PhD Student - Automatic Speech Processing 100 %

PhD Student (PhD) - Automatic Speech Processing 100 % PhD position for Automatic Speech Processing (NLP) in Swiss German with applications in speech therapy PhD Student (PhD) - Automatic Speech Processing 100 % Department: School of Engineering Start date: September 2026 or by arrangement Tasks As part of this PhD position, you will develop new AI methods for the automatic processing of Swiss German language. Specifically, you will develop new algorithms and models for the automatic transcription of audio recordings in Swiss German (Speech-to-Text) for people with speech disorders. The challenge here is that any language and speech errors must be preserved in the transcript. Such "error-preserving STT models" are a necessary foundation for the use of AI in speech therapy, e.g., in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's or in the therapy of speech disorders in children. Error-preserving STT already exists for other languages such as English or German, but not yet for Swiss German. Here, the particular challenge lies, among other things, in the multitude of dialects and in the fact that there is no standardized written language. Your tasks include in particular: Development of new Speech-to-Text models for Swiss German that preserve linguistic errors (Error-Preserving Speech-to-Text) Training of modern Deep Learning models (e.g., Transformer-based models such as wav2vec, HuBERT or Whisper), for example for the automatic detection and classification of speech/language errors in audio recordings and/or transcripts Collaboration in the collection and annotation of language data (Swiss German, children and adults) Publication of research results at international top conferences (e.g., ACL, EMNLP) Collaboration with speech therapists, linguists and clinical partners Co-supervision of Bachelor's and Master's theses in the research field Collaboration with speech therapists, linguists and clinical partners Support in teaching This PhD position is located at the Centre for Artificial Intelligence (CAI) of the ZHAW and is supervised by Prof. Dr. Cieliebak (Head of Language AI Research Group). Profile You are a highly motivated individual with very good German skills, an interest in research in the field of automatic speech processing / NLP and would like to apply your knowledge to a socially relevant problem. Ideally, you bring the following qualifications: Master's degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Computational Linguistics, Neurolinguistic, Data Science or a related field Very good knowledge of Machine Learning / Deep Learning Good knowledge of Software Engineering Experience with Machine Learning frameworks such as e.g. PyTorch or TensorFlow Interest in Speech Processing, Natural Language Processing and dialect processing Experience with speech technologies or Large Language Models is an advantage Enjoyment of interdisciplinary collaboration between linguistics, AI, Machine Learning and speech therapy Very good German skills; you can understand Swiss German well. Please send us: one motivation letter one CV transcripts and grade reports of your previous studies contact details of two reference persons We look forward to your application, which we will review continuously. About us The ZHAW Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften is one of the largest multi-sector universities of applied sciences in Switzerland. The School of Engineering is one of the leading technical education and research institutions in the country and focuses on future topics in the areas of energy, mobility, information and health. The Centre for Artificial Intelligence (CAI) is a competence center of the ZHAW for applied AI research. Our research groups work on methods of Machine Learning, speech processing, Computer Vision and Robotics and develop innovative solutions together with industry and research partners. This position offers the opportunity to work on highly topical AI methods for speech processing while simultaneously achieving a direct social benefit, particularly in the area of digital support for speech therapy and medical diagnostics. What we offer We offer university-standard working and employment conditions and actively promote the personnel development of our employees and managers. A detailed description of the benefits can be found on the page Working at the ZHAW. Here are the most important key points: Contact Prof. Dr. Cieliebak Professor for Speech and Text Processing & Head of the Natural Language Processing (NLP) research group Irina Keiser Recruiting Manager jpidbd5484bjm jit0727jm jiy26jm