Research Associate/PhD Student Position (m/f/d) – Surgical AI

Research Associate/PhD Student Position (m/f/d) – Surgical AI

at the Department of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery and the Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Digital Health

The position is to be filled from October 1, 2026 on a full- or part-time basis, initially limited to 24 months, with the option of extension. Compensation is based on the pay scale for the public sector (TV-L) and may be classified in pay grade E13 , provided you meets the personal qualifications.

This position is part of a 5-year research program funded by the German Cancer Aid (DKH), which aims to develop and clinically evaluate an AI-based assistance system for function-preserving minimally invasive rectal cancer surgery. The project involves multicenter data collection and AI development as well as an early-stage clinical trial. As a Research Associate/PhD Student, you will take a leading role in the computational aspects of this project, with room to pursue adjacent research interests within the groups broader thematic scope.

The position is embedded in an interdisciplinary and international research environment within the “Surgical Artificial Intelligence” research group led by Dr. Fiona Kolbinger, which is jointly affiliated with the Department of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery and the Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Digital Health at TU Dresden. The group works at the intersection of AI development, clinical surgery, and translational research, with the goal of developing and clinically evaluating AI tools that improve surgical care.

Your responsibilities:

Implement, evaluate, and iteratively optimize AI models for real-time video-based intraoperative guidance in colorectal procedures

Develop and implement innovative strategies and tools to enable efficient, high-quality expert labeling of multicenter surgical video datasets; coordinate the annotation process across clinical partners

Contribute to the technical preparation of a first-in-human clinical trial evaluating the guidance system, in alignment with regulatory policies

Collaborate closely with clinical partners, including surgeons and clinical researchers across participating centers

Mentor undergraduate student researchers within the group

Prepare journal publications and presentations at national and international conferences

Your profile:

University degree (Bachelors/Masters level) in computer science, biomedical engineering, electrical/computer engineering, software engineering, or a related field

Strong background in machine learning and computer vision, LLMs/VLMs, human-AI interaction, and/or a strong interest in clinical surgery, interdisciplinary oncology, and translational research

Collaborative and curious mindset with an interest in clinical or translational applications at the intersection of disciplines, in particular clinical surgery/surgical oncology and data science/AI

Ability to time-manage and carry out research independently, ability to mentor junior researchers, ability to identify and communicate the need for support

Excellent English communication skills, willingness to learn/knowledge of German is a plus

We offer:

An excellent interdisciplinary research environment with direct access to clinical data and expertise

The opportunity to be part of a young, ambitious, growing team of interdisciplinary researchers

Scientific flexibility through innovative, externally funded projects spanning all areas of translational surgical AI, including surgical video u