Professorship in Distributed Data and Knowledge Engineering (open rank)

The University of Basel invites applications for a Professorship in Distributed Data and Knowledge Engineering to join the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science (DMI). This position strengthens the long-term research and teaching profile of the department at the intersection of distributed systems, data science, and machine intelligence, core areas of computer science that are increasingly unified by the central role of data. The new professor will contribute to the department's vision of Trustworthy and Responsible AI, the university-wide research network Responsible Digital Society, and to the University's broader AI initiative.
The new professor will enhance the research portfolio of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and contribute to teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level. They will be expected to foster interdisciplinary research collaborations across departments and affiliated institutions, thereby strengthening the University of Basel's contributions to the management, processing, and analysis of large and heterogeneous data.

Within the DMI, the new professor will build bridges between distributed systems, data science, and machine intelligence through shared interests in data-intensive systems, distributed infrastructures, and AI-driven data management.

Beyond the department, the position offers synergy with faculties that rely on complex data management (incl. life sciences, digital humanities, and economics) as well as with the Center for Data Analytics (CeDA) and the Center for Scientific Computing (sciCORE).
We seek candidates with an outstanding research record in distributed data and knowledge engineering, in particular in one or several of the following areas: large-scale data integration and provenance, real-time analytics and stream processing, AI/ML data pipelines, cloud-native and distributed infrastructures, knowledge management and information retrieval, and responsible data engineering.

Priority will be given to candidates who additionally have a strong record of interdisciplinary work and who address key issues such as scalability, reproducibility, and the ethical dimensions of data and knowledge engineering. A strong commitment to excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching and mentorship is essential. Preference will be given to candidates who demonstrate a vision for shaping the future of data-driven computing through both their research and educational practices.
The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science provides excellent research and teaching conditions and a stimulating academic environment. It maintains a wide range of collaborations with other departments of the Faculty of Science and affiliated research institutions, other Faculties, as well as other universities.

The University of Basel is an equal opportunity and family-friendly employer committed to excellence through diversity. To increase the number of women in leading academic positions, the University strongly welcomes female applicants.
Application / Contact

Applications, including a curriculum vitae, list of publications indicating the five most significant papers, a statement of current and future research, a teaching statement, and names of five potential referees should be submitted online (as one single PDF file) addressed to Prof. Dr. Oliver Wenger, Dean of Studies of the Faculty of Science. For further information about the position, contact Prof. Dr. Florina Ciorba ([email protected]). The deadline for receipt of applications is September 30, 2026. We kindly ask you to apply exclusively via the online application platform of the University of Basel.