CAREER Opportunities

We at CISPA strive to offer scientists, along with their partners and families a pleasant and friendly living environment. This means that at our research center, all of us are on first-name terms. Everyone’s equal here, especially when it comes to coffee (or tea) in the hallway.

MEET THE WORLD AT CISPA

We’re proud of the cultural diversity at CISPA, thanks to our colleagues from all around the world.

Currently, people from 51 countries are part of CISPA: Albania Austria Azerbaijan Bangladesh Brazil Bulgaria Burkina Faso Cameroon Canada China Colombia Denmark Egypt Finland France Gambia Germany Greece Hungary India Indonesia Iran Israel Italy Jordan Lebanon Lithuania Luxemburg Malaysia Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Pakistan Poland Romania Russia Serbia Singapore Slovenia South Korea Spain Sudan Switzerland Syria Thailand Tunisia Turkey UK Ukraine USA Vietnam

Recruitment of highly talented students and young researchers in the fields of cybersecurity and privacy is a core element of CISPA's development and growth strategy. Finding the right people is very important to us. Maybe you're one of them!

Our goal is to hire, train and accompany future researchers in all stages of their scientific careers and to help them advance as learners, from bachelor's and master's degrees to doctorates and positions as young researchers at both postdoctoral and faculty level.

No matter if you’re just starting your career or already have experience, we want to offer all of you an inspiring, international and competitive, yet cooperative working environment for your research and education. We strongly believe that, here, you will be able to develop your full potential.

CAREER AT CISPA

If you decide to pursue a scientific career at CISPA, we will support you through all levels of your career – either in Saarbrücken, our home state, or through our cooperation with Stanford University in California as part of the CISPA Stanford Center for Cyber Security.

We offer tenure track and tenured faculty positions in all areas related to cybersecurity, privacy, cryptography and artificial intelligence.

We offer positions as research group leaders or postdocs. Postdocs have the opportunity to work with the CISPA faculties on existing research lines and to develop their own research agenda accompanied by a CISPA faculty. Many former postdocs now have permanent positions at top universities and research laboratories worldwide, including Carnegie Mellon, Microsoft Research, IMDEA and INRIA.

We offer full-time positions as a PhD student. Working with research group leaders and faculty, you will learn new techniques and methods and find support for your research projects.

ADMINISTRATION, SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT AND OTHER POSITIONS

You can also start your career as a research assistant or with an internship, or board our talented teams of the department for “Scientific Strategy and Support” or the CISPA administration.

If you have any questions, just contact us at onboarding@cispa.de. We will put you in touch with the right people. We would be very happy to do so. Don't wait too long!

CISPA’S CAREER TRACKS FOR RESEARCHERS

What would you actually like to do after your PhD? This is an important question that you should ask yourself early enough during your PhD phase.

With CISPA's comprehensive PhD training, many doors are open to you – in academia, the private sector, the start-up scene, or also in the public sector. We help you already during your time as an early career researcher to find out what your future path might look like. Simply contact us (ecas@cispa.de) and we’ll support you.

ACADEMIA

Do you see your future on the academic career track into responsible positions in research or teaching? There are numerous opportunities at high-ranking academic institutions all over the world. From the postdoctoral phase to a position as a senior researcher or a professorship – we are sure that you will make your way after discovering state-of-the-art methods and techniques at CISPA. To optimally prepare your academic career, we also support you with spending a research visit at a renowned partner institution.

PRIVATE SECTOR

Would you like to try your luck on a career in the private sector and thrive in a corporate environment — maybe even go for a management role? CISPA supports you with useful information, workshops, and valuable contacts to national SMEs and international industry leaders. In addition, voluntary internships will help you gain your own experience and optimally prepare your entry into the private sector.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Have you ever dreamed of starting your own company? In this case, we will support you with converting your research results and IT skills into a product or service. We offer you the CISPA Founders Fellowship, our startup incubator helps out with funding applications and connects you with our partners in CISPA’s innovation ecosystem. On the planned CISPA Innovation Campus, there will be space for you and your team; you will work door-to-door with other startups and established companies.

PUBLIC SECTOR

Do you strive for a career in the public service on the backdrop of your IT expertise? Then various national or international public institutions such as German federal institutes or the authorities of the European Union could be of interest to you. Also positions in science management at research centers or institutes of higher education might ideally combine your field of expertise with managerial and administrative responsibilities.

CISPA-STANFORD CENTER

The CISPA-Stanford Center is an institutional cooperation between Stanford University and CISPA. Founded in 2017, it enabled outstanding researchers who had completed their doctorates to continue their scientific careers at both institutions involved. Currently, no new members are admitted to the program. Click here to learn about former members:

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ONBOARDING

The Onboarding team members are the feel-good managers of CISPA. Onboarding takes care of the entire hiring process, from job advertisement, the selection process, onboarding all the way to professional offboarding. This exceptional support includes help in finding accommodation, a dual-career service and assistance in selecting schools and daycare centers for the children of new employees.

The Onboarding team is not only a partner for applicants, but for all employees. They organize team events and create a unique family start-up atmosphere with their diverse range of services and all-round carefree service, where the best talents from all countries can feel at home.

Dual-Career-Service

Our goal is not only to recruit the best researchers and employees internationally, but also to give them the opportunity to reach their full potential. At the same time, we strive to offer them the best living and working conditions. Of course, this also includes support for relocation and professional reorientation for our new employees' significant others.

We maintain an extensive network of local private and public employers in a wide range of sectors. In addition, our recruitment team offers support with your relocation, the search for suitable schools and kindergartens as well as cultural and leisure activities in the Saarland.

Contact Onboarding and Dual-Career-Service

For further information, don't hesitate to contact us!

Scientific Talent Acquisition and Management

JOB OFFERS

CISPA offers a workplace with state-of-the-art infrastructure in a rapidly growing organization with excellent accessibility by public transport. Employees enjoy flat hierarchies, short decision-making processes and independent work in a friendly team.

For us, the compatibility of family and career, and the promise of equal opportunities for everyone are an integral part of our staffing policy. Therefore, positions are generally also suitable for part-time work. There are open positions for faculty, postdocs, doctoral candidates and research assistants. All current vacancies and more detailed information can be found in our job portal. If you can't find the right position there, simply drop us a line and convince us why we need you.

open job positions

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Here are some answers to questions that have reached us over and over in the past months.

Of Course. Our mission, in a nutshell, is this: We want to construct the digital world of the future from the ground up and make it safer through innovative, cutting-edge research. That’s it! But wait: To achieve this, it’s important that our center will keep growing, to more than 800 employees with no less than 60 Faculty and research group leaders. Does that sound interesting?

Honestly, it’s great. Sure, everyone is saying that about themselves. But really: at CISPA, you will work at a brilliant institution with some of the brightest minds in their respective research areas. These are people who want to see you succeed, to see you go far in your career. As for us, we want to climb to the top of cybersecurity-research-mountain. And sometimes it can also be quite wild and free. Think start-up culture. But that’s ok, it’s important to be creative.

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