PhD position in Developing Language-Model Methods for Pediatric Critical Care

Kinderspital Zürich as an employer Kinderspital Zürich is the largest university children's hospital in Switzerland with about 2,500 employees, and is one of the leading centres for paediatric and youth medicine in Europe. Although the hospital may be big, it's the little ones that count: up to 100,000 patients are cared for each year across 47 faculties, where we do everything in our power to ensure their well being. 'Kispi' not only offers cutting-edge devices and the highest quality of care, but also a good sense of interpersonal issues. Alongside its comprehensive range of paediatric medicine and surgery facilities, the children's hospital also offers a unique rehabilitation centre and a research centre.

PhD position in Developing Language-Model Methods for Pediatric Critical Care Department of Intensive Care and Neonatology, University Children's Hospital

Your responsibilities

• Develop trustworthy and efficient language-model methods for pediatric critical care.
• Perform rigorous evaluation protocols covering accuracy, calibration, faithfulness, fairness, efficiency, and clinical utility.
• Work closely with clinicians, data scientists, and research partners to translate clinical needs into technically sound studies.
• Publish in leading machine-learning, NLP, and medical-informatics venues and contribute reproducible research codes.

Your profile

• A Master's degree in computer science, data science, biomedical engineering, computational linguistics, statistics, or closely related field
• Strong foundation in machine learning and hands-on experience with deep learning; experience with transformers, LLMs, or retrieval systems is highly desirable
• Proficiency in Python and a modern deep-learning frameworks such as PyTorch
• Experience with cluster environments (e.g., SLURM)
• An interest in methodological research as well as careful, clinically grounded validation
• Ability to communicate clearly and collaborate across technical and clinical disciplines
• Strong communication skills in English, Knowledge of German is an advantage

Your start with us

We're ready and can offer you this position starting in autumn 2026.

Your salary will be based on the Swiss National Science Foundation salary scale.

The exact salary will depend on your qualifications and professional experience. Your salary will be established in accordance with our salary guidelines during the selection process. Applicants who do not yet possess the necessary skills and experience may in some cases be offered a lower pay grade. In many cases, supplementary pay will be offered for irregular working hours. Further salary development will depend on your performance and the financial ability of the Eleonorenstiftung.

Daphné Chopard Senior Scientist

+41 44 249 57 82