Department of Comparative Language Science

Postdoc Position in Cross Cultural Neuro-/Psycholinguistics 80 %

Start of employment as soon as possible, temporary

The NCCR Evolving Language (www.evolvinglanguage.ch) invites applications for a postdoctoral position in an interdisciplinary project on the evolution of language in a neuroscience perspective, focusing particularly on cross-cultural and cross-linguistic diversity in language processing.

The NCCR is a Swiss National Center of Competence in Research with the goal of creating a new discipline, Evolutionary Language Science, that targets the past and future of language. The center consists of scientists from traditionally separated academic domains, which allows us to harvest the diverse expertise from the humanities, social sciences, computational sciences, natural sciences and medicine towards a broadscale interdisciplinary collaboration.

The position is part of the Distributional Linguistics Lab headed by Prof. Balthasar Bickel. Collaboration is expected with neuroimaging experts in the Evolutionary Neuroscience of Language Lab headed by Prof. Martin Meyer in the same department (Department of Comparative Language Science, University of Zurich) and in the larger neuroscience community in the NCCR.

Your responsibilities

Employment is at 80% FTE (including 20% teaching). The position is a training opportunity and the successful candidate is expected to use the remaining unpaid 20% for their own further training and skill development.

The successful candidate is expected to conduct experiments in various research stations and field sites across the world.

Your profile

We are looking for a candidate with a solid background in sentence planning and sentence comprehension, with good computational and statistical modeling skills. Familiarity with EEG is a strong asset but can potentially also be developed at the beginning of the postdoc. The ideal candidate is keen on engaging with evolutionary questions and aspects of the brain-language relationship.

The NCCR Evolving Language places great emphasis on teamwork and multidisciplinary perspectives. Strong communication and collaboration skills are essential. Excellent oral and written communication in English is required.

Information on your application

University of Zurich offers excellent opportunities and strong support for career development. Salaries are internationally competitive: Salary ranges, guidelines for employees in SNSF-funded projects (PDF).

The position comes in one-year contracts, renewable up to four years depending on performance.

We take gender balance and diversity seriously in our hiring decisions.

Review of applications will start November 22, 2024, and the position remains open until filled. To apply, please send us the following documents as a single PDF (in English):
  • Cover letter (1.5 pages max, describing your previous experience, your research interests as part of the NCCR program with a motivation to apply for the present position)
  • CV, including a publication list contact information (name, position, and e-mail address) of two references
  • A maximum of two writing samples / publications of your own

For further information, please contact Lena Zipp

What we offer

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What we offer

Work-Life Balance
  • Flexible working models (such as part-time positions, mobile working, job-sharing)
  • Childcare at the kihz foundation of UZH and ETH


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Learning and Development
  • Wide range of continuing education courses of UZH and the Canton of Zurich
  • Language Center run jointly with ETH Zurich

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Food
  • Food and drinks at reduced prices in the UZH cafeterias
  • Lunch-Check-card with UZH contribution

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Healthcare
  • Special conditions on the Academic Sports Association ASVZ
  • Free seasonal flu vaccinations
  • Rest and relaxation at the quiet room in the university tower

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Discounts
  • Private traffic: Carsharing, rent a vehicle, parking space
  • Digitalization: Hardware, software, mobile phone subscriptions
  • Special conditions on hotel reservations

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Conditions of Employment
  • Policies of the UZH
  • Most UZH staff are employed according to public law


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International Services
  • Support for people from outside Switzerland

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Campuses
  • Campuses Zurich City, Zurich Irchel, Oerlikon and Schlieren
  • Sites Zurich West, Old Botanical Garden, Botanical Garden and Lengg

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Further information

Questions about the job

Lena Zipp Program Coordinator
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Working at UZH
The University of Zurich, Switzerland's largest university, offers a range of attractive positions in various subject areas and professional fields. With around 10,000 employees and currently 12 professional apprenticeship streams the University offers an inspiring working environment on cutting-edge research and top-class education. Put your talent and skills to work with us. Find out more about UZH as an employer!
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Please apply via our job portal www.jobs.uzh.ch.

Working at UZH

The University of Zurich, Switzerland's largest university, offers a range of attractive positions in various subject areas and professional fields. With around 10,000 employees and currently 12 professional apprenticeship streams the University offers an inspiring working environment on cutting-edge research and top-class education. Put your talent and skills to work with us. Find out more about UZH as an employer! More
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