Postdoctoral Researcher Automatic Speech Recognition

The FOSTERLANG project is a 3-year EC-funded project within the Horizon Europe programme, ran by a consortium of 14 partner across Europe. The project aims to have a transformative effect on how minoritised and migrant languages are protected, used and promoted in Europe in the context of the competitive societal dynamic between dominant and non-dominant languages. Part of the “Counteracting digital exclusion” work package within the project is to investigate whether recent AI-based automatic speech recognition models can be used and improved for some lesser resourced languages in Europe, by using manually transcribed recordings that are available in The Language Archive and similar archives. This work package is a collaboration between the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and Dublin City University.

The successful candidate will work in a small team with archive specialists and software developers and is expected to collaborate with speech technology experts working on minoritised languages in other institutes.

What we offer

• A 3-year position for the duration of the project, starting on May 1st 2025 (negotiable)
• A full-time position (39h/week). A part-time appointment is negotiable and remote work for up to half of the weekly working hours is possible
• A salary determined according to the German TVöD (Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst), between Euro 4.628,76 and Euro 6.635,44 gross per month, plus a holiday bonus of 8% of the gross salary. This equates to EUR 59.988,73 - EUR 85.995,30 per year, including holiday bonus.
• Pension scheme
• 30 holidays per year, based on full-time employment; in addition, we honour the Dutch and German public holidays

What we ask for

• A PhD in Artificial Intelligence, Speech Technology or a related field
• Experience in working with Automatic Speech Recognition technology 
• Affinity with recent AI-based ASR models such as Whisper and wav2vec 2.0
• Good English language skills, written as well as spoken
• Willingness to attend a number of international workshops that are organised within the project

Application procedure

The deadline for applications is midnight (CEST) on March 31st, 2025. 

Please submit your application directly via this link on our recruitment portal.

Applications should include:

1. A cover letter outlining your motivation to apply and detailing how you fit the requirements above
2. A current CV that includes details of education, relevant work and/or voluntary experience and language(s) proficiency (to facilitate a bias-free hiring process, please do not include a photo or details of gender, age or marital status)
3. The names and contact details of two referees (referees will not be contacted unless you are invited for an interview)

The job interviews will be held in English and are planned on April 21 and 24 in the afternoon.

The employer

About our institute

The Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics is a world-leading research institute devoted to interdisciplinary studies of the science of language and communication, including departments on genetics, psychology, development, neurobiology and multimodality of these fundamental human abilities.

We investigate how children and adults acquire their language(s), how speaking and listening happen in real time, how the brain processes language, how the human genome contributes to building a language-ready brain, how multiple modalities (as in speech, gesture and sign) shape language and its use in diverse languages and how language is related to cognition and culture, and shaped by evolution.

We are part of the Max Planck Society, an independent non-governmental association of German-funded research institutes dedicated to fundamental research in the natural sciences, life sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.

The Max Planck Society is an equal opportunities employer. We recognise the positive value of diversity and inclusion, promote equity and challenge discrimination. We aim to provide a working environment with room for differences, where everyone feels a sense of belonging. Therefore, we welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates (https://www.mpi.nl/page/equal-opportunities).

Our institute is situated on the campus of the Radboud University and has close collaborative links with the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour and the Centre for Language Studies at Radboud University. We also work closely with other child development researchers as part of the Baby & Child Research Center. All staff and students at the MPI have access to state-of-the art research and training facilities.

About The Language Archive

The Language Archive (TLA) maintains one of the largest collections of spoken and signed languages from around the world, part of which is recognized as UNESCO Memory of the World. Its goal is to preserve these materials for future generations as well as to make them available now and in the future. TLA also develop tools and software for archiving language data and for annotating audio and video recordings, e.g., the ELAN Linguistic Annotator.

Additional information

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Paul Trilsbeek (Paul.Trilsbeek [at] mpi.nl)