Research Group Lead AI for Sustainable and Healthy Environments – St. Pölten, Austria | Visa + Salary Insights

📍 Location: eu

🏷 Type: Full-time

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Job Overview

This senior academic leadership role at the University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten focuses on building a new interdisciplinary research group centered on Artificial Intelligence, sustainable systems, and healthy environments. The ideal candidate will establish a research agenda, recruit PhD talent, and drive applied innovation in collaboration with European partners such as TU Wien and the E³UDRES² alliance. This position is designed for experienced researchers with a strong publication record, proven funding success, and the ability to translate AI research into real-world environmental and societal impact.

📅 Job Timeline & Status

This role is in an early-to-mid recruitment phase, meaning candidate evaluation is likely ongoing but not yet closed. Given the seniority and competitive nature of research leadership positions in European applied sciences institutions, applicants should treat this as high urgency. Positions tied to PhD supervision capacity and external funding pipelines tend to fill quickly once strong profiles are identified.

🌍 Work Eligibility & Location

The role is based in Austria and embedded in a European research ecosystem, making it highly accessible for EU and international academics. While remote flexibility exists for certain research activities, leadership responsibilities, PhD supervision, and institutional collaboration require significant on-site presence.

💰 Salary Intelligence

This compensation reflects a senior-level academic leadership position with additional value derived from research funding opportunities, PhD supervision roles, and international collaboration. Compared to European applied sciences institutions, the salary is competitive but heavily augmented by grant acquisition potential and long-term academic career stability.

📊 Role Breakdown

This position is structured as a strategic research leadership role where approximately 40% of time is dedicated to research agenda design, 25% to team leadership and PhD supervision, 20% to external funding acquisition, and 15% to teaching integration and institutional collaboration. The candidate will define and lead an AI-driven research group focused on sustainable and healthy environments, integrating domains such as machine learning, environmental informatics, and data-driven sustainability modeling. A key expectation is building demonstrators and living-lab applications that connect theoretical AI research with real-world environmental systems. Collaboration with TU Wien and European alliance partners is central, requiring strong cross-institutional coordination skills. The role also involves establishing long-term research pipelines, supervising up to five PhD candidates, and ensuring consistent publication output in high-impact venues.

🧩 Required Skills & Fit

📈 Difficulty & Competitiveness

This is a highly selective senior academic position requiring not only technical expertise in AI but also demonstrated leadership in building research ecosystems. Candidates without funding track records or interdisciplinary experience will face significant barriers in selection.

🚀 Career Impact

This role offers exceptional long-term academic positioning, especially for researchers aiming to transition into European research leadership or multi-institutional AI sustainability programs. It significantly strengthens eligibility for large-scale EU funding consortia and senior professorship trajectories.

📋 Key Responsibilities

The selected candidate will be responsible for establishing and scaling a new AI research group from the ground up, including defining a long-term research strategy aligned with institutional priorities. Core duties include leading AI-driven sustainability research, supervising PhD candidates, and securing competitive third-party funding. The role also requires designing and deploying real-world AI demonstrators in environmental and health-related domains. Collaboration with institutions like TU Wien and E³UDRES² partners is essential for cross-border research integration. Additional responsibilities include publishing in high-impact journals, integrating research outputs into teaching frameworks, and ensuring the group evolves into a sustainable, self-funded research entity.

🎯 Application Strategy

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🧠 Fit & Positioning Analysis

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📅 Application Signals

This role shows strong ongoing recruitment momentum typical of European research leadership openings. With no fixed deadline published, the process is likely rolling and competitive, meaning strong candidates may be shortlisted early. Given the senior profile and funding expectations, interview cycles can begin quickly once alignment is identified. Expect a relatively fast academic review process of 2–6 weeks. Competition is likely global, particularly from EU-funded research networks. Candidates should treat this as urgent since strong applicants may be selected before formal closing.

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✅ Job Source & Verification

This listing is based on official content from the University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten recruitment portal and aligns with publicly available institutional research hiring frameworks. It reflects a credible European academic source with structured senior research recruitment standards. Last updated and verified: 31 May 2026.