Postdoctoral Researcher in Knowledge Security and in a Geopolitical Context

University of Amsterdam; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 41,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

8% holiday allowance

8.3% year-end allowance

30% ruling tax arrangement

Interdisciplinary climate institute at

Job summary

University of Amsterdam is seeking an interdisciplinary researcher to examine knowledge security in energy transition technologies and related domains. You will work across legal, political, and science-and-technology perspectives within the KNOWSEC-NL consortium.

You will design qualitative studies, facilitate group model building, and contribute to policy-relevant outputs, conferences, and reports while collaborating with multiple faculties and partners.

Qualifications

• PhD completed or near completed in a field such as international/european law, political science, international relations, systems science, science and technology studies, public administration or related.
• Strong interest in geopolitics of science and technology and engagement with energy transition technologies.
• Experience with qualitative or participatory research methods (interviews, workshops, expert elicitation, stakeholder engagement).
• Publication record or clear publication potential appropriate to career stage.
• Excellent written and spoken English; ability to communicate with scientists, policymakers and security professionals.
• Ability to work in a large, interdisciplinary and multi‑institutional team and independently.

Responsibilities

• Assess knowledge security measures through a scoping review of literature and stakeholder engagement.
• Design and facilitate group model building sessions and map feedback loops and trade-offs.
• Publish in international journals and present at conferences; integrate results into normative balancing framework.
• Develop interdisciplinary analytical perspectives and co-author a report on knowledge security.
• Build links with similar programmes abroad and help organize an international knowledge security conference.
• Participate in policy fora in The Netherlands and Brussels and contribute to policy briefs.
• Participate in summer and winter schools for early‑career researchers; potential short research secondment.

Skills

Geopolitics of science & technology

Qualitative/participatory methods

English proficiency

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Independent work

Education

PhD (completed or near completed) in related field

Tools

Group model building

System dynamics

Causal loop diagramming

Job description

Join us!

Universities and research institutes need open, international collaboration to tackle global challenges. The energy transition depends on it, and so does climate change mitigation and adaptation. At the same time, technologies that matter for the energy transition have become strategic assets in geopolitical and geo‑economic competition. Examples include energy storage and batteries, catalysis and solar fuels, hydrogen, and the critical materials they rely on. The same tensions arise, in different forms, in other strategically sensitive fields, in particular quantum technology, artificial intelligence and biotechnology. You will take energy transition technologies as your primary focus and compare them systematically with these three domains, to find out which knowledge security risks and responses are specific to a field and which are shared. Dutch and European knowledge institutions are introducing knowledge security measures such as partner screening, risk classifications and export‑control compliance. We know little about what these measures actually achieve. We know just as little about what they cost in lost collaboration, scientific progress and academic freedom.

What are you going to do?

Your work has three connected parts.

1. Assessing knowledge security measures (about 50%, Work Package 7)

• Carry out a scoping review of the literature on key knowledge security risks and on the scientific and societal benefits of international research collaboration.
• Design and facilitate group model building sessions with domain scientists and knowledge security professionals in the Dutch knowledge sector. In these participatory sessions you will map, with stakeholders, the feedback loops, trade‑offs and unintended effects of existing and proposed security measures.
• Publish in international peer‑reviewed journals and present at academic and policy conferences.
• Feed the results into the project’s normative balancing framework, which combines proportionality with risk appraisal.

2. Developing interdisciplinary analytical perspectives (about 30%, Work Package 2)

• Help identify and develop theories, concepts and methods for analysing knowledge security.
• Co‑author a concise report on knowledge security from relevant disciplinary perspectives; this depends on the disciplinary background of the candidate.

3. Connecting to international knowledge security communities (about 20%, Work Package 3)

• Build links with similar programmes abroad and help organise an international research conference on knowledge security.
• Take part in policy fora in The Netherlands and Brussels, and contribute to policy briefs and other impact‑oriented outputs.

You will also join the consortium’s summer and winter schools for early‑career researchers. You may do a short research secondment of one to two months with one of the project’s cooperation partners.

What do you have to offer?

Required:

• A PhD (completed or nearly completed) in a relevant field, such as international or European law, political science or international relations, systems science or policy analysis, science and technology studies, public administration, or a related discipline.
• A strong interest in the geopolitics of science and technology, and the ability to engage with the substance of energy transition technologies.
• Experience with qualitative or participatory research methods, such as interviews, workshops, expert elicitation or stakeholder engagement.
• A publication record, or clear publication potential, appropriate to your career stage.
• Excellent written and spoken English, and the ability to communicate with scientists, policymakers and security professionals.
• Enjoyment of working in a large, interdisciplinary and multi‑institutional team, together with the ability to work independently.

Preferred:

• Experience with group model building, system dynamics, causal loop diagramming or other systems‑thinking methods.
• Familiarity with knowledge or research security, export controls, dual‑use governance, or science, technology and innovation policy.
• A background in, or affinity with, energy, climate or sustainability research.
• Working knowledge of Dutch.

What can we offer you?

• A temporary contract for 1 years at 38 hours per week, with a two‑month probationary period. When your performance is satisfactorythe contract that will be extended for two years. Preferred start date Februari 1st, 2027
• A gross monthly salary of €3,706 to €5,760, scale, depending on relevant experience. This excludes the 8% holiday allowance and the 8.3% year‑end allowance. UFO profile Researcher [4] applies, as does the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities.
• The 30% ruling tax arrangement may apply to non‑Dutch applicants.
• A place in an interdisciplinary climate institute that spans seven UvA faculties, and in a national consortium with strong ties to policy and practice.
• Training and networking through the consortium’s summer and winter schools.
• An attractive secondary benefits package (see the UvA employer page).

About us

You will work in KNOWSEC‑NL, Fostering the Resilience of the Dutch Knowledge Sector: Knowledge Security and Research in a Geopolitical Context (2027–2031). This is a large interdisciplinary consortium funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) under the Dutch Research Agenda (NWA). It brings together researchers from Maastricht University, the University of Amsterdam, the University of Twente, TU Delft, the University of Groningen, Utrecht University, CWI, the Netherlands Defence Academy, Hogeschool Utrecht and the Rathenau Institute. It works with cooperation partners including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence, SURF, Neth‑ER, Amsterdam UMC, TNO and international partner institutions.

You will be based at SEVEN, the University of Amsterdam’s interdisciplinary climate institute. SEVEN treats climate change as a systemic challenge and develops knowledge and interventions that remove systemic barriers to fair and effective climate solutions. In line with that approach, you will treat knowledge security as a systems problem. Energy transition technologies will be the main anchor of this analysis quantum technology, AI and biotechnology are comparison cases, to show where risks, benefits and the effects of measures differ between domains and where they converge. You will be supervised by Prof. André Nollkaemper and Prof. Machiko Kanetake . You will work closely with UvA colleagues in chemistry, energy technology, AI, quantum technology and biomedical research at the UvA, CWI and Amsterdam UMC.

Are you a researcher who wants to work on one of the most urgent governance questions facing science today: how to stay open to international collaboration in a world of growing geopolitical rivalry? Do you think in systems, and do you enjoy working with scientists, policymakers and security professionals to make sense of complex trade‑offs? Then this position may be for you.

Join us!

Universities and research institutes need open, international collaboration to tackle global challenges. The energy transition depends on it, and so does climate change mitigation and adaptation. At the same time, technologies that matter for the energy transition have become strategic assets in geopolitical and geo‑economic competition. Examples include energy storage and batteries, catalysis and solar fuels, hydrogen, and the critical materials they rely on. The same tensions arise, in different forms, in other strategically sensitive fields, in particular quantum technology, artificial intelligence and biotechnology. You will take energy transition technologies as your primary focus and compare them systematically with these three domains, to find out which knowledge security risks and responses are specific to a field and which are shared. Dutch and European knowledge institutions are introducing knowledge security measures such as partner screening, risk classifications and export‑control compliance. We know little about what these measures actually achieve. We know just as little about what they cost in lost collaboration, scientific progress and academic freedom.

For questions about the position, contact:

• Prof. André Nollkaemper, [e-mail]

• Prof. Machiko Kanetake, [e-mail]