For its Institutions and Political Inequality department (IPI), the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) is looking for up to

five Student Assistants (ID 337)

on a temporary basis, initially from 1st September 2025 for one year and up to 19 hours per week.

The WZB Berlin Social Science Center is a publicly financed research institution that conducts leading edge theory-based and problem-oriented social science research (http://www.wzb.eu/en). WZB researchers come from across the globe and work across social science disciplines including sociology, political science, economics, law, and psychology. As a member of the Leibniz Association, WZB’s research is directed at the science community, policy makers, the media, and the general public.

The department’s research uses experimental and observational approaches to study the political economy of inequality, intergroup conflict and post-conflict reconciliation, and informal institutions. The successful applicant will work in a dynamic, international research environment. The position would be an ideal substantive fit for students interested in development, political and economic inequality, and in processing and analyzing large-scale online data. One position is reserved for a candidate that is particularly strong in the field of statistical software development.

Your tasks an duties

• Data collection, including automated approaches (“webscraping”);
• Data management, analysis, and visualization;
• Collaboration and discussion of research ideas;
• Literature search;
• Testing and conducting the application of Large Language Models (LLM) to social scientific tasks (e.g., text annotation, image recognition, data extraction);
• Development and maintenance of statistical software tools for causal inference and open science applications.

• Enrolment in a Bachelor (advanced) or Master program with a focus on political science, economics, data science, statistics, or a related discipline;
• Excellent knowledge of the English language (the working language of the research department is English);
• Good knowledge of German, Arabic, Russian, and/or Chinese is a big plus;
• Training in and experience with statistical methods, advanced regression models, and excellent R, Python and/or Stata skills;
• Optional: Interest and experience in formal modelling (game theory, agent-based modelling);
• Competent handling of MS Office applications.

• Remuneration in accordance with the TdL guidelines (currently €13.98 per hour without a Bachelor’s degree and €14.59 per hour with one);
• A well-equipped workplace in the centre of Berlin;
• International, cooperative, and diverse working environment;
• In-depth integration into the scientific community in the form of colloquiums and conferences;
• Thorough instruction and guidance;
• Flexible working hours and the possibility of mobile working (at least 20% of the weekly working hours as stated in the agreed in the company agreement)
• We promote a good work-life balance;
• Cafeteria with modern recreation rooms;
• Discounted leisure and recreation opportunities with a membership in Sozialwerk.Bund;
• Counselling and support services for WZB employees in difficult life situations.

We value diversity and welcome all applications – irrespective of gender, nationality, ethnic or social origin, religion, disability, age, or sexual orientation. WZB expressly encourages women or persons with migration backgrounds to apply. Equally qualified applicants with disabilities will be given preference.

If you have any questions regarding the job opening, please contact the IPI office at application-ipi[at]wzb.eu.

Candidates are requested to submit a cover letter and CV (in English), alongside any supporting certificates in the form of a single PDF file via our online application tool until 16th June 2025.

The interviews will likely take place on Monday, 30th June 2025.

For more information about the IPI research group, click here.
For more information about WZB, see https://www.wzb.eu/en.