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Research and Teaching Associate

  • Vienna University of Economics and Business
  • Commercial professions (other)
  • Research, development, teaching
  • Part time
  • published till: 2026-07-15

You want to make a fundamental impact in machine learning and reinforcement learning? We offer an environment where you can realize your full potential. At one of Europe’s largest and most modern business and economics universities. On a campus where quality of work is also quality of life. We are looking for support at the

Institute for Statistics and Mathematics
Part-time, 30 hours/week
Starting October 01, 2026, and ending after 6 years
 
Qualified candidates with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply for this position. If necessary, a reduction of the extent of employment is possible. 
 
For further information, you can contact Prof. Michael Mühlebach michael.muehlebach@wu.ac.at. You can find further information on Mühlebach’s research under https://www.wu.ac.at/en/statmath/faculty-staff/faculty/michael-muehlebach.

What to expect

  • You will carry out cutting edge research in machine learning and related fields. You will closely work with faculty members at the institute. You will publish in top-tier venues of the field (JMLR, SIAM, NeurIPS, ICML, etc.) and present your work at leading conferences (ICML, NeurIPS, ICLR, etc.).
  • The position is focused on reinforcement learning (RL) and online optimization. This includes for example work on sample complexity of model-based RL algorithms, partial observability and memory/compute efficient representations for decision-making, uncertainty quantification and targeted exploration, reinforcement learning for reasoning models and agentic AI systems.
  • The position will be associated with the Bilateral AI Cluster of Excellence (www.bilateral-ai.net), which enables collaborations with partner institutes Johannes Kepler University Linz, AAU Klagenfurt, ISTA, TU Graz, and TU Vienna. A successful applicant will also be affiliated with the Bilateral AI Doctoral School. We recommend candidates to also name potential co-supervisors from within the “Bilateral AI” network, see https://www.bilateral-ai.net/research/key-researchers.
  • A mix of fundamental research with empirical evaluation (multi-GPU nodes with H100/B200 are available inhouse).
  • Potential applications in supply chain optimization, energy markets, marketing and business analytics, and beyond.
  • As a successful candidate you will be member of WU's PhD Label “Mathematics in Economics and Business” (a special track within the PhD Program in Economics and Social Science offering a modern interdisciplinary scientific education in mathematics and statistics for economics and business, see https://www.wu.ac.at/en/statmath/phd-label-mathematics-in-economics-and-business).
  • Teaching and Supervision: You will have teaching and supervision duties at the undergraduate level (2hrs of teaching per week).
  • You will be investigating your research topic and spending a third of your working hours on writing your dissertation.

What you have to offer

  • Academic degree: You have a diploma/master’s degree in computer science, applied mathematics, engineering or similar that qualifies you for enrollment in a doctoral program at WU.
  • Strong background in applied mathematics (statistics, optimization, machine learning, control theory) is desirable.
  • Good English as well as programming skills in Python, R or C/C++.
  • Pedagogical and presentation skills.
  • German language skills are not a prerequisite.
  • You are willing to use multimedia teaching and learning formats.

What we offer you

  • Six weeks of vacation/Extra vacation time
  • Flexible working hours
  • Training opportunities
  • A wide range of benefits, from an in-house medical officer to athletic activities and a meal allowance to a variety of employee discounts
  • Meaningful work in an open-minded, inclusive, and family-friendly environment
  • A modern campus with spectacular architecture in the heart of Vienna
  • Inspiring campus life with over 2,400 employees in research, teaching, and administration and approximately 21,500 students
  • Excellent accessibility by public transportation

Curious? Visit our website and find out more at www.wu.ac.at/benefits

The minimum monthly gross salary amounts to €2,832.08 (14 times per year). This salary may be adjusted based on job-related prior work experience. In addition, we offer a wide range of attractive social benefits.

Do you want to join the WU team?
Then please submit your application by July 15, 2026 (ID 2827).
We are looking forward to hearing from you!

WU is committed to diversity and inclusion and actively encourages applications from people of all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from women. Not sure if your profile fully matches our requirements? Apply anyway! In case of equal qualification, female candidates will be given preference. Applicants with disabilities will be supported throughout each stage of the recruitment process. Candidates' qualifications will be assessed in the context of their academic age.