Post- or Pre-Doctoral Researcher in Digital Technology, Governance, and Policy

Employer: Hasso Plattner Institute - Digital Technologies and Governance research group

Location: Potsdam - Germany

Salary: €45,500 to €71,500 per annum, depending on experience

Hours: Full Time

Contract Type: Fixed-Term/Contract (Fixed-term and full-time for 2 years)

Placed On: 9th October 2025

Closes: 21st November 2025

Your future tasks

Developing critical research pertaining to the impact of digital technologies on politics (broadly defined) (ideally country- or region-specific to the Global South), such as digital colonialism, global inequalities, platformatisation, open-source software, peer-to-peer code, data justice and power in global governance, digital sovereignty, technology policy and regulation, digital economies
Producing and contributing to dissemination activities such as presenting research at academic conferences, producing policy reports/documents, and writing content for non-expert audiences (e.g. media engagement, podcasts, blog posts)
Other responsibilities commensurate with position and project needs

For the post-doctoral position, PhD in a relevant field (political science, sociology, science and technology studies (STS), international relations, media/communication studies, law, development studies, or related disciplines); for the pre-doctoral position, an excellent MA in a relevant field
Demonstrated expertise in technology governance, digital regulation, or related fields, with focus on global power dynamics, inequalities in the digital sphere
Strong grounding in qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods research, with the ability to design and execute interdisciplinary projects
Ability to manage own working time and set internal milestones to adhere to wider project deadlines
For the post-doctoral position only, a record of publication in international, peer-reviewed journals
Excellent proficiency in academic and professional English

Experience searching for, collating and analysing diverse secondary data (e.g. media reports, company filings, congressional reports)
Proven ability to translate academic research for non-academic audiences
Experience working at the intersection of academia and policy

A first-class research environment for impactful research
Opportunities to travel for events, conferences and fieldwork
Flexible working arrangements
Dedicated office space at the HPI campus in Potsdam-Babelsberg (S-Bahn station Griebnitzsee) within easy commuting distance of Berlin

A CV and cover letter (indicate salary expectations, availability and linguistic proficiencies)
For the post-doctoral position: two academic writing samples and one sample of content produced for a more general audience (such as a blog post or opinion piece or newspaper article)
For the pre-doctoral position: two to three writing samples, at least one of which should be academic
An answer of up to 250 words to each of the following questions: What is your overall aim for your career whether inside or outside academia? What academic work or idea has been most influential to the way you think about the world? What is the biggest problem facing the world today and, if you were a benevolent dictator, what would you do to address it? What conditions do you need in order to thrive within an academic research team?
Degree certificates / transcripts
Contact details of three references

Please submit your application documents (only as PDF) via email to: christine.buckley@hpi.de by Friday November 21, 2025.