Animal Comparative Economics lab PhD position

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2 year early-career postdoctoral researcher

2 year post-doc position

The dream post-doc: do whatever you want to do for two years!

An open-topic post-doctoral position in the Czaczkes work group

Prof. Czaczkes won the Heinz-Meier Leibniz prize in 2024, which comes with enough money to hire one lucky researcher - maybe you? - for two years!

The topic of the research is completely up to you! Some examples of topics which we find interesting include:

Insect behaviour
Learning and memory
Collective decision-making
Comparative Psychology
Animal welfare
Insect ecology
Applied entomology
Invasive species biology

But this list just shows Czaczkes' lack of imagination: if you have an exciting idea and think it will tempt us, apply! Just make sure that the project is doable within 2 years, and doesn't require tens of thousands of euro of specialist equipment.

Early career candidates within 2 years of completing their PhD are especially welcome. Candidates set to complete their PhD by the end of 2025 are also welcome.

The successful candidate will be able to design their own research space (within limits), and will be supported if they require specialist equipment for their research (within limits).

This position comes with no teaching load, but successful candidates are welcome to offer teaching in order to gain experience and boost their CV.

The successful candidate will be employed at full time researcher rates for Germany (§ 2 Abs. 1 WissZeitVG, TV-L E13, 100%), 4100-6000 euro gross per month depending on years of qualifying experience. The position is limited to 2 years.

This advertisement is not legally binding. The official advertisement (German only) will be published when available.

Requirements and details

The position can begin as of 1st January 2026, but a slightly later start is possible.

Candidates require:

- a PhD in a quantitative research field

- Excellent level of written and spoken English

- A really excellent project idea

Also advantageous is

- Advanced conceptual or applied methods with which to enrich the lab

- At least one paper published or as a preprint

For more information, or to apply, contact

Prof. Tomer Czaczkes.

Applicants should initially send a single PDF document, beginning with a 500 word max project description (figures allowed, up to one page total). The project description page must contain no other identifying information: no applicant name, no contact details, no references. Just the project title, the max 500 words, and figures if needed.

After the project description a maximum 2 page CV should be added. Please do not include a picture of yourself in the CV. Finally, the contact details of at least one supervisor willing to provide a letter of support should be provided.

Deadline for the initial application: 1st August 2025

A limited number of applicants will then be invited to submit a longer (but still short, max 4 pages, excluding references) project proposal.