Postdoctoral researcher (ORBIT Consortium)

Aalborg Universitet (AAU)

Aalborg

On-site

DKK 450,000 - 520,000

Full time

12 days ago

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Job summary

Aalborg Universitet søger en postdoktor i ordningen ORBIT-konsortiet ved Institut for Samfund og Politik. Stillingen er en treårig, fuldtids forskerstilling med mulighed for at bidrage til forskning i ansvarlig anvendelse af AI i smart grids i de nordiske lande.

Kandidaten forventes at have en PhD og solide kvalitative forskningskompetencer, samt erfaring med akademisk publikation og engelsk sprog flydende i skrift og tale.

Qualifications

Doktorgrad i ledelse og organisation, organisationsstudier, sosiologi eller et andet relevant samfundsvidenskabeligt område.
Doktorgrad skal være færdig ved ansøgningsfristens udløb.
Evne til at gennemføre selvstændig videnskabelig forskning.
Stærk metodisk kompetence i kvalitative eller etnografiske metoder.
Publikationshistorie eller tydelig potentiale til internationale fagfællebedømte artikler.
Fremragende skriftlige og mundtlige engelskfærdigheder.

Responsibilities

Gennemføre kvalitativ feltarbejde, herunder interviews, observationer og dokumentanalyse.
Bidrage til komparative analyser på tværs af nordiske lande og organisatoriske kontekster.
Samarbejde med konzoriet i design og gennemførsel af workshops, interessentinddragelse og formidling.

Skills

Independent research

Qualitative methods

Academic publishing

English proficiency

Education

PhD in management/organization or related

Job description

Postdoctoral researcher (ORBIT Consortium)

Jobbeskrivelse

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.

Your competencies

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.

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.

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.

Contacts