Assistant Professor, non-tenure track
- Vienna University of Economics and Business
- Research, development, teaching
- Fulltime
- published till: 04.11.2026
Institute for Political Economy of Public Policy
Fulltime, 40 hours/week
Starting February 01, 2027, or soon thereafter, and limited for 6 years
The Department of Socioeconomics at the WU Vienna University of Economics and Business invites applications for a full-time, non-tenure-track Assistant Professor position (post-doc).
The Department of Socioeconomics offers an active and internationally oriented research environment with a focus on interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and addressing today’s major economic, social, and ecological challenges. The position is located in the Institute for Political Economy of Public Policy, and the successful candidate will work in the research group of Prof. Florian Keusch.
The successful candidate is expected to complement and strengthen the department’s existing research profile through combining advanced computational methods with research questions and theories grounded in the social sciences. We value careful measurement, transparent and reproducible research practices, and sound judgment about what the evidence can and cannot establish. In addition to independent research, the successful candidate will also contribute to the department’s quantitative methodological teaching portfolio and take over responsibility for administrative and organizational tasks.
What to expect
- Conducting independent research: You will actively contribute to the research at the research group, publish in top journals in the field, and present at international academic conferences.
- Teaching and supporting courses: You will plan and teach courses (4 semester hours per week/2 courses each semester) in the Bachelor and Master programs of the Department Socioeconomics.
- Supervising students: You will be available to answer students’ questions and act as a supervisor for bachelor’s and master’s theses.
- Benefiting from a strong researcher environment: You will work in an excellent, internationally connected team that supports you in developing your own research projects, advancing publications, and expanding your network.
- Working as part of a team: You will join a team of committed researchers who collaboratively advance research projects, including joint funding applications and acquisition of third party-funds.
- Organizational tasks: As part of the team, you will support selected organizational tasks at the research group.
- Building up a professional network: You will be using the post-doc phase to establish yourself as an independent researcher and expand your own professional network, keeping the WU’s third mission and societal engagement in mind.
What you have to offer
- Doctoral degree/PhD: You have successfully completed your doctoral degree (PhD or equivalent) in sociology, political science, economics, statistics, or computational social science/social data science (or a closely related field).
- Subject-specific competences: You conduct research in the field of social data science by applying state-of-the-art computational, quantitative methods to solve real-world social problems with data. Apart from an applied research focus in the core social sciences, your research also advances social science methods (e.g., acquiring and integrating non-traditional data sources, applying NLP, AI, and other emerging technologies to social science research).
- Methodological skills: You have expertise in advanced quantitative methods and are proficient in the use of statistical programming languages (e.g., R or Python).
- High-quality research output: You have publications in leading peer-reviewed social science journals appropriate to career stage and have presented your work internationally.
- Research funding: You are interested in developing externally funded research projects and strengthening international research connections.
- Teaching experience: You are committed to excellent teaching and the ability to explain demanding methodological concepts clearly, ideally supported by experience teaching quantitative social science methods. You are prepared to use multimedia teaching and learning formats.
- Language skills: You have an excellent command of written and spoken English. Knowledge of German is an asset.
- Team spirit: You can demonstrate flexibility, commitment, creativity, and engagement, and are willing to work in a collaborative and interdisciplinary environment.
Please submit the following materials as a single PDF file, in this order:
- Cover letter including earliest possible and preferred start date
- Academic CV
- Contact details for at least two academic references (name, affiliation, email address) – references will be contacted for shortlisted candidates
- Personal statement (briefly outlining research, teaching, and service activities; max 2 pages)
- Teaching evaluations (if available)
- One writing sample, ideally solo- or first-authored journal publication, conference paper, or working paper
- Transcript of grade records
- Copies of relevant certificates
Application documents must be submitted in English through the WU online application tool (Reference number: [ID 2931]).
For questions about the position, please contact Prof. Florian Keusch at florian.keusch@wu.ac.at.
What we offer you
- Six weeks of vacation/Extra vacation time
- Flexible working hours
- Training opportunities
- A wide range of benefits, from an in-house medical officer to athletic activities and a meal allowance to a variety of employee discounts
- Meaningful work in an open-minded, inclusive, and family-friendly environment
- A modern campus with spectacular architecture in the heart of Vienna
- Inspiring campus life with over 2,400 employees in research, teaching, and administration and approximately 21,500 students
- Excellent accessibility by public transportation
The minimum monthly gross salary amounts to €5,079.50 (14 times per year). This salary may be adjusted based on equivalent prior work experience. In addition, we offer a wide range of attractive social benefits.
Do you want to join the WU team?
Then please submit your application by November 04, 2026 (ID 2931).
We are looking forward to hearing from you!
WU is committed to diversity and inclusion and actively encourages applications from people of all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from women. Not sure if your profile fully matches our requirements? Apply anyway! In case of equal qualification, female candidates will be given preference. Applicants with disabilities will be supported throughout each stage of the recruitment process. Candidates' qualifications will be assessed in the context of their academic age.
