Doctoral Researcher in spatial data management (SDC-36)

About This Opportunity

We are representing a confidential social science research institute in Köln, Germany. Our talent team is seeking a Doctoral Researcher specializing in spatial data management to join a team focused on survey data augmentation and geospatial infrastructure development. This is a 3-year limited position at 75% working time, starting January 1, 2027.

Our client processes and prepares social science research data across diverse data types to support sociological and political science research. The team you'll join is developing a research data infrastructure for geocoded electoral data, making it more findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable for democracy research.

Responsibilities

• Set up data storage technology and program the R interface and auxiliary tools for the spatial electoral data infrastructure
• Test and assess the technical stack to ensure it meets researchers' needs for spatial electoral data
• Support data modeling, data ingestion pipelines, and curation workflows
• Contribute to technical documentation, project outreach, and dissemination activities
• Conduct methodological or applied research showcasing the added value of the infrastructure
• Complete a PhD thesis closely aligned with the project

What We're Looking For

• Master's degree in geography, geoinformatics, spatial data science, or a related discipline
• Technical literacy in geospatial software stacks
• Strong programming skills in R
• Strong interest in the application of GIS and spatial data to political and social science research
• Motivation to complete a PhD thesis closely aligned with the project
• Excellent English language skills

How We Work With You

Candidates apply through the Get A Job.ai platform. Our recruiters will conduct an initial screening to understand your background and career goals. Qualified candidates will then be submitted to our client for consideration. Please do not contact the client directly—all communication should flow through our team to ensure a smooth process.

Pay

Compensation follows TV-L salary group 13 guidelines. Pay details will be discussed during the screening process.

Work Arrangement: The position offers flexible working hours and regulations for mobile working. The client provides very good conditions for reconciling work and family life, including childcare subsidies, company health management, discounted sports program participation, pension provision support, and professional development opportunities.

Get A Job.ai is an equal opportunity recruiter. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected characteristic.