Post-Doc Position in Wearable UIs - Human Computer Interaction Lab, Saarland University

The HCI Lab at Saarland University (http://hci.cs.uni-saarland.de) is seeking an outstanding Postdoctoral Associate to conduct cutting-edge research in the area of wearable user interfaces.

In the HCI Lab, we explore the future of wearable interfaces. In an ongoing ERC grant on InteractiveSkin, a prestigious five-year grant, we seek to pioneer a new generation of wearable devices. They are elastic und ultra-thin, to seamlessly blend with the human body, with textiles, or body-worn accessories. This opens up exciting opportunities for novel body-based interactions and applications in mobile computing, fitness and health.

The position is situated within this context, in an environment that offers much creative freedom and support to conduct cutting-edge research. You can shape the ideas you pursue, in one or several of the following areas:

Design and evaluation of body-based interaction techniques
Fabrication of body-based interfaces (computational design tools, physical fabrication techniques, new materials, etc.)
Body-based or textile sensing, actuators, displays
Empirical evaluation of body-based interaction

The lab is part of the German Cluster of Excellence on Multimodal Computing and Interaction. We have a strong research focus, a strong presence at CHI and UIST, and ongoing collaborations with major international institutes. Saarbruecken is one of the top research sites in HCI, with 10 papers published at CHI 2019. You will work closely with members of the HCI lab and frequently interact with members of the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence DFKI, and the Leibniz Institute for New Materials, all based on Saarland Informatics Campus in Saarbruecken (Germany).

Some papers from our group:

QUALIFICATIONS

A successful candidate has:

a PhD degree in Computer Science, Information Science, Human-Computer Interaction, Electrical Engineering, Material Science, or related field (or is about to obtain the PhD degree)
an outstanding track record of publications in top-tier venues related to human-computer interaction
creativity, independence
excellent team working and communication skills,
high motivation for research at the intersection of HCI and new technologies
proficiency in English is a prerequisite, proficiency in German a plus

POSITION

We offer a fully funded post-doc position for two years. The start date is flexible, but fall/winter 2019 is preferred. Salaries are internationally competitive, based on state employees salary scheme TV-L E 13 or E 14 (100%), and include health insurance and social insurance.

Your role will involve the design, prototyping, and/or evaluation of new interactive technology and user interfaces, as well as writing up the results for academic publication. You will contribute to the leadership of ongoing projects (e.g., within our ERC Grant InteractiveSkin) while also initiating new ones based on your unique background and expertise. You will also have the opportunity to supervise graduate and undergraduate students and (moderately) contribute to the teaching activities of the lab.

ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT

Saarbruecken can count itself amongst the best locations for computer science research worldwide. In immediate proximity to each other on the Saarbrücken Campus, you find Saarland University’s Department of Computer Science, the two Max Planck Institutes for Informatics and for Software Systems, the German Excellence Cluster “Multimodal Computing and Interaction”, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), the Helmholtz CISPA center for IT security, and a few other research institutes, all in all with some 400 researchers. Together they attract talent from all over the world with the Saarbrücken Graduate School of Computer Science playing an important supporting role. You can find more information on http://saarland-informatics-campus.de/.

HOW TO APPLY

We start reviewing candidates on 3 June 2019. Please submit a cover letter (describing research experience, fit for position and future interests), your CV, a full list of publications, study transcripts, names and contact information of three references, and PDFs of three selected publications. Please send your application via e-mail to Kathrin Keim, keim@cs.uni-saarland.de. Should you have questions about the position, please contact Prof. Dr. Jürgen Steimle http://hci.cs.uni-saarland.de/juergen. Saarland University is an equal opportunity employer. In accordance with the policy of increasing the proportion of women in this type of employment, we actively encourage applications from women. For candidates with equal qualifications, preference will be given to people with physical disabilities.