Description

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) – The University in the Helmholtz Association

In close partnership with society, KIT develops solutions for urgent challenges – from climate change, energy transition and sustainable use of natural resources to artificial intelligence, sovereignty and an aging population. As The University in the Helmholtz Association, KIT unites scientific excellence from insight to application-driven research under one roof – and is thus in a unique position to drive this transformation. As a University of Excellence, KIT offers its more than 10,000 employees and 22,800 students outstanding opportunities to shape a sustainable and resilient future.

KIT – Science for Impact.

Research Software Engineering (RSE) is the application of software engineering practices, methods and techniques for research software, i.e. software that was made for and is mainly used within research projects in particular in the natural and engineering sciences. Next to essential knowledge in software engineering, this also includes knowledge of other research fields as well as open science that need to be incorporated into a research software development process.

At KIT, the Scientific Computing Center (SCC) and the Informatics Department in Division II are shaping this strategically important topic in an interdisciplinary way, in close collaboration with application disciplines, and against this background we are appointing a

Tenure-Track Professorship at KIT (W1) „Research Software Engineering“ (f/m/d)

Division II - Informatics, Economics, and Society
6 years
as soon as possible
Full-time
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Your Tasks

• Research: You will conduct research on at least one of the core topics of Research Software Engineering, such as reproducibility, scalability, or long-term sustainability of research software. Your work will address issues including, for example, the synergistic integration of domain-specific knowledge with fundamental software-engineering expertise; the implementation of FAIR principles for research software; energy-efficient and environmentally conscious (green) software development and coding practices; and the application of AI methods in the creation of research software.
• Teaching: You will teach 4 semester hours per week (or, after a successful end-evaluation, 6 semester hours per week) in the bachelor's and master's programmes of Computer Science. Your course material is typically also of interest to students from other engineering, natural-science, and interdisciplinary degree programmes.
• Governance: You will assume leadership of a new “Research Software Engineering” department within the central scientific unit SCC as part of the Helmholtz Program Engineering Digital Futures (EDF).

Your Profile

• You have a clearly defined research profile in the field of research software engineering and a strong interest in advancing this field at KIT.
• Your relevant, peer-reviewed research results on software development methods should be both generic and application-oriented, making them usable across as many disciplines at KIT as possible.
• Openness to interdisciplinary collaboration, technology transfer/innovation links, and Open Science is second nature to you.
• Ideally, you already have some teaching and supervision experience and a high level of motivation for pedagogical development.

Employment is subject to Art. 14, par. (2) of the KIT Act in conjunction with Art. 51 LHG Baden-Württemberg (Act of Baden-Württemberg on Universities and Colleges) as well as the Quality Assurance Concept for Junior Professorships and Tenure-Track Professorships at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).

We Offer

Excellent Research Conditions & State-of-the-art Infrastructure
Benefit from a unique environment that combines university and large-scale research, and gain access to state-of-the-art equipment and interdisciplinary projects. This environment enables you to conduct both basic and applied research at the highest level.

Family-friendly Offers
The KIT Dual Career Service supports you and your partner in integrating into the workforce, while flexible working time models and company childcare facilities make it easier to balance work and family life.

International Networking
You will work in a global network that encompasses international collaborations and English-language scientific communication. KIT promotes exchange with leading research institutions and industry partners worldwide.

Onboarding & Integration
A customized onboarding program will accompany you from your first day at work, enabling you to quickly get started in research, teaching, and the KIT networks and get off to the best possible start.

Transparent Career Paths & Personal Development
Clear development prospects, individual coaching, and a well-developed leadership development program support you in steering your academic career in a targeted manner.
Contact and further job information

Salary
Salary is determined by the statutory provisions of the state of Baden-Württemberg and corresponds to the basic salary of pay grade W1 (civil service pay scale).
In addition, allowances may be awarded. Where applicable, a family allowance is paid in accordance with civil service regulations.

Contract Duration
The position is for six years, either as a fixed-term civil service appointment (Beamtenverhältnis auf Zeit) or as an employment contract; an interim evaluation will take place before the end of the third year.
The evaluation process and the general evaluation criteria follow the Quality assurance concept for junior professorships and tenure-track professorships at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Of particular importance for the midterm and final evaluations are the following discipline-specific priorities: publications (including open-source software), externally sourced third-party funding, KIT-internal and Helmholtz-wide collaborations, as well as integration into the SCC, the KIT faculty for Informatics, the Helmholtz program EDF, and the Helmholtz Research Field.
In case of a positive final evaluation, you will be offered a full university professorship (W3).

Contact person in line-management
For subject-matter inquiries, please contact Prof. Dr. Achim Streit, email: achim.streit@kit.edu, phone: +49 721 608-25602.

Application
Please submit your complete application with the usual documents (curriculum vitae, list of publications, degree certificates/diplomas, teaching evaluations, a description of past and planned research and teaching activities, research and teaching statement, statement of your individual contributions in the above-mentioned areas, record of third-party funding acquired, and a statement on research integrity) preferably as a single PDF by Email to: dekanat@informatik.kit.edu

At KIT we value the diversity of our employees; different perspectives and backgrounds enrich our work. We therefore welcome applications from all candidates. Women are especially encouraged to apply. Applications from recognized severely disabled individuals are given preferential consideration when qualifications are equal.

Application up to: 2026-07-31
Job posting number: 1157/2026