Research Associate/PhD Candidate in the Field of Enterprise AI and Digital Sovereignty (m/f/d)
Universität St. Gallen
St.Gallen
Key information
- Publication date:20 November 2025
- Workload:100%
- Place of work:St.Gallen
Job summary
The Institute for Information Systems and Digital Business (IWI-HSG) has over 30 years of experience in applied research at the intersection of business and IT. Join a dynamic team addressing the challenge of digital sovereignty in Europe through innovative solutions.
Tasks
- Develop and evaluate AI-based prototypes for enterprise applications.
- Analyze enterprise and cloud architectures focusing on transparency and resilience.
- Connect technical implementation with strategic research on governance and transformation.
Skills
- Master's degree with strong grades in relevant fields like Business or Informatics.
- Strong software development skills, particularly in Python and APIs.
- Excellent communication skills in German and English.
Is this helpful?
The Institute for Information Systems and Digital Business (IWI-HSG) has been conducting application- and design-oriented research at the interface between business and IT for more than 30 years. Within the institute, the team of Prof. Dr. Andreas Hein investigates how enterprise software, AI, and digital platforms can be strategically designed, managed, and transformed to strengthen the value creation of organizations and digital sovereignty.
Your Tasks
Europe faces the challenge of realigning its digital sovereignty in view of the increasing concentration of global cloud infrastructures and generative AI providers. The resulting dependencies make it difficult for European providers to build independent alternatives and force user organizations to outsource central value creation functions to external platforms.
The focus is on the question of how companies as providers and users can design their systems so that control over data flows and technical processes is ensured and critical dependencies are specifically reduced. Providers must develop scalable and transparent European alternatives to global platforms, while users must integrate new technologies, including generative and agentic AI, in such a way that dependencies decrease, portability increases, and strategic room for maneuver is secured.
Research at IWI addresses these challenges by linking technical issues related to architecture, cloud infrastructures, and AI systems with organizational topics such as governance, integration, and further development of enterprise systems.
Your tasks:
- Development and evaluation of AI-based prototypes (e.g., LLM integrations, agentic AI frameworks, RAG systems, API services)
- Analysis of enterprise and cloud architectures regarding transparency, traceability, and resilience
- Linking technical implementation with strategic research questions on governance, architecture, and organizational transformation
- Development of design principles and recommendations for action for AI-supported enterprise systems
- Collaboration in research and transfer projects with industry partners (e.g., proof-of-concepts, assessments, Digital Sovereignty Index)
- Publication of results in internationally recognized journals and conferences
We offer:
- Time-plannable doctoral studies (approx. 3.5 years) with intensive supervision and private-sector salary
- Access to an international network of scientists and leading industry partners and research networks in the field of Enterprise AI, Cloud & Governance, especially at the Heilbronn Education Campus
- Opportunity to participate in international conferences
- Work in a young, innovative team in an inspiring work environment
Your Profile
Your profile:
- Above-average master's degree with a grade point average of at least 5.0 (equivalent to 2.0 in Germany and Austria) in business administration / business informatics / industrial engineering / information management / or similar
- Ability to conceptually and strategically reflect on technical solutions
- Solid knowledge in software development (Python, APIs, possibly web frameworks such as Streamlit or Flask)
- Interest in AI system architectures, cloud infrastructures, governance, and enterprise design
- Technical curiosity and ability to independently learn and apply new methods and tools (e.g., NLP, agentic AI frameworks, prototypical development environments)
- Knowledge of empirical and design-oriented research methods (e.g., design science research, prototyping, field experiments) is an advantage
- Interest in governance issues, organizational perspectives, and provider strategies in the context of Enterprise AI
- Very good communication skills in German and English
"A place that creates knowledge" - As one of Europe's leading business universities, the University of St.Gallen (HSG) is committed to educating over 10,000 students and offers an attractive and innovative environment in research, teaching, continuing education, and administration to around 3,500 employees as one of the largest employers in the region."
