RESEARCH ASSISTANT position

The Multimodal Language Department is offering a part-time Research Assistant position. The desired start date is between 1 November 2026 and 31 January 2027.

Job description

We are seeking a research assistant to help with the Department’s ongoing research projects on different aspects of multimodal language. The research assistant will primarily help to coordinate and assist with studies on multimodal language and with annotating and coding of multimodal data (e.g. speech, facial signals, gesture, text). They will also help with the processing and analysis (e.g. kinematic or statistical) of multimodal language data. 

Activities

The research assistant will be involved in diverse tasks. Activities are expected to include, but are not limited to:

• Creating and pre-testing stimulus materials.
• Scheduling participants and running experimental lab-based studies using different methodologies such as Virtual Reality, Motion Capture, eye tracking, and EEG (training will be provided).
• Assisting with studies that use machine learning, computational modeling, and AI to understand multimodal language use and processing.
• Annotating, coding, transcribing, organizing multimodal datasets (e.g. audio, video, eye tracking, motion capture).
• Data processing, analyses, and interpretation.
• Assisting with everyday lab business (e.g. participant recruitment, organizational and administrative tasks).
  
   

Requirements

Essential 

• Native Dutch speaker.
• Good fluency in spoken and written English.
• A relevant Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree (e.g. Psychology, Linguistics, Computational Linguistics, Computer Science, Cognitive Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, or related fields).
• Experience with leading and/or running experimental studies, preferably on topics related to language.
• Experience with or willingness to learn computational modeling approaches (e.g., probabilistic or Bayesian models), and kinematic analyses of gesture and sign language.
• Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Good time management skills.
• Ability to work as part of a collaborative, international research team.

Desirable

• Experience with the use of different methodologies such as eye tracking, EEG, motion capture, virtual reality.
• Experience with the use of PRAAT and/or ELAN. 
• Basic programming or data analysis skills (e.g., Python, R, or MATLAB).

What we offer you

• Position available from 1 November 2026 but no later than January 2027.
• Term of appointment of 6 months initially with the possibility of extension up to 3 years, depending on performance.
• Part-time position (32 hours per week), working on-site.
• The salary is in accordance with the German TVöD (Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst) and is classified in salary group E09b. Depending on the experience of the applicant, the salary is between EUR 3.833,50 and EUR 5.297,75 gross per month (based on a full-time employment), plus a holiday bonus of 8% of the gross salary. This equates to EUR 49.682,16 – EUR 68.656,12 per year, including holiday bonus.

How to apply

The deadline for applications is midnight (CEST) on Tuesday 15 September 2026. Please apply via this link in our recruitment portal including:

• A cover letter outlining your motivation to apply and detailing how you fit the requirements above.
• 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).
• A summary of courses and grades achieved from relevant Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degrees.
• The names and contact details of two referees (referees will not be contacted unless you are invited to interview).

Interviews (in English) will be held on 23 September (afternoon) and 25 September, in person at the MPI in Nijmegen or via Zoom. Please let us know in your cover letter if you are available on these dates.

For further information or questions about this position, please contact the secretary of the Multimodal Language Department, Brigit van Loon (Brigit.vanLoon [at] mpi.nl (Brigit[dot]vanLoon[at]mpi[dot]nl)). 

About the Multimodal Language Department

The Multimodal Language Department in particular aims to understand the cognitive and social foundations of the human ability for language and its evolution by focusing on its multimodal aspect and crosslinguistic diversity. The research at the department combines multiple methods including corpus and computational linguistics, psycho- and neuro-linguistics, machine learning, AI and virtual reality, and is concerned with various populations ranging from speakers of signed and spoken languages, young and older subjects from typical and atypical populations. The department provides opportunities for training in a range of linguistic, and conversational state-of-the-art multimodal language analysis (such as motion capture and automatic speech recognition), as well as neuropsychological, psychological methods related to multimodal language and frequent research and public engagement meetings, and support from an excellent team of researchers in linguistics and psycholinguistics.

About our institute

The Max Planck Institute (MPI) 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 recognize 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.

Our institute is situated on the campus of the Radboud University and has close collaborative links with the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior and the Centre for Language Studies at the Radboud University. We also work closely with other child development researchers as part of the Baby & Child Research Center.

Staff and students at the MPI have access to state-of-the-art research and training facilities.