Postdoc Research Position in Political Science/Computational Soci...

Postdoc Research Position in Political Science / Computational Social Science

Reference no. 2026/096. Applications are invited for a 3‑year postdoctoral research position as part of the project “INEQUALITY AND SUPPORT FOR LONG‑TERM INVESTMENT POLICIES (IneqInvest)” led by Marius Busemeyer, Sebastian Koos, and Alexander Horn. The position is part of the Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality” and is available as of 1 October 2026.

The University of Konstanz is a dynamic research university with approximately 10,000 students. Its campus architecture promotes interdisciplinary cooperation and a sense of community among researchers, lecturers and students. The University of Konstanz has been continuously funded by the German Excellence Strategy since 2006.

Long‑term investment policies (LTIPs) address societal challenges such as technology change, population ageing and climate change. The IneqInvest project examines how inequalities shape support for these policies and why voters and collective actors differ in their support.

Arbeitsort

Konstanz

Your Responsibilities

• Map collective actors’ long‑term investment policy positions through analysis of political text and existing corpora.
• Analyze how parties, interest groups and social movements position themselves on LTIPs and how those positions align with public attitudes.
• Conduct quantitative text analysis and work with large language models for automated content coding.
• Collaborate on the design and execution of research projects focusing on future‑oriented policy issues such as social investment and climate policy.
• Publish results jointly with the project team and contribute to conference presentations.
• Actively participate in the project and the broader Cluster of Excellence.

Qualifications

• PhD in political science or a related field with a strong quantitative focus.
• Expertise in computational social science and/or text‑as‑data methods.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
• Ability to work independently and contribute proactively to team‑based research.

Benefits

• A family‑friendly and diversity‑conscious university and workplace.
• A wide network of partners and resources for conference participation.
• A beautiful setting on the shores of Lake Constance and the River Rhine, close to the Alps and Switzerland.

We look forward to receiving your application (including CV with names and contact details of two potential referees who may be contacted upon request, a cover letter, and a writing sample such as a journal article or dissertation chapter) via our Online Application Portal by 5 June 2026 .

The University of Konstanz is committed to ensuring an environment that provides equal opportunities and promotes diversity, as well as a good balance between university and family life. As an equal‑opportunity employer, we strive to increase the number of women working in research and teaching. We also support working couples through our dual‑career programme. Persons with disabilities are explicitly encouraged to apply. They will be given preference if appropriately qualified (contact , +49 7531 88‑4016).