University assistant predoctoral Universität Wien

Temporary

Part Time

Start date: 2026-09-01

Published: 2026-08-04

Wien

Permanent workplace

I am interested

Job description:

The University of Vienna is a community of almost 11,000 individuals, including approximately 7,700 academic staff members, who passionately pursue answers to the profound questions that shape our future. They represent individuals driven by curiosity and a relentless pursuit of excellence. With us, they find the space to try things out and unfold their potential. Are you inspired by their passion and determination? We are currently seeking a/an

University assistant predoctoral

47 Faculty of Psychology
Startdate: 01.09.2026 | Working hours: 30 | Collective bargaining agreement: §48 VwGr. B1 Grundstufe (praedoc)
Limited until: 31.08.2029
Reference no.: 5896

Explore and teach at the University of Vienna, where more than 7,500 academics thrive on curiosity in continuous exploration and help us better understand our world. Does this sound like you? Then join our accomplished team!

The Faculty of Psychology at the University of Vienna comprises, beside the Dean's oﬃce and the StudyServiceCenter, four Departments. We oﬀer a position for a university assistant (prae doc) at the Clinical and Neuroscience Unit (Univ. Prof. Giorgia Silani) at the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology. Together with the research group, you will conduct research form a neuroscientiﬁc point of view the mechanisms (neurochemical and neurophysiological) behind processes of the heart of what has been termed "social intelligence", such as empathy and prosocial behaviors, in the clinical and not-clinical population. This goal is achieved by using multi-level approach that combines diﬀerent methodologies: genetic, functional neuroimaging, TMS, EEG and pharmacological manipulations. For more information: https://clin-soc-neurosc-psy.univie.ac.at/

The research group actively promotes open and reproductible science (e.g., through preregistration and sharing of materials and data) and science communication, and values diverse perspectives.

Your personal sphere of influence:

As a university assistant prae doc, you will complement the research team and take over tasks such as:

Planning and execution of empirical studies
Publication of research results in international scientiﬁc journals
Presentation of research results at national and international conferences
Participation in the acquisition of new research projects
Participation in science communication activities
Participation in the faculty's and department's administration

Your future tasks:

You actively participate in research, teaching & administration, which means:

You participate in research projects / research studies
You conduct research in the central topics at the Clinical Social Neuroscience Unit. We expect you to ﬁnalize your dissertation agreement within 6-12 months
Participation in teaching and independent teaching of courses as deﬁned by the collective agreement. You supervise students
You are involved in the organization of meeting, conferences, and symposia

This is part of your competences:

Completed Master’s degree in Psychology or a closely related field (e.g. Cognitive Science, Neuroscience)
Strong background in empirical research and scientific writing
High interest in research in the ﬁeld of clinical and social neuroscience
Basic programming skills (e.g. Python, MATLAB)
Ability to present and process research questions in a structured way
Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a research team
Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously
High commitment and initiative
Excellent written and spoken English skills
Interest in interdisciplinary research

Desirable qualiﬁcations are:

Experience contributing to research projects (e.g., data collection, experiment administration, data management), ideally large meta-analyses and literature review
Solid statistical knowledge and experience with common statistical software (e.g. SPSS, JASP, R)
Initial teaching experience
Working experience in interdisciplinary or intersectoral teams
International experience (e.g. Erasmus or comparable exchange programs) considered an advantage

What we offer:

The employment duration is 3 years. Initially limited to 1.5 years, the employment relationship is automatically extended to 3 years if the employer does not terminate it within the first 12 months by submitting a non-extension declaration.

The basic salary (full time) according to the classiﬁcation of the collective bargaining agreement in the B1 salary group amounts to EUR 3,776.10. This amount increases after 3 years of service. The three-year period shall be reduced by periods for which previous job-related work experience can be proved (see salary scheme).

Homeoﬃce: The employee and their superior may ﬂexibly agree on work from home on no more than ten working days a month. The maximum number of days on which the employees may work from home depends on the agreed number of working days in a week.

We oﬀer career development opportunities:

Completing a doctorate and support of a scientiﬁc career by working in a committed team.
Research visits with international cooperation partners.
Teaching experience in bachelor's and master's programs.
Participation in continued education courses oﬀerd by the Graduate Center of the University of Vienna.
Membership in the Vienna Doctoral School in Cognition, Behaviour and Neuroscience (VDS CoBeNe).

It is that easy to apply:

With your letter of motivation (max. 2 pages)
With your academic, tabular curriculum vitae; list of publications if applicable
Evidence of teaching experience (if availibe)
Description of your research interests and their relation to the research at our research group, with a short doctoral project proposal (max. 3 pages)
Degree certiﬁcates

If you have any questions, please contact:

Giorgia Silani

giorgia.silani@univie.ac.at

We look forward to new personalities in our team!
The University of Vienna has an anti-discriminatory employment policy and attaches great importance to equal opportunities, the advancement of women and diversity. We place particular emphasis on enhancing women’s representation among the academic and general university staff, particularly in leadership roles, and therefore expressly encourage qualified women to apply. Given equal qualifications, preference will be given to female candidates.