About the opportunity
The University of Vienna invites applications for a Predoctoral University Assistant position within the Technology and Management Group at the Department of Business Decisions and Analytics. The role focuses on expanding the Bureaucracy Index, a data-based measure of federal law scope, by incorporating EU law, cross-country comparisons, restrictive wording indicators, citation network complexity, amendment dynamics, and sectoral impacts. The successful candidate will build automated data pipelines, link regulatory data to firm and patent datasets, conduct empirical research, and publish in international peer-reviewed journals while completing a PhD over a four-year employment period.
Salary and benefits
- Monthly gross base salary of EUR 3,776.10 on a full-time basis, subject to relevant professional experience increases under the collective bargaining agreement
- Social security coverage and inclusion in an active research group led by Prof. Stefan Wagner
- Funding for conference travel, computing resources, and data acquisition
- Access to over 600 free internal continuous training and coaching courses
- Flexible working hours and partial remote work opportunities
Who can apply?
- Completed Master's or Diploma degree in Business Administration, Economics, Data Science, Law, Computational Social Science, or a closely related field by the start of employment
- Strong quantitative skills and experience in data management, with proficiency in R, Stata, or SQL
- Experience with web scraping, crawling, Natural Language Processing (NLP), or network analysis is strongly preferred
- Genuine interest in the intersection of law, economics, and innovation
- Excellent written and spoken English language skills at C1 level
Required documents
- Scientific curriculum vitae
- Motivation letter
- Degree certificate confirming a completed Master's or Diploma degree
- Master's transcript of records
When to apply
- Application deadline is November 8, 2026
- Position starts on November 16, 2026
How to apply
- Prepare your scientific CV, motivation letter, degree certificate, and transcripts following the official document guidelines
- Submit your application through the University of Vienna job portal using the Apply Now button before the deadline
Additional information
- The employment contract is initially limited to 1.5 years and will be automatically extended to a total of 4 years unless the employer issues a non-extension declaration within the first 12 months
- The successful candidate is expected to conclude a dissertation agreement within 12 to 18 months and independently teach university courses in accordance with collective bargaining regulations
- The University of Vienna promotes gender equality and diversity, explicitly encouraging qualified female candidates to apply
Our Take on This Opportunity
This section reflects Open Opportunities’ own analysis of the opportunity from an applicant’s perspective.
You may be a strong fit if…
- You have a quantitative academic background in economics, business, data science, or computational social science with solid programming skills in R or Python/SQL.
- You are eager to pursue a structured PhD while working on a high-visibility, large-scale empirical research project at the intersection of law and innovation.
- You possess practical experience in web scraping, text mining, or network analysis and want to apply these methods to public policy and regulatory data.
What should you think carefully about?
- The position is offered as a fixed four-year predoctoral contract with an initial 18-month probationary evaluation period.
- You must commit to completing a doctoral thesis and fulfilling independent teaching obligations alongside your core research duties.
- Relocation to Vienna, Austria is required as the position is based at the University of Vienna with standard on-site presence expectations.
How could this fit your current goals and plans?
This predoctoral assistantship is ideal if your immediate goals include securing stable academic funding to complete a PhD at a major European research university while building high-level competencies in empirical legal studies, data engineering, and academic publishing.
Our take
This role is well-suited for ambitious graduates with strong quantitative skills who want to combine doctoral studies with impactful empirical research in technology and management. It is less suitable for candidates seeking non-research corporate roles or those unable to commit to structured teaching and dissertation milestones.
Ready to apply?
Review the opportunity on the official website before applying.
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