Post- or Pre-Doctoral Researcher in Digital Technology, Governance, and Policy at Hasso Plattner Institute
Job Description
(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:
by Friday November 21, 2025.
Hasso-Plattner-Institut für Digital Engineering gGmbH
Prof.-Dr.-Helmert-Str. 2-3, 14482 Potsdam, Germany
