Principal Investigator Positions (m/f/d) as Hector Endowed Fellows of the ELLIS Institute Tübingen

ELLIS (European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems) is a European initiative in AI focused on scientific excellence, innovation, and societal impact. It brings together many of Europe’s leading machine learning researchers and aims to establish a pan-European AI laboratory.

The ELLIS Institute Tübingen is supported by a €100 million endowment from the Hector Foundation. Located near Stuttgart in the historic city of Tübingen, a picturesque university town in southwestern Germany, the Institute offers an inspiring environment for research and collaboration. Major cities such as Stuttgart, Zurich, Munich, and Frankfurt are easily accessible by public transportation. Stuttgart Airport, which offers direct flights to many European destinations, is just a 30-minute drive away.

Our mission is to build the next generation of learning systems and to advance a deeper understanding of the organizing principles underlying intelligent systems. We pursue this goal in a research environment dedicated to addressing fundamental scientific and societal challenges. To attract top talent aligned with this vision, we offer outstanding conditions, fluid relationship with startups, and the opportunity to create societal and economic impact within a community of scientists committed to building a joint European ecosystem. We encourage applications from all areas of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and related disciplines.

We are seeking to recruit independent Principal Investigators who will enjoy full academic freedom, with no teaching and minimal service obligations. Positions come with generous funding for personnel, equipment, and operational costs. As a privately funded institute, the ELLIS Institute offers globally competitive overall packages, with generous research funding. 

Positions are initially for six years and include an appointment as a Fellow or Scholar of the ELLIS Society. The positions offer the possibility of co-appointment with either the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS), one of Europe’s leading AI research institutes, or, for outstanding senior candidates, co-appointment as a professor at the University of Tübingen. Both options are part of the Tübingen AI Center, a joint research center of the University of Tübingen and the Max Planck Institute, supported by permanent government funding. A tenure-track option at MPI-IS exists.
Co-appointed Principal Investigators benefit from the extensive resources and vibrant intellectual environment of the Tübingen AI Center, which currently hosts more than 25 research labs and is actively expanding.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are fundamental values at our institute and integral to our recruitment process. We strive to foster an intellectually diverse environment where all qualified applicants receive equal consideration, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or age. We especially encourage applications from groups and research areas that are underrepresented in our community. 

Candidates should hold a PhD or an equivalent international degree. Applications must include a research statement (up to three pages) detailing past accomplishments and future scientific plans, as well as an academic CV including a publication list. All materials should be submitted in English as a single PDF file via the online application system.

In addition, we require reference letters to be submitted directly by the referees. After registering in the online application system, you will receive detailed instructions on how these letters should be sent.

To receive full consideration, applications must be submitted by December 15, 2025.

Important Dates:

• December 15, 2025: Application deadline

• January–February 2026: Review stage

• February 27th, March 2-3: On-site talks in Tübingen, Germany

• April 2026: Final decisions

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at applications-pi@tue.ellis.eu.