Research Associate (Linguist) in the Field of Language and Law 50%

About the job

Research Associate (Linguist) in the Field of Language and Law 50%

In this interdisciplinary role, you will work at the interface between language and law. You will take on teaching duties in our "Applied Law" degree programme and contribute to our interdisciplinary projects.

Department: School of Management and Law

Start date: From 1 September 2026 or by arrangement

You will teach in the language-centred modules of our Bachelor’s degree programme "Applied Law", launched in 2022. In collaboration with the legal subject lecturers and as a member of our language team, you will also further develop the teaching offer. You will contribute your linguistic expertise to our interdisciplinary projects.

For this demanding and varied role, you have a university degree at Master’s/licentiate level or a doctorate in German studies or a comparable discipline, as well as a special interest in legal or legal-linguistic issues.

Excellent German language skills and proficiency in common office software are required. Initial teaching experience at secondary or tertiary level is an advantage.

We are looking for an open, communicative personality with analytical and conceptual skills, who can develop didactic solutions both independently and as part of a team, is willing to engage scientifically with new subject areas, and is enthusiastic about helping shape a young degree programme. Interest in digital methods of linguistics (e.g. corpus linguistics, NLP) as well as the latest developments in language and AI complete your profile.

You will find a scholarly atmosphere in a small and committed team. Your workplace is centrally located in Winterthur (near the main station). You also have the option to work from home.

The ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences, with over 14,000 students and more than 11,000 continuing education participants, as well as around 3,700 employees, is one of the largest multi-disciplinary universities of applied sciences in Switzerland.

The ZHAW School of Management and Law (SML), with around 9,500 students, is one of the largest business schools in Switzerland. It is the only university of applied sciences in the country represented in renowned rankings of the business newspaper "Financial Times" and is accredited by AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA – labels for high quality standards in teaching, research and continuing education. The internationally recognised Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes, cooperative PhD programmes, and numerous continuing education offerings are scientifically based, interdisciplinary and practice-oriented. The SML maintains numerous partnerships with over 190 selected partner universities worldwide.

The Institute for Regulation and Competition at ZHAW is dedicated to the variety of links between state and economy: Today, public administration does not only interact with the economy in a sovereign capacity but also fulfils its tasks by involving services from private actors in various economic sectors. Accordingly, the research activities of our institute are thematically broad. Our work focuses on regulation and democracy, urban planning and environmental law, compliance, security and innovation law, energy and sustainability law, public procedural law, competition law, as well as language and law.

ZHAW is committed to gender-mixed and diverse teams to promote equality, diversity and innovation.

We offer university-appropriate working and employment conditions and actively promote the professional development of our staff and managers. A detailed description of the benefits can be found on the "Working at ZHAW" website. Here are the key points:

Franziska Trebus

Recruiting Manager