University Assistant Predoctoral, Psychology

Application deadline: 13 August 2026

About the role

The University of Vienna is a community of almost 11,000 individuals, including approximately 7,700 academic staff members, who passionately pursue answers to the profound questions that shape our future. The Faculty of Psychology comprises, beside the Dean's office and the StudyServiceCenter, four Departments. We offer a position for a university assistant (prae doc) at the Clinical and Neuroscience Unit (Univ. Prof. Giorgia Silani) at the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology.

Together with the research group, you will conduct research from a neuroscientific point of view on the mechanisms (neurochemical and neurophysiological) behind processes of the heart of what has been termed "social intelligence", such as empathy and prosocial behaviors, in the clinical and non-clinical population. This goal is achieved by using a multi-level approach that combines different methodologies: genetic, functional neuroimaging, TMS, EEG, and pharmacological manipulations.

The research group actively promotes open and reproducible science (e.g., through preregistration and sharing of materials and data) and science communication, and values diverse perspectives.

Start date: 1 September 2026 | Working hours: 30 | Limited until: 31 August 2029

Responsibilities

• Planning and execution of empirical studies
• Publication of research results in international scientific journals
• Presentation of research results at national and international conferences
• Participation in the acquisition of new research projects
• Participation in science communication activities
• Participation in the faculty's and department's administration
• Conducting research in the central topics at the Clinical Social Neuroscience Unit, with an expectation to finalize your dissertation agreement within 6-12 months
• Participation in teaching and independent teaching of courses as defined by the collective agreement
• Supervision of students
• Involvement in the organization of meetings, conferences, and symposia

Requirements

• Completed Master’s degree in Psychology or a closely related field (e.g., Cognitive Science, Neuroscience)
• Strong background in empirical research and scientific writing
• High interest in research in the field of clinical and social neuroscience
• Basic programming skills (e.g., Python, MATLAB)
• Ability to present and process research questions in a structured way
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a research team
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously
• High commitment and initiative
• Excellent written and spoken English skills
• Interest in interdisciplinary research

Desirable Qualifications

• Experience contributing to research projects (e.g., data collection, experiment administration, data management), ideally experience with fMRI projects
• Solid statistical knowledge and experience with common statistical software (e.g., SPSS, JASP, R)
• Initial teaching experience
• Clinical experience working with psychological disorders (e.g., schizophrenia or related conditions) considered an advantage
• Working experience in interdisciplinary or intersectoral teams
• International experience (e.g., Erasmus or comparable exchange programs) considered an advantage

Benefits

• Employment duration of 3 years, initially limited to 1.5 years with automatic extension to 3 years if not terminated within the first 12 months
• Basic salary (full time) of EUR 3,776.10 according to the classification of the collective bargaining agreement in the B1 salary group, increasing after 3 years of service
• Flexible home office agreement for up to ten working days a month
• Career development opportunities including completing a doctorate and support for a scientific career
• Research visits with international cooperation partners
• Teaching experience in bachelor's and master's programs
• Participation in continued education courses offered by the Graduate Center of the University of Vienna
• Membership in the Vienna Doctoral School in Cognition, Behaviour and Neuroscience (VDS CoBeNe)