At least one research engineer for a newly established Methods Centre

The Faculty of Social Sciences' newly established Methods Centre is looking for at least one research engineer for a limited position.

Description of the workplace

At Lund Social Sciences Methods Centre, we work with the application and development of social science research methods. We encourage and grow through interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration. The Method Centre is organized as an umbrella organization and builds on four pillars: Qualitative methods; Experimental methods; Computational Social Science, as well as Skill School (https://www.sam.lu.se/en/research/lund-social-science-methods-centre)

We offer

Employees at Lund University receive special benefits, generous holidays and an advantageous occupational pension system. Read more on the University website about being a Lund University employee Work at Lund University.

Duties and areas of responsibility

As a research engineer, you will provide support to the faculty's researchers who either have ongoing research projects that include relevant methods, or are interested in expanding their method skills within the method center's various parts. You will be located at the Faculty of Social Sciences' library in Lund, which forms a hub for the support functions related to research and education.

The tasks are varied as they involve supporting ongoing research within several different ongoing research projects. Some focus will be on the Wallenberg Scholar project Gender Struggles in the New Conjuncture, which explores contemporary gender struggles in Europe by examining the interplay between feminist and LGBTQ+ mobilizations and the rise of anti-gender and far-right movements amid democratic decline. Central to the tasks is to contribute to combining social science theory with quantitative data and AI methods. You will also participate in various educational efforts, such as courses or workshops aimed at researchers, in computational methods for social science research and data management. These may be held together with different colleagues at the faculty.

Qualifications

Requirements for the position are:

• Social science education at master's level with a clear quantitative profile, alternatively social science education at master's level combined with education in quantitative methods from e.g. mathematics, systems science or computer science.
• Good skills in using quantitative analysis tools within one or more of the following methods; statistical methods, geoinformatics (including spatial econometrics), AI methods (e.g. NLP methods - Sentiment Analysis, Topic Modelling, Discourse analysis), visualization methods, as well as online data collection (experiments, surveys). Expertise in advanced machine learning techniques and large language models (LLMs) —including web scraping, text mining, and neural networks—is considered a strong merit.
• Excellent skills in spoken and written English.
• You need to have excellent ability to work in a team and be goal- and result-oriented. The work also requires that you have problem-solving analytical skills and can work independently, structured and carefully. Interest and ability to learn and apply new methods and working methods is also a requirement. You should also have a high degree of integrity, motivation and flexibility at work.

Meritorious for the position are:

• Good programming skills (eg R and/or Python).

Miscellaneous

The employment is time-limited for one year, however at the latest until on 30 September 2026 and is 100 % full-time. Desired starting date is October 1, 2025 or as agreed.

This is how you apply

Applications are to be submitted via the University's recruitment system. The application should include a CV and a personal letter justifying your interest in the position and how it matches your qualifications. Master's thesis in the relevant subject area must be attached. The application should also include a degree certificate or equivalent as well as any other documents that you wish to refer to (copies of grade transcripts, details of referees, letters of recommendation, etc.).

Welcome with your application!

The University applies individual salary setting. Please state salary claims in your application