The German left Eredivisie club Vitesse Arnhem to manage his first Bundesliga club. He has also coached Austria Wien.
Bochum parted ways with coach Thomas Reis this month following a six-game losing start to the Bundesliga season that left them bottom of the standings.
They did earn their first point in a 1-1 home draw with Cologne on Sunday under the interim leadership of Under-19 coach Heiko Butscher.