PhD Position (TV-L E13, 100%) Multimodal Foundation Model Alignment for Oncology

27.02.2026, Wissenschaftliches Personal

Your Role
You will join Subproject 3 (Model Alignment and Optimization), led by PD Dr. Keno Bressem (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wIEgwbkAAAAJ&hl=en). Your work sits at the interface between raw foundation model capabilities and clinical utility. Specifically, you will:
- Align foundation models with clinical reasoning using Direct Preference Optimization (DPO) and reinforcement learning from human feedback, building preference datasets together with clinicians
- Build and run a Red Team process with physicians, computer scientists, and patient representatives to systematically identify failure modes, hallucinations, and clinical blind spots
- Optimize models for real-world deployment through quantization, distillation, and model merging, ensuring that multi-billion parameter models run on hardware hospitals can actually afford

Your Profile
- Completed university degree (Master or equivalent) in computer science, mathematics, physics, medical informatics, or a related field
- Strong programming skills in Python and experience with deep learning frameworks (PyTorch preferred)
- Experience or strong interest in large language models, multimodal learning, or reinforcement learning from human feedback
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary team of clinicians, computer scientists, and biologists
- Excellent communication skills in English (written and spoken); German language skills are advantageous but not required
- Prior experience in medical AI or clinical data analysis is a plus

What We Offer
- A structured PhD program embedded in a large-scale, nationally funded research consortium with access to unique multimodal clinical datasets
- State-of-the-art GPU infrastructure for training and fine-tuning large foundation models
- An interdisciplinary research environment at one of Europe’s leading university hospitals
- Remuneration according to the Collective Agreement for the Public Service of the Länder (TV-L) in salary group E13 (100%)
- The position is initially limited to 3 years with the possibility of extension

How to Apply
Please send your application as a single PDF including a cover letter, CV, transcripts, and (if available) a list of publications to:

PD Dr. Keno Bressem Department of Radiology, TUM University Hospital: E-Mail: keno.bressem@tum.de

Kontakt: keno.bressem@tum.de