Post- or Pre-Doctoral Researcher in Digital Technology, Governance, and Policy (M/F/D)

(Fixed-term and full-time for 2 years).

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.

Essential skills

• 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

Desirable skills

• 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;

What we offer

• 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.

Application materials

• 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;
• And 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.

Hasso-Plattner-Institut für Digital Engineering gGmbH

Prof.-Dr.-Helmert-Str. 2-3, 14482 Potsdam, Germany

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