Offer Description
Every EU competition agency, and most agencies worldwide, now relies on AI and other computational tools to enforce competition law. The legal framework has not kept pace. ATLANTIS, a five-year project funded by an ERC Consolidator Grant (grant agreement [contact details available in the full listing]), builds that framework.
I am Thibault Schrepel, Associate Professor of Law at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and I am hiring three PhD candidates to join the ATLANTIS team. Two positions are legal-track. One is a cross-project computational position. The positions begin on 1 December 2026, last four years, and are based at the VU Amsterdam Faculty of Law. All three candidates will obtain a doctorate.
The three PhD positions
Together, we will build the legal regime for computational antitrust.
The team has one legal-track PhD candidate dedicated to Project A, one legal-track PhD candidate dedicated to Project B, and one (more) computational-track PhD candidate working across both projects. The computational-track candidate will provide the empirical and technical scaffolding needed by the two legal-track candidates. The legal-track candidates will provide the competition law expertise that keeps the technical work tied to live antitrust problems. All three candidates will obtain a doctorate.
A postdoctoral researcher with expertise in institutional economics will join the team about a year after the PhDs start.
Project A: making computational antitrust accurate (one PhD position)
This legal-track PhD will work on the legal framework for data access by competition agencies. The core question is whether Regulation 1/2003 and Directive (EU) 2019/1 need to be updated so that the European Commission and national competition agencies can collect the data their computational tools require while preserving fundamental rights. The project will address data protection, business secrecy, the right to remain silent, and proportionality.
Project B: making computational antitrust fair (one PhD position)
This legal-track PhD will work on the legal regime governing the use of AI by competition agencies. The core question is how to mitigate bias and ensure procedural fairness when agencies rely on AI tools. The project will address transparency, explainability, AI-generated evidence, and standards of proof.
Cross-project computational position (one PhD position)
This PhD will work across Projects A and B and provide the technical backbone of the team. On Project A, the focus will be on data: documenting what data agencies collect, through which channels, in which formats, and where computational bottlenecks arise. On Project B, the focus will be on AI methods: auditing bias in publicly documented agency AI systems and prototyping explainability techniques on representative cases. Although more computational in nature, this position will lead to publications in law venues.
What you will be doing
ATLANTIS will be run as a tight team, not as three PhDs working in parallel silos. We will work together daily (being on campus several days a week will be expected). Drafts circulate inside the team before they go to the international advisory board. Papers are co-authored. You will publish from year one.
Your time will be divided between writing peer-reviewed articles, conducting empirical work with competition agencies, co-organizing ATLANTIS events, and presenting your work to the international advisory board and conferences. Each PhD co-authors several articles with me over four years. At the end of the project, the team co-edits a volume that consolidates the research. You will end up with publications, a book chapter or more, policy briefs, and a body of empirical work you helped build.
You will have direct access to the network of the Stanford Computational Antitrust project, which gathers over 80 antitrust agencies and 50 academics worldwide. It means real interviews, real data-sharing arrangements, real introductions, and the option of visiting agencies that have committed to the project. The agencies involved span multiple jurisdictions including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, the UK, and the United States.
You will spend research stays at the institutions of the co-supervisors and the international advisory board. These include leading scholars from Oxford, MIT, Stanford, Harvard, and other top institutions.
You will help organize three annual workshops and an international conference at the end of the project. You will not be a passive attendee. You will shape the programs, invite speakers, present your own work.
You will also teach a small share of your time, capped at 20% over four years under the CAO of Dutch universities. Teaching is supervised and matched to your interests. It will focus on competition law or law & tech issues.
Where to apply
Requirements
Specific Requirements
We are hiring for two profiles. In your cover letter, state which one you are applying for. Legal-track applicants may indicate a preference between Project A and Project B, but this is optional. If your background fits both profiles (i.e., legal and more computational), you are welcome to apply to both.
Legal-track profile (two PhD positions, one on Project A and one on Project B). A master’s degree in law with excellent marks, and demonstrated expertise in competition law that is as broad and as deep as possible. This is the central requirement: we are looking for candidates whose academic record (and potentially prior work) show both strong grades and a serious, proven command of competition law. On top of this, the project requires solid command of the legal materials. For Project A, that means Regulation 1/2003, Directive (EU) 2019/1, the GDPR, and the case law of the Court of Justice on requests for information, dawn raids, the rights of the defense. For Project B, that means the AI Act, the case law on the duty to give reasons, and the literature on procedural fairness in administrative enforcement. Comfort with reading empirical work and with the basics of how computational tools are used by agencies is welcome but will be taught.
Computational-track profile (cross-project PhD position). You should preferably have a master’s degree in computer science, data science, computational science, AI, or a closely related field, with excellent marks. You should have documented experience with machine learning, bias and fairness in AI systems, or explainable AI, shown through code, a thesis, a publication, or an industry project. You should be comfortable with empirical data work and with technical writing for non-technical audiences. You do not need a law degree to apply for this position, but you must be willing to engage with legal materials and to write for a legal audience. Candidates with a degree in law can also apply to this position, but they must be able to show credentials or strong knowledge in computational thinking and/or computer science.
Additional Information
Benefits
At Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, you contribute to high-quality research and education for a better world. In return for your commitment, we offer you:
- a full-time PhD position (38 hours per week, 1.0 FTE) for a duration of four years. The first year will be probationary; upon a positive evaluation, the contract will be extended for the remaining three years.
- a salary of minimum € 3,059.00 (PhD) gross per month and maximum € 3,881.00 (PhD) gross per month, based on a full-time appointment (1.0 FTE). This is in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO-NU).
- a start date of 1 December 2026.
- a position based at De Boelelaan 1105, Amsterdam, within the Faculty of Law, department Transnational Legal Studies.
We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and development opportunities. Some examples:
- a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year for full-time employment. If you choose to work 40 hours per week, you will receive an additional 96 holiday hours annually (pro rata for part-time employment)
- 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus
- a solid pension scheme (ABP)
- contribution to commuting expenses, including public transport or bicycle reimbursement, and a working-from-home allowance
- paid parental leave
- access to VU sports facilities at a modest fee
- an optional model for designing a personalised benefits package (keuzemodel)
Additional comments
How to apply
Applications are submitted through the VU Amsterdam vacancy portal. Send the following:
- Your CV
- A cover letter of no more than two pages stating which track you apply to and why (candidates with a strong claim to both tracks may apply to both in the same letter)
- Academic transcripts
- A writing sample of your choice (master’s thesis, published article…)
- The names and contact details of two referees
Selection process
- Application deadline: 15 September 2026
- I chair the selection committee and read the applications myself
- Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an in-person interview, most likely during the month of October
- A second round of interviews may follow
- Shortlisted candidates will also be asked to prepare a short document of one to two pages. Instructions will be communicated in due course.
If this sounds like the four years you want, apply.
For informal questions about the project or the positions, please contact me directly at t.schrepel@vu.nl. Formal applications must be submitted through the VU Amsterdam vacancy portal. Applications sent by email will not be considered.
Website for additional job details: https://www.academictransfer.com/361774/
Work Location(s)
Number of offers available: 1
Company/Institute: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Country: Netherlands
City: Amsterdam
Postal Code: 1081HV
Street: De Boelelaan 1077
Contact
City: Amsterdam
Website: http://www.vu.nl/
Street: De Boelelaan 1105
Postal Code: 1081 HV
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