Postdoctoral researcher (ORBIT Consortium)

Aalborg University; Aalborg; On-site; DKK 430,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

The Department of Society and Politics at Aalborg University invites applications for a three-year, full-time Postdoctoral Researcher position linked to the NordForsk-funded ORBIT project on responsible use of AI and interconnected smart grids in the Nordic energy sector.

Starting 1 November 2026 or soon after, the successful candidate will join the ORBIT Consortium supervised by Professor Kasper Trolle Elmholdt.

Qualifications

• Doctoral degree completed by end of application period.
• Ability to conduct independent scientific research.
• Strong methodological competence in qualitative or ethnographic methods.
• Track record or clear potential for publishing in international peer-reviewed journals.
• Excellent written and spoken English language skills.

Responsibilities

• Carry out qualitative fieldwork, including interviews, observations, and document analysis.
• Contribute to comparative analyses across Nordic countries and organizational settings.
• Collaborate with consortium members in designing and carrying out workshops, stakeholder engagement, and dissemination activities.
• Contribute to the development of international academic publications and other project outputs.

Skills

Qualitative research

Ethnography

Independent researcher

English proficiency

Academic writing

Education

PhD in management and organization

Job description

At the Department of Society and Politics, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, we are now inviting applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher position in the NordForsk-funded project “Organizing Across Boundaries for Responsible Use of AI: Towards Interconnected Smart Grids in the Nordic Energy Sector” (ORBIT). The position will be affiliated with the ORBIT Consortium (described below) and supervised by Professor Kasper Trolle Elmholdt. The position is a full-time, fixed-term position for a period of three years. The expected starting date is 1 November 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The ORBIT consortium engages with the profound transformation that the energy sector is undergoing as Nordic countries pursue the green transition and integration of secure, interconnected smart grids. In this context, energy sector organizations are turning to AI to forecast, balance, and manage critical infrastructure, while also responding to new regulatory frameworks such as the EU AI Act.

ORBIT examines how regulation, organizational practices, and professional expertise come together as organizations build the capacity to use AI responsibly and securely, and how this reshapes expert work, accountability, and collaboration across organizational and national boundaries. The project combines in-depth qualitative fieldwork across the four Nordic transmission system operators with comparative analysis, contributing to debates in organization studies and the sociology of expertise on responsible AI, professional work, and organizing across boundaries.

The ORBIT project brings together a consortium of management and organization researchers from Aalborg University, Tampere University (Finland), the University of Gothenburg (Sweden), and BI Norwegian Business School (Norway). Their shared research interest is to advance in-depth qualitative research concerning how AI in a broad sense is transforming expert work.

Your work tasks

The postdoctoral researcher will contribute to research activities and stakeholder interactions as part of the ORBIT Consortium. Work duties (e.g., data collection) will take place mainly in Denmark, but may also include data collection and participation in meetings in Sweden, Norway, and Finland.

The successful candidate is expected to:

• Carry out qualitative fieldwork, including interviews, observations, and document analysis
• Contribute to comparative analyses across Nordic countries and across organizational settings
• Collaborate with consortium members in designing and carrying out workshops, stakeholder engagement, and dissemination activities
• Contribute to the development of international academic publications and other project outputs directed at both scholarly and practitioner audiences
• Participate in the research communities at Aalborg University

At the start of the position, the postdoctoral researcher will become familiar with the ORBIT Consortium’s conceptual and empirical framework and prepare the data collection together with the team. The researcher will take increasing responsibility for fieldwork, comparative analysis, the co-authoring of journal articles and reports, and active participation in international consortium collaboration. The position offers an excellent opportunity to further develop an international research profile and academic networks in organization studies, organizational sociology, or adjacent fields

The postdoctoral researcher candidate must have:

• A doctoral degree in management and organization, organization studies, sociology, or another relevant social science discipline. The doctoral degree must be completed by the end of the application period.
• The ability to conduct independent scientific research
• Strong methodological competence in qualitative or ethnographic research methods
• a track record or clear potential for publishing in international peer-reviewed journals
• Excellent written and spoken English language skills

The position requires strong qualitative research skills and fluency in English. Previous experience in studying the energy sector will be considered additional merit. Additionally, prior work experience in an international and interdisciplinary research team is appreciated.

Qualification requirements

Appointment as postdoc requires academic qualifications at PhD level.

Who we are

The post-doc will collaborate with the ORBIT consortium and be affiliated with the Center for Information Systems Research and the AI:Xpertise Lab at Department of Society and Politics.

The Department of Society and Politics provides an ambitious academic environment, bringing together a range of strong research disciplines from the social sciences. Our scholars pursue research excellence at the highest international level while remaining committed to generating knowledge that informs policy, improves practice, and creates societal impact. The department offers a supportive and collegial research environment, strong support for career development, and work-life balance in a high-quality living environment.

Aalborg University wants to reflect the surrounding society and has diversity as a core value. Therefore, everyone, regardless of personal background and orientation, is encouraged to apply for the position.

Aalborg University has a policy of parallel language use. International staff are encouraged, with support from the university, to learn Danish during their employment in order to support their integration into the workplace and Danish society.

Danish language courses will be offered as part of the employment.

Do you have any questions?

If you have any questions about the position, you are more than welcome to contact us. You will find contact persons at the bottom of the jobpost.

The recruitment process may include interviews and, where relevant, other assessment methods in line with Aalborg University’s recruitment principles.

Further information

Read more about our recruitment process here

The appointment process at Aalborg University involves a shortlisting process. You can read more about the shortlisting and appointment process here.

The hiring process at Aalborg University may include a risk assessment as a tool to identify potential risks associated with new hires, ensuring the safety, compliance, and integrity of the workplace.

Salary and terms of employment

The employment is in accordance with the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities (the Appointment Order) and the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (in Danish) and protocol on certain terms of employment of academic staff at universities (in Danish).

Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with the collective agreement between the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations and the state (AC collective agreement) (only in Danish) and protocol on certain terms of employment of academic staff at universities (only in Danish).

There is a mutual probationary period of 3 months for the position.

Aalborg University - Knowledge for the world

Aalborg University is an international workplace with more than 3,700 employees. We offer real-world-oriented education and create world-class research results through collaboration between researchers, students, and public and private companies. This is how we achieve insights, new solutions to societal problems, and knowledge that changes the world. Our main campus is in Aalborg, but we also have campuses in Esbjerg and Copenhagen.