Working Student (f/m/d) AI and Data Scientist in PhD Programs and Embedded Research

The Academic Partnerships organization at SAP partners with other SAP teams to provide the best services to foster strategic research collaborations between SAP and academia. The PhD Graduate Team is responsible for building the bridge between cutting-edge research and SAP functional teams. Our mission is to facilitate the application of research across SAP and contribute to SAP research strategy with interdisciplinary research activities.

What you´ll build

In your daily work you will be supporting the Head of PhD Programs with day-to-day program management tasks, contributing to reporting optimization and data-driven insights on PhD pipeline, and assisting with interdisciplinary research projects. As a working student (f/m/d), you’ll help bring academic innovation to life at SAP—at the intersection of AI, data science, and PhD talent development. Your tasks will include:

• Optimize reporting workflows and our PhD pipeline analytics using data science methods—so leaders can make decisions faster and with better insight.

• Contribute to AI and data science use cases within the team and unit, including agentic solutions and research‑to‑industry knowledge transfer.

• Explore high‑potential research topics and support the development of our embedded research strategy.

• Apply AI technologies—from classic machine learning to large language models (LLMs)—to automate and enhance program management tasks.

• Assist in organizing and coordinating interdisciplinary research activities, leadership development programs, and mentoring offerings.

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders (PhD graduates, functional teams, SAP research units) and external academic partners.

• Support AI adoption in the team through knowledge sharing and practical tooling improvements.

You’ll see how research scales in a global tech company—and you’ll help shape how SAP engages PhD talent and research outcomes.

What you bring

We’re looking for someone who is curious, hands‑on, and excited to translate research into real‑world impact.

• You are currently enrolled in a Master’s program in computer science, mathematics, information technology, information systems, computational social science, economics, or a related field.

• First practical experience in data science projects and a good understanding of the AI use‑case development lifecycle.

• AI development skills across classic machine learning, statistical modeling, and LLM‑based systems.

• Solid Python programming skills (e.g., pandas, scikit‑learn, PyTorch, TensorFlow, seaborn, statsmodels).

• A passion for translating research into industry applications and measurable outcomes.

• A self‑starter mindset with the ability to work independently and in cross‑functional teams.

• Strong communication and presentation skills, especially in international settings.

• Fluency in English (written and spoken).

Nice to have (a plus, not a must):

• Prior experience at the interface of academia and industry.

• Experience with agentic AI frameworks (e.g., LangGraph, LangChain) or reinforcement learning.

• Familiarity with the data science stack (e.g., Databricks or similar), hyperscalers (Azure, GCP, AWS), data lakes, Docker, GitHub.

• Interest in explainable AI, interpretability, or other cutting‑edge AI topics.

• German language skills.

If you’re excited about this role but don’t meet every single requirement, we still encourage you to apply!

Where you belong

You’ll join SAP’s Academic Partnerships organization—the bridge between SAP and academia—where we build structured, long‑term collaborations with universities and research groups. Within this organization, the PhD Graduate Team embeds cutting‑edge research into SAP’s functional teams and brings together interdisciplinary PhD talent in a research‑like environment.

• Learn from experts across SAP Research and product organizations while building a portfolio of impactful AI and data projects.

• Be part of a collaborative, international community that values curiosity, learning, and knowledge sharing.

• Grow your skills in a real‑world setting and help shape SAP’s research strategy and talent development.