Research Officers

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Salary: from £43,277 to £51,714 per annum with the potential to progress to £55,497 per annum including London allowance

There are two posts available.  Funding is available to support this position from September 2026 until August 2029

The Department of Government is recruiting 2 Research Officers (Postdoctoral Researchers) with a specialization in empirical political science or a related field. We are looking for excellent candidates with the potential of pursuing a successful career in academia. The successful candidates will be part of the research project “Border Change and Local Development in Europe and Beyond” (BORDERS) led by Assistant Professor Carl Müller-Crepon. The positions are fulltime appointments for a period of three years.

Candidates should have completed or be close to completing their PhD in Political Science or a closely related discipline by the post start date. Candidates should have excellent quantitative research skills, the ability to work independently and in a team, and to solve research challenges. Expertise and/or research interest in historical political economy, state building, economic development, and/or identity politics as well as the ability to apply methods from causal inference, machine learning and/or spatial data analysis to large data sets is desirable. Please see the Person Specification for further details on the essential and desirable criteria.

The successful candidates will contribute to realizing the ERC-funded research project BORDERS. The project analyzes the impact of border change on socio-economic development and underlying mechanisms rooted in local demography, economic market exchange, state capacity, as well as ethno-political inclusion and favouritism. With new, spatially disaggregated data on historical local development over the past 2 centuries, the research team will empirically examine border changes in Europe since 1815 and globally since 1945.

The successful candidates are expected to develop a research profile and competencies that prepare them for successfully applying to permanent, tenure-track positions in academia. The focus of the position is therefore research with no teaching obligations.

Candidates are expected to contribute to the success of the research team by working collaboratively on all aspects of the project (conceptualization, data collection, analysis, writing, and presentation). Beyond fostering candidates’ research profile, the PI and the Department of Government are committed to promoting the career development of the successful candidates through systematic career development reviews, regular mentoring, as well as formal training opportunities. Please refer to the Job Description for further details.

We offer an occupational pension scheme, generous annual leave, hybrid working, and excellent training and development opportunities.

For further information about the post, please see the how to apply document, job description and the person specification.

To apply for this post, please click the 'Apply' button above. If you have any technical queries with applying on the online system, please use the “contact us” links at the bottom of the LSE Jobs page. Should you have any queries about the role, please email Assistant Professor Carl Müller-Crepon (C.A.Muller-Crepon@lse.ac.uk).

The closing date for receipt of applications is 4 January 2026 (23.59 UK time). Regrettably, we are unable to accept any late applications.

Interviews are likely to take place in w/c 9 February 2026.

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