(Fixed term and full time for two years).

Your future tasks

• Develop critical research on the impact of digital technologies on policy (broadly defined) (ideally country or region specific to the Global South), such as digital colonialism, global inequality, platforms, open source software, peer-to-peer code, data justice and power in global governance, digital sovereignty, technology policy and regulation, and digital economies
• Producing and contributing to dissemination activities such as presenting papers at academic conferences, producing policy reports/documents, and writing content for non-expert audiences (e.g. media syndication, podcasts, blog posts)
• Other responsibilities commensurate with the position and project needs.

Basic skills

• For a postdoctoral positionPhD in a relevant field (political science, sociology, science and technology studies (STS), international relations, media/communication studies, law, development studies, or related disciplines); For a pre-doctoral positionExcellent Master’s degree in relevant field
• Proven experience in technology governance, digital regulation, or related fields, with a focus on global power dynamics and inequality in the digital sphere.
• Strong grounding in qualitative, quantitative or mixed-methods research, with the ability to design and implement interdisciplinary projects.
• Ability to manage own work time and set internal milestones to meet wider project deadlines
• For postdoctoral position only, register to publish in international peer-reviewed journals
• Excellent command of academic and professional English

Desirable skills

• Experience researching, collecting, and analyzing various 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 to attend events, conferences and field work.
• Flexible working arrangements;
• Dedicated office space on the HPI campus in Potsdam-Babelsberg (S-Bahn Griebnitzsee station) within easy commuting distance of Berlin.

Application materials

• A CV and cover letter (indicating salary expectations, availability and language competencies);
• For a postdoctoral position: two samples of academic writing and one sample of content produced for a more general audience (e.g. blog post, opinion piece, or newspaper article);
• For a pre-doctoral position: two to three writing samples, at least one of which must be academic;
• An answer of up to 250 words for each of the following questions:
  • What is your overall goal in your career, both inside and outside of academia?
  • What academic work or idea has most influenced 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 to thrive within an academic research team?
• Degree certificates/transcripts.
• Contact details for three references.

Please send your application documents (only in PDF format) via email to:

christine.buckley@hpi.de

By Friday, November 21, 2025.

Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Engineering gGmbH

Professor-Doctor-Helmert-St. 2-3, 14482 Potsdam, Germany