PhD or Postdoc position: Developmental milestones across cultures

2025-11-21

Leuphana University Lüneburg is a humanistic, sustainable, and action-oriented university that stands for innovation in education and science. Methodological diversity, interdisciplinary collaboration, transdisciplinary cooperation with practitioners, and overall dynamic development characterize its research profile in the core areas of education, culture, management/technology, sustainability, and government. Its international study model with Leuphana College, Leuphana Graduate School, and Leuphana Professional School is unique in Germany and has received numerous awards.

For the Department of Developmental Psychology (Prof. Dr. Manuel Bohn), the university is looking for a responsible, motivated, and committed individual to start as soon as possible as a

PhD or Postdoc position: Developmental milestones across cultures
(research assistant (m,f,d), EG 13 TV-L, fixed-term for a period of three years)

The employment level is 75% for doctoral candidates and 100% for postdocs. 

The advertised position is part of a project (in collaboration with the Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Dr. Roman Stengelin)) that investigates psychological developmental milestones in different cultural contexts. These include cognitive (e.g., “understanding the concept of counting”), social (e.g., “interacting with other children while playing”), linguistic (e.g., “combining at least two words”), and motor (e.g., “crawling”) milestones. The candidate will work on the development of a new questionnaire on developmental milestones and instruments for recording parents' priorities and expectations. This will combine etic and emic approaches in the study of child development. Postdocs are expected to independently lead the development of the instruments and the data analysis; doctoral students will receive more guidance and supervision. The instruments will first be developed and validated jointly in Germany and Namibia before being used in different cultural contexts worldwide.

The place of work is Lüneburg, so relocation to the region is expected. It is not possible to work entirely from home. Regular stays at the MPI in Leipzig and field research stays in Namibia are planned. In addition, the successful candidate is expected to participate in the preparation of a DFG funding application in order to raise additional funds for research and extend the position beyond the three years. The position also involves a teaching load of 3 SWS (postdocs 4 SWS) per semester (1–2 seminars). Teaching can be conducted in English and/or German.

Your responsibilities:

  • Leading the development of a questionnaire on developmental milestones and a parent questionnaire
  • Collaborating with international colleagues in Germany and Namibia
  • Leading data collection with the newly developed instruments in Germany and Namibia
  • (Learning and) applying item response models for data analysis
  • Collaboration in the preparation of a DFG funding application
  • Teaching 3 SWS (1–2 seminars) per semester
  • Own scientific qualification

Your profile:

  • Completed scientific degree (master or equivalent) or doctorate in psychology, cognitive science, or a comparable subject
  • Strong interest in developmental and cross-cultural psychology
  • Interest in (or willingness to learn about) task development, psychometrics (e.g., item response theory), and interindividual differences
  • Solid knowledge of statistical data analysis with R and motivation to continuously develop your skills
  • Experience working with children
  • Very good communication skills in English (knowledge of German is optional).
  • Interest in child development.
  • Motivation and ability to teach yourself new methods.
  • Committed team player who shares our passion for open science and contributes to it.

What we offer:

  • Friendly, supportive, and interdisciplinary team
  • Excellent support structures
  • No teaching obligations (teaching opportunities are offered upon request)
  • Generous funding for conference travel and summer schools
  • An inspiring work environment as part of the university community of researchers, teachers, students, and technical and administrative staff
  • A workplace at one of Germany's most beautiful university locations in a true campus university with an internationally renowned central building designed by Daniel Libeskind and the Wilschenbruch nature reserve directly adjacent to it
  • A high level of job security as part of the public service
  • An additional company pension scheme through the Federal and State Pension Institution (VBL)
  • Flexible and family-friendly working hours within a flexitime framework from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • flexible and family-friendly options for switching between on-site and mobile work,
  • a comprehensive range of internal and external training opportunities,
  • a diverse range of sports activities sponsored by the university, which can be taken advantage of for one hour per week during working hours to promote employee health,
  • a university-sponsored lunch offer in the cafeteria,
  • a university-sponsored Germany ticket as a job ticket.

Your application:

Have we sparked your interest? Then we look forward to receiving your application. If you have any questions about the position, please contact Prof. Dr. Manuel Bohn (manuel.bohn@leuphana.de).

Leuphana University Lüneburg promotes professional gender equality and diversity among its members. Applications from people with severe disabilities will be given preferential consideration if they have the same qualifications.

Please submit all required documents (CV, cover letter, link to a GitHub repository (if available), a writing sample (e.g., master's thesis), copies of relevant certificates, and the contact details of two people who can be asked for letters of recommendation, please without photo) via our application portal under the keyword “milestones” by 31.12.2025. We look forward to receiving your application!