Logo
 

Assistant Professor, non-tenure track

  • Vienna University of Economics and Business
  • Research, development, teaching
  • Fulltime
  • published till: 18.11.2026

You want to understand how things are connected and make a fundamental impact? We offer an environment where you can realize your full potential. At one of Europe’s largest and most modern business and economics universities. On a campus where quality of work is also quality of life. We are looking for support at the

Institute for Cognition & Behavior
Fulltime, 40 hours/week
Starting as soon as possible, and limited until December 31, 2027
 
The position is part of the Institute for Cognition and Behavior headed by Prof. Susann Fiedler. We investigate how attention, motivation and social contexts shape judgment and behavior. Current research includes belief formation and updating, motivated cognition and willful ignorance, cooperation and ethical decisions, and the effects of AI on human judgment, learning and scientific work. We combine laboratory and online experiments with process tracing. Applicants should connect with at least one of these areas; expertise across all topics is not required.

What to expect

  • Independently design and conduct laboratory and online experiments, including work on ongoing projects, using the institute’s participant pool and experimental and eye-tracking facilities.
  • Take responsibility for defined research projects, coordinate study implementation and research assistants, and contribute methodological expertise and constructive feedback to the team.
  • Contribute to teaching and student supervision in business psychology and decision sciences, including the specialization “Decision Sciences”
  • Attendance of international conferences
  • Publication of research projects in international journals

 

What you have to offer

  • Completed (or close to finished) PhD in psychology, cognitive science, economics, business and management, or a closely related field.
  • A research profile relevant to at least one of the institute’s areas, demonstrated through empirical research and manuscripts or publications. We assess the quality of the work and your own contribution relative to career stage.
  • Strong skills in experimental design and quantitative analysis. Ability to analyze data independently using R, Python or comparable script-based statistical software.
  • Excellent English and the ability to communicate research clearly in writing, teaching and scientific discussion.
  • Collaborative working practices, and the ability to support junior researchers through constructive methodological feedback.
  • Experience with eye-tracking, mouse-tracking or related process-tracing methods; online experiment programming; computational models of decision processes; or LLMs. Strength in one or more of these areas is welcome; expertise in all of them is not expected.
  • Fluency in English required
  • You are prepared to use multimedia teaching and learning formats

Application documents and selection

Please submit a CV, your publication/manuscript list, and one research paper or unpublished manuscript that best demonstrates your contribution. Instead of a conventional motivation letter, answer the following three questions (maximum 600 words in total; bullet points are welcome).

1. Using the submitted paper, describe a consequential methodological decision. What alternative did you consider, why did you choose your approach, and what limitation remained?

2. Choose one main finding from the paper. What other explanation could account for this finding? Describe a specific analysis or study that would help distinguish between the two explanations, and explain what results would support each.

3. State briefly how your research experience or future research plans connects with the institute’s research areas. A full project proposal is not required.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to interviews during the first two weeks of December.

Language-editing tools may be used when preparing the application; if generative AI contributed to the substantive content, briefly state how and what you checked; this statement does not count towards the word limit.

What we offer you

  • 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

Curious? Visit our website and find out more at www.wu.ac.at/benefits.

The minimum monthly gross salary amounts to €5.014,30 (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 18, 2026 (ID 2947).
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.