Research Fellowship (BI – Master) - SPAC Group

EURAXESS Ireland; Lisboa; Remote; EUR 15,000 - 16,000; Full time

Job summary

The Laboratory of Instrumentation and Experimental Particle Physics (LIP) invites applications for a Research Student Fellowship (BI – Master) in Computer Science, Data Science, and Artificial Intelligence. The project focuses on auditing political bias in search algorithms under ERC funding, within a multidisciplinary team at LIP in Portugal.

The candidate should have a strong quantitative background, at least 3 years in related research, and be fluent in English and Portuguese (C2 level).

Qualifications

• Educational background in Engineering or a strong quantitative field with a master’s degree.
• Master’s degree in Engineering or equivalent and experience in multidisciplinary projects.
• At least 3 years of research project experience in computer science with data collection and analysis.

Responsibilities

• Develop tools to collect data from search engines and large language models.
• Collect and analyze data related to political contexts in research.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary and international teams in project activities.
• Prepare dissemination materials and contribute to scientific articles and conferences.

Skills

Fluent English

Fluent Portuguese

Data collection

Data analysis

Scraping tools

Team collaboration

Education

Master's degree in Engineering

PhD program in Computer Science

Tools

Scraping tools

Data collection at scale

Job description

Organisation/Company LIP - Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas Department LISBON Research Field Computer science » Other Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Master Positions Application Deadline 27 Oct 2026 - 17:00 (Europe/Lisbon) Country Portugal Type of Contract Other Type of Contract Extra Information Research Fellowship Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Nov 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe - ERC Reference Number 101248711 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The Laboratory of instrumentation and Experimental Particle Physics (LIP) is opening a selection tender for one Research Student Fellowship (BI – Master) for research activities in the scientific subject of Computer Science, Data Science, and Artificial Intelligence applied to the study of political bias in search algorithms in the framework of the project “FARE_DSA: A Framework for Auditing Recommendation Engines under the DSA”, funded by the European Research Council (GA 101248711).

The recruited candidate will integrate a project focused on research political bias in search engines and large language models (LLMs), joining amultidisciplinary and diverse research team in a collegial and collaborative environment.

The candidate should have an educational background in Engineering or similar, be currently enrolled in a PhD Program in Computer Science and have experience working in multidisciplinary teams.

The candidate should have previous experience (at least 3 years) working on research projects in the fields of computer science with a strong focus in the collection of data from large algorithms, complex systems and a strong component of data analysis in political contexts. Previous experience in data collection and analysis, previous experience in multidisciplinary and international projects is strongly preferred.

The candidate should also have:

• Relevant academic background, including a master's degree in Engineering or a strong quantitative field, knowledge in complex systems, and experience in multidisciplinary projects.
• Proven experience in using scraping tools to collect data from multiple websites, and handling data on large scales.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills in multidisciplinary and international environments.

The candidate must be fluent in English and Portuguese and be able to use both in a professional setting (equivalent to level C2).

Workplan:

The chosen candidate will perform the following tasks:

• Analysis and development of tools capable of collect data from search engines and large language models in large scale;
• Collection and analysis of data associated with political contexts;
• Participation and development of activities related to the project in coordination with other colleagues and researchers;
• Participation in activities related to the goals of the project, namely those related to the selection and analysis of relevant bibliography, dissemination activities, including the preparation of scientific articles and presentations in conferences, seminars, workshops, etc., as well as organizing those same events in the context of the project.

Legislation: The fellowship contract will be established according to the Regulations for Research Grants of LIP and FCT and to the Status of Scientific Research Fellow (Law nº 40/2004 de 18 de Agosto, and its successive amendments).

Duration:The fellowship has a duration of 6 months, with a foreseen starting date on 1 November 2026. The fellowship may eventually be renewed, until the maximum foreseen in the project and according to the terms of the FCT/LIP regulations.

The research project will be conducted at LIP under the scientific supervision of Joana Gonçalves de Sá.

Main Research Fields: Computation, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence.

The candidate should also have:

• Relevant academic background, including a master's degree in Engineering or a strong quantitative field, knowledge in complex systems, and experience in multidisciplinary projects.
• Proven experience in using scraping tools to collect data from multiple websites, and handling data on large scales.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills in multidisciplinary and international environments.

The candidate must be fluent in English and Portuguese and be able to use both in a professional setting (equivalent to level C2).

Specific Requirements

The candidate should have previous experience (at least 3 years) working on research projects in the fields of computer science with a strong focus in the collection of data from large algorithms, complex systems and a strong component of data analysis in political contexts. Previous experience in data collection and analysis, previous experience in multidisciplinary and international projects is strongly preferred.

Languages ENGLISH Level Excellent

Languages PORTUGUESE Level Excellent

Research Field Computer science » Other Years of Research Experience 1 - 4

Additional Information

The monthly amount of 1359,64€ is in accordance with the values stipulated in the “FCT Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships”:

This amount will be paid on a monthly basis through bank transfer to the grant holder's bank account. The fellowship might be supplemented according to LIP’s regulations.

Eligibility criteria

Any national, foreign, or stateless candidates who hold an academic or professional curriculum whose profile is suited for the activity to be performed can submit their applications. All candidates who formalize their applications in an improper way or fail to prove the requirements imposed by this tender are excluded from admission. In case of doubt, the panel is entitled to request any candidate to present further documentation supporting his/her statements. False statements provided by the candidates shall be punished by law.

In the event the degree was awarded by a foreign higher education institution, the degree must comply with the provisions of Decree-Law no. 341/2007 of 12th October by the application deadline.

Selection process

The tender selection panel shall be formed by:

Evaluation criteria are the following:

Evaluation of the CV of the candidates, namely their educational background and past experience.

Each member of the panel will value the criteria for each candidate, taking into account the requirements of the duties to be performed, the adequacy of previous experience, his/her relationship to the relevant areas and sub-areas.

The selection will consider the applicant's Curriculum Vitae (60%) and their motivation letter (40%).

High-ranking candidates might be called for an interview, and the final decision will be based on the interview score alone.

After applying the selection criteria, the panel will prepare an ordered list of the approved candidates and their corresponding classification. In case none of the candidates can demonstrate suitable skills or background, the panel will not select any candidate.

Advertising / notification of results:

The results of the evaluation will be communicated by email; in case of disagreement, the candidates have a period of 10 working days to contest the decision, as provided for in the Code of Administrative Procedure in a preliminary hearing. At the end of this period, the arguments presented will be analysed by the jury committee, who will simultaneously communicate the final decision to all the candidates who submitted allegations. The final results of the shortlisted applicants will be communicated by e‑mail. In case of disagreement, the candidates have a period of 15 working days to contest the decision.

Additional comments

Non-discrimination and equal access policy: LIP actively promotes a nondiscrimination and equal access policy, wherefore no candidate can be privileged, benefited, impaired or deprived of any rights whatsoever, or be exempt of any duties based on their ancestry, age, sex, sexual preference, marital status, family and economic conditions, instruction, origin or social conditions, genetic heritage, reduced work capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, origin territory, language, religion, political or ideological convictions and union membership.