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About the Role

The Center for Affective and Autonomic Neuroscience (CAAN) at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development is establishing a new research program focused on sleep physiology. This role will lead the integration of polysomnography into human research studies and analyze multimodal sleep data, contributing to a deeper understanding of autonomic changes, neurodegenerative diseases, and emotion-cognition interactions across the lifespan.

Responsibilities

Design and implement standard operating procedures for overnight polysomnography.
Lead vendor and device selection, validation, and integration of polysomnography data streams.
Establish quality assurance procedures for signal integrity and participant compliance.
Score sleep stages and arousals using manual and automated approaches.
Develop and apply quantitative EEG analyses relevant to research aims.
Analyze autonomic activity during sleep, including heart rate variability and sympathetic/parasympathetic balance.
Link sleep metrics to primary outcomes such as LC structure and function, biomarkers, and cognitive/affective outcomes.
Incorporate sleep variables into reproducible, BIDS-compliant analysis pipelines and longitudinal models.
Mentor and supervise postdocs, graduate students, and junior staff.
Shape the long-term scientific agenda for sleep research within CAAN.
Represent sleep research at international conferences and in the broader research community.
Lead first-author and collaborative manuscripts on sleep findings.
Develop and lead independent grant applications.
Cultivate international collaborations and partnerships in sleep, autonomic neuroscience, and neurodegeneration research.
Contribute to CAAN’s open-science efforts, including data sharing and code release.

Requirements

PhD (or equivalent doctoral degree) in neuroscience, sleep science, biomedical engineering, psychology, physiology, or a related field, completed within the last five years or expected before the start date.
Post-doctoral experience and demonstrated expertise in human sleep research.
Hands-on experience with overnight polysomnography (data collection, scoring, and analysis).
Strong programming skills in Python and/or MATLAB.
Experience with sleep- and EEG-relevant toolboxes (e.g., MNE-Python, YASA, EEGLAB, FieldTrip, or comparable).
Experience with quantitative EEG analysis (e.g., spectral methods, event detection for spindles and slow oscillations).
Substantial track record of peer-reviewed publications, including first-author papers in high-quality journals.
Experience with or demonstrated potential for independent grant writing.
Excellent written and spoken English.
Ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary, collaborative environment.

Skills

Polysomnography (data collection, scoring, analysis)
Quantitative EEG analysis
Python
MATLAB
Sleep- and EEG-relevant toolboxes (e.g., MNE-Python, YASA, EEGLAB, FieldTrip)
Grant writing
Scientific leadership
Data analysis
BIDS
Git
Containerization
Workflow managers
Autonomic measures during sleep (HRV, respiratory effort, pulse-derived measures)
Cardiorespiratory coupling analyses
Sleep-dependent emotional and memory processing
Ambulatory/home polysomnography systems
Troubleshooting field-based physiological recordings
Analysis of sleep in the context of aging, Alzheimer's disease, or related neurodegenerative conditions
Integrating sleep data with structural and/or functional MRI

Location

Berlin, Germany

Work Type

Full-time
Four-year fixed-term contract
Possibility to work remotely (up to 40%)

Experience Level

Post-doctoral experience

Education Level

PhD (or equivalent doctoral degree)

Salary/Compensations

Up to EG 14 TVöD

Benefits

Access to the training programs offered by the Planck Academy of the MPG
Flexible working hours
Possibility to work remotely (up to 40%, depending on work processes)
Annual bonus payment in accordance with the TVöD
30 days of vacation, plus December 24 and 31 off
Daycare partnerships with dedicated places
A parent-child room at the institute
Excellent public transport connections
Jobticket
Institute canteen and biodiverse institute garden
Various offers related to “health in the workplace” (e.g., fitness room, massage services, yoga classes)
Extensive support services (e.g., International Office, Disability Office, Gender Equality Office, mental health support)
Diversity-sensitive working environment (e.g., meetups, networking, accessible and gender-neutral toilets)

About the Company

The Max Planck Institute for Human Development studies how and why people develop differently over their lives and how environmental aspects shape this process.
It fosters academic freedom, curiosity, and collaborative work across disciplines like psychology, neuroscience, computer science, economics, and sociology.
The institute combines interdisciplinary research infrastructures with local and international collaboration to generate knowledge that strengthens individuals and society.
Its vision is a healthy environment and an open society that allows individuals to realize their potential.

Equal Opportunity

The Max Planck Society strives for gender equality and diversity.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion enrich our society and foster scientific excellence.
We are committed to increasing the number of women in areas in which they are underrepresented and employing more people with disabilities.
We welcome applications from people who belong to groups that are often underrepresented in the workplace due to, among other factors, age, disability/chronic illness, ethnicity, gender identity, and religion.