PhD student working on semantic understanding of gaze during collaboration

The Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Analytic Computing group at the University of Stuttgart invites applications for a full-time position as a doctoral researcher/PhD student for the years 2027–2029 (100% TV-L E13), working on semantic understanding of user interfaces and predicting of eye gaze.

What will you contribute?

You will undertake foundational research on using VLMs and VLAs for predicting user actions and attention in different situations: sole user interaction, parasocial user interactions, and collaborative user interactions.

You will advise and tutor bachelor’s and master’s students in the computer science programs of the department on topics related to your research.

What is your profile?

You have a master’s degree in computer science or a related discipline. You enjoy interacting and collaborating with other team members. You are forward-thinking; you seek confirmation by applying your research ideas not only to toy problems, but also to real-world problems. You have experience with human-computer studies and are willing to go from problem analysis to method development to data collection and evaluation. You enjoy precise analytical thinking and apply scientific rigor in your research practice and writing, and you intend to publish successfully in relevant conferences and/or journals.

What do they offer?

They provide a friendly yet challenging interdisciplinary research environment and support your academic career in successfully extending your academic profile through cutting-edge publications. The Institute for Artificial Intelligence is part of Cyber Valley, the largest and most prestigious research center for AI in Europe. Through the International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems, the ELLIS Unit Stuttgart, and the ELLIS Network as a whole, they offer excellent opportunities for collaboration from local to international levels. The salary amounts to German TV-L E13, which starts at approx. 60,000 Euro per year (before taxation), depending on your experience.

How to apply?

Applications should be submitted via the International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems at https://imprs.is.mpg.de/application. Submit your application with the required documents and indicate Prof. Staab as your targeted PhD advisor. In particular, documents should include:

1. a motivational/cover letter that highlights why you are the right fit for this specific position,
2. a curriculum vitae,
3. scans of all your original final transcripts and diploma certificates from each university degree (Bachelor, Master, Doctorate). Please include translations into English or German. Translations done by the applicant themselves will be accepted. The group has more than 10 nationalities, and they can likely confirm the accuracy of your translation internally.
4. Letters of recommendation (if possible).

Email applications (whether exclusively or in parallel) will be considered a malus.

Women who apply will be given preferential consideration in areas in which they are underrepresented, provided they have the same aptitude, qualifications, and professional performance. Severely disabled applicants with equal qualifications will be given priority.

More questions?

Check out https://gepris.dfg.de/project/578894011?lang=en for more details. Please visit their website to learn more about their research (http://ki.uni-stuttgart.de/). Personal inquiries can be directed to Prof. Staab.