five-year Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, or related fields. For the PostDoc positions, a Ph.D. is required for employment).
  • Motivation for working on challenging projects, passion for scientific research, and thrive for excellence.
  • Strong teamwork and communication skills.
  • Growth mindset and inclusive team culture.
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
  • Ideally, programming and machine learning experience (e.g., in Python, Julia).

Compensation and Benefits

  • Become part of an international and interdisciplinary research group within a scientific network that offers research and infrastructure at the highest level. We collaborate with world-leading experimental groups in Jena as well as the Helmholtz Center in Berlin that have access to unique high-throughput experimentation as well as characterization setups.
  • Participate in international and national conferences, summer schools, and workshops (we have allocated a significant amount of resources for travel).
  • Excellent in-house computational infrastructure (you will have multiple A100 and H100 cards waiting for you)
  • Become part of a research group that cares about your personal development: We will create tailored personal development plans, that we review every year.
  • A family-friendly working environment with a variety of offers for families: University Family Office (JUniFamilie) and flexible childcare (JUniKinder).
  • University health promotion and a wide range of university sports activities.
  • Attractive fringe benefits, e.g., capital formation benefits (VL), Job Ticket (benefits for public transport), and an occupational pension (VBL)
  • 30 days of recreational leave in the calendar year plus one day off for Dec. 24 and Dec. 31 that should be taken without any guilt.
  • Payment according to German tariff for public service (TVL-13)

Application Process

  1. Fill this form. If you would first like to learn more, reach out to Kevin (mail@kjablonka.com).
  2. Selected candidates will be invited first to a non-technical discussion and then in a second round of a technical interview (including a ~25 minutes presentation and a Python/Machine Learning assignment).

Candidates with disabilities will be given preference in the case of equal qualifications and suitability.

We will provide support for visa applications and any other potential relocation issues.

We will also support fellowship applications if you would prefer joining the lab on your own funding. Contact Kevin for more details on suitable fellowships.

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