Full Professorship (W3) for Software Testing and Artificial Intelligence

Founded in 1991, the University of Potsdam has firmly established itself in the scientific landscape and has become an outstanding economic factor and development engine for the region.
It has a high level of third-party funding, has won several awards for teaching, and has a service-oriented administration and has received awards for being family-friendly.
Around 20,000 students and 3,000 employees work at three locations - Am Neuen Palais, Griebnitzsee and Golm - at one of the most beautifully situated academic institutions in Germany.
The

Digital Engineering Faculty of the University of Potsdam
invites applications for a joint professorship under the

Jülich
Modell with the

Hasso-Plattner-Institut für Digital Engineering gGmbH (HPI)
to be filled as soon as possible:

Full Professorship (W 3) for

Software Testing and Artificial Intelligence
The Hasso-Plattner-Institut (HPI), founded in 1998 by SAP co-founder Prof. Hasso Plattner, is Germany’s center of excellence in Digital Engineering.
In 2017, HPI and the University of Potsdam jointly established the Digital Engineering Faculty (DEF) - the only privately funded faculty at a public university in Germany.
Over the coming years, we will further expand our research profile across six clusters - Data and AI, Digital Health, Foundations, Security, Systems, and Business and Society - with the goal of positioning HPI among Europe’s leading university-level computer science institutions.
We provide an innovative and personalized learning environment for more than 1,000 bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD candidates and foster a collaborative, inclusive workplace for faculty and staff.
As part of their growth initiative, the HPI and the DEF seek to appoint a professor specializing in "Software Testing and AI" for HPI’s Systems Cluster.
Ideal candidates will be internationally recognized for their technical contributions and will demonstrate an excellent research and teaching profile.
Applications are welcome from all areas of software quality assurance, especially from candidates whose research integrates these topics with AIdriven software engineering.
Relevant fields include, but are not limited to: o Automated code review and software quality assessment for generated code o Quality assurance in the context of agentic software engineering o LLM testing and LLM-based testing o Automated test generation and software testing o Testing of AI-based systems o Automated program repair and synthesis o Metamorphic testing, defect prediction, and intelligent software analysis . In particular, we are looking for:

• A strong research record in software quality, software testing, and AI4SE, documented by publications in leading international conferences and journals; o Proven strength and dedication in teaching, with a particular emphasis on undergraduate education, evidenced, for example, by teaching evaluations,

  teaching awards, or demonstrable innovations in teaching; o Experience supervising bachelor’s and master’s students; prior experience supervising PhD candidates is an asset; o Experience in acquiring external funding from public or industry sources, or clear potential to do so. Successful applicants will o Contribute to undergraduate teaching in core courses of our bachelor’s program in IT Systems Engineering; o Develop and offer advanced courses and seminars in software engineering and related areas for master’s and PhD programs, in particular within the Systems track of our English-language Master of Computer Science; o Supervise bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral theses; o Collaborate with existing research groups at HPI and take an active role in academic self-governance.
  We offer an attractive and intellectually stimulating position within HPI’s vibrant and collaborative community.
  The role provides stable institutional funding and extensive opportunities to advance your research, engage with outstanding students, and contribute to our institutional vision and growth.
  Our campus is spacious, green, and equipped with stateof-the-art technology, located in Potsdam just minutes from Berlin.
  The HPI School of Design Thinking and our entrepreneurship hub ("HPI Engine") are also located on campus, supporting students in developing product ideas and business strategies.
  German language skills are not initially required. Interviews are scheduled for May/June 2026 on our Griebnitzsee campus. If you have any questions, please contact Prof. Dr. Jürgen Döllner (juergen.doellnerhpi.uni- potsdam.de) . The joint appointment will be implemented according to the "Jülich Modell" with a teaching obligation at the University of Potsdam in accordance with the Brandenburg Higher Education Act (BbgHG). The hiring process is subject to the requirements set forth in Section 43 subsection 1 sentence 1 no. 1

• 3 and no. 4 letters a and c of the BbgHG. The appointment procedure is conducted in accordance with Section 42 BbgHG. The University of Potsdam and the HPI value diversity and thus pursue the goals of equal opportunities and diversity in accordance with the general principle of equal treatment.
  One of the UP’s and HPI’s strategic goals is to significantly increase the proportion of women in research and teaching.
  Therefore, the UP and the HPI expressly invite applications from qualified female scientists. People with a severe disability will be given preference if they are equally qualified. Periods of time taken for parental leave or caregiving are taken into account when assessing applicants’ academic careers.
  The implementation of equality and diversity standards in the respective field of work is expected. We also offer dual career support and coaching for newly appointed professors.

According to the Civil Servants Act of the State of Brandenburg ÖLandesbeamtengesetz"), an inquiry must be made to the Domestic Intelligence Service prior to the completion of the hiring and appointment as a civil servant in the state of Brandenburg.
Information on the lawfulness and the procedure is availabl e here.

Publication
ZEIT March 26, 2026