Tenure-track professorship (W1) „Biomedical Photonics“

Other

30.09.2026

• The tenure-track professorship (W1) “Biomedical Photonics” will be affiliated with the KIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology. Your research focuses on the field of the intersection between medical engineering and neurosciences. Of particular interest are projects in the field of photonic and electronic, direct and indirect neural interfaces. Your work should focus on the development and fabrication of novel neural interfaces offering high biocompatibility and signal quality. Close collaboration with clinical users as well as neuroscientists should be a central element of your research activities.
• The position involves a teaching load of 4 hours per week; following a positive evaluation, this increases to 6 hours per week.
• Your teaching responsibilities represent Biomedical Photonics or your field of specialization in German- and / or English-language introductory and research-oriented advanced courses in the Bachelor’s and Master’s program in Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, the Master’s program in Biomedical Engineering as well as in Optics & Photonics at the KIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology. To support you as you begin your teaching career, a wide range of language courses is available at KIT as needed.
• You are expected to actively participate in academic self-governance at the KIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology and in Division III, to secure public and industrial third-party funding, and to be actively involved in technology transfer.
• You are expected to contribute to at least one of the KIT Centers: Health Technologies, Materials in Technical and Life Sciences, or Humans and Technology as well as to the Graduate School Karlsruhe School of Optics & Photonics.

This research center is part of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers. With more than 42,000 employees and an annual budget of over € 5 billion, the Helmholtz Association is Germany's largest scientific organisation.

Company

The Helmholtz Association contributes to solving major challenges to assure the future of our society. With more than 47.500 people on staff in 18 national Research Centers and an annual budget of more than 6 billion euros, the Helmholtz Association is Germany’s largest scientific organization. The name Helmholtz stands for concerted research, in which networks form the key principle behind inquiring thought and action.

The profile of the Helmholtz Association

The Helmholtz Association performs cutting-edge research which contributes substantially to solving the grand challenges of science, society and industry. To succeed in meeting these responsibilities, Helmholtz concentrates its work in six research fields: Energy, Earth and Environment, Health, Information, Matter, as well as Aeronautics, Space and Transport. Within each of these fields, research programs are developed by our scientists and regularly evaluated by renowned international experts. Their evaluation forms the basis for the program-oriented funding that is allocated to Helmholtz research. Within the six research fields, Helmholtz scientists cooperate with each other and with external partners – working across disciplinary, organizational and national borders.

Moreover, Helmholtz specializes in large-scale research infrastructures – from accelerator facilities, earth observation satellites, research ships to supercomputers. They form the basis for scientific advances in tackling global societal challenges. Managing national research infrastructure is part of the Helmholtz Association's mission.

Promoting young academics

Helmholtz scientists, a high-performance infrastructure and modern and efficient research management are the ingredients to the Helmholtz Association‘s success and global impact.
Promoting young researchers is a major priority for the Helmholtz Association. Its qualification schemes for young researchers are geared mainly towards PhD students, postdocs and young managers. The Helmholtz Association has set high standards for its talent management. Its strategy begins with targeted recruitment of highly qualified staff at all levels, followed by comprehensive support aimed at further developing their potential. Ensuring equal opportunities is an essential element in all talent management activities undertaken by the Helmholtz Association.

The Helmholtz Graduate Schools and Research Schools at almost all Helmholtz Centers provide doctoral students with the general and specific skills and training they need, as well as ample opportunity to network. The period following a doctorate is decisive in determining the direction and success of a scientific career. For this reason, we established Career Development Centers for postdoctoral researchers in the Helmholtz Centers. This equips young researchers with the skills they need to go on to head a Helmholtz Investigator Group , for example. As an Investigator Group leader, junior scientists can independently set up their own group to conduct research in their specialist field and acquire management skills.

Within its talent management strategy, the Helmholtz Association pays special attention to the increased recruitment of talented female scientists both from Germany and abroad. To this end, there are currently two funding programs supporting this policy: and Helmholtz Distinguished Professorship – Funding for the recruitment of leading international female scientists (W3) .

The increasing complexity of the content, structures and framework conditions of scientific work today requires researchers to organize their projects, their employees and, of course, themselves in a highly professional and effective way. In response to these demands, we have set up the Helmholtz Leadership Academy to provide leaders in science with professional management training. Furthermore, the Helmholtz network provides a platform for the alumni of the Helmholtz Leadership Academy to come together and share their experiences of leadership, career development and lifelong learning.

All of this combined makes the 18 Research Centers of the Helmholtz Association a highly attractive environment for talented researchers from all over the world.

Company info

Telephone

0049-30-206329-0

Location

Anna-Louisa-Karsch-Str. 2
Berlin
Berlin
10178
Germany