About the FHSE
The University of Luxembourg is an international research university with a distinctly multilingual and interdisciplinary character.
The Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE) at the University of Luxembourg brings together expertise from the humanities, linguistics, cognitive sciences, social and educational sciences.
People from across 20 disciplines are working within the Faculty. Along with the disciplinary approach a very ambitious interdisciplinary research culture has been developed. The faculty's research and teaching focuses on social, economic, political and educational issues with the common goal of contributing to an inclusive, open and resourceful society.
Your role
We are looking for a doctoral candidate with a strong computational, engineering, data scientific or machine learning background that is keen to work in an interdisciplinary environment and open to collaborating with researchers from other disciplines.
The successful candidate will join the dynamic and interdisciplinary xCIT research group (https://xcit.org/), which is composed of researchers working on how to use and create digital technologies to study and improve human's lives (e.g., by enhancing learning, improving mental health, teaching green skills, strengthening cybersecurity). The xCIT team is part of the Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Science of the Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Science at the University of Luxembourg.
The xCIT research group has developed a comprehensive suite of software tools for developing and deploying online studies as well as collecting and processing the resulting datasets. These tools include video games, a modular online survey platform, a customizable cognitive assessment platform, data management and processing tools, and much more (for an overview of these technologies, see http://behaverse.org/).
Your role in this team will be to develop computational models and data analysis code to process large, multimodal behavioral datasets using both traditional methods (e.g., factor analysis) as well as more modern approaches (e.g., deep learning). The goals are to develop new computational methods that allow the scientific inference of explainable attributes to describe human behavior and self-reports as well as to make progress in the computational models of the human mind.
Your main tasks, as a PhD candidate, are the following:
- Conduct rigorous, state-of-the-art, innovative research in Computational Cognitive Sciences
- Review the scientific and technical literature
- Publish and present research outputs at international conferences
- Participate in a dedicated training plan (PhD requirement)
- Contribute to various activities (e.g., research, admin, outreach) within the research group, the department or university
- Engage in collaborative work (e.g., supporting others and asking for support when needed)
- Optionally, the PhD candidate may have the opportunity to participate in teaching and student supervision
For further information, please contact Prof. Pedro Cardoso-Leite at
Your profile
Academic background and experience:
A Master's degree in one of the following domains:
- Computer Science (with a focus on AI), Data Science, or related fields; or
- Experimental Psychology, Cognitive Science, or related disciplines
In addition, the candidate should demonstrate:
- Experience with data processing, data analysis, programming, computational modeling and statistics
- Experience with research methods and concepts in experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience (e.g., empirical research, experiment design, questionnaire, EEG)
Technical Skills:
- Programming in Python and/or R
- Data science (e.g., tidyverse, pandas)
- Machine learning (e.g., scikit-learn)
- Deep learning (e.g., PyTorch, Keras3)
- (Optional) bio-signal processing and brain imaging (e.g., EEG, BCI)
- Software engineering methodologies, best practices, and tools (e.g., GitHub, Markdown, LaTeX, DVC)
Communication Skills:
- Proficiency in written and oral English (French is considered an advantage)
- Good academic writing
Organizational and Personal:
- Strong interest in interdisciplinary research and open science
- Excellent organizational skills
- Team-oriented with ability to independently organize work
- Inquisitive mind and critical thinking
- A tinkerer and maker mindset (enjoying building things together and sharing)
- Scientific curiosity, open-mindedness and unquestionable research integrity and ethical conduct
We offer
- Multilingual and international character. Modern institution with a personal atmosphere. Staff coming from 90 countries. Member of the "University of the Greater Region" (UniGR)
- A modern and dynamic university. High-quality equipment. Close ties to the business world and to the Luxembourg labour market. A unique urban site with excellent infrastructure
- A partner for society and industry. Cooperation with European institutions, innovative companies, the Financial Centre and with numerous non-academic partners such as ministries, local governments, associations, NGOs …
How to apply
Applications should include:
- Detailed Curriculum Vitae (provide links to work samples, e.g., on GitHub)
- A cover letter (max 1 page)
- Portfolio, writing and work samples (e.g., MSc thesis, journal article)
- Digital copy of diploma certificates
- Names and contact details of two academic referees
Early application is highly encouraged, as the applications will be processed upon reception. To ensure full consideration, candidates should apply by 1st July 2025 ONLINE formally through the HR system. Applications by Email will not be considered.
All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply. In line with our values, the University of Luxembourg promotes an inclusive culture. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and are dedicated to upholding equality and respect for our employees and students.
General information:
- Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract 36 Month
- Work Hours: Full Time 40.0 Hours per Week
- Planned start date: September 2025
- Location: Campus Belval
- Internal Title: Doctoral Researcher
- Job Reference: UOL07300
The yearly gross salary for every PhD at the UL is EUR 40952 (full time).
