Post-doctoral Researcher​/Research Engineer; OPTIMA

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At the VU FSW Societal Analytics Lab, we are looking for a Post-doctoral Researcher / Research Engineer to join our team to work on the development of OPTIMA: the Observatory for Political Texts, Images, and Multimedia.

Researchers working with digital traces are at a crossroads. While the digital age offers unprecedented access to multimodal data, copyright restrictions and privacy concerns often make that data impossible to share. OPTIMA is a 2-year project funded to solve this.

As a Post-doctoral Researcher or Research Engineer on this project, you will bridge the gap between infrastructure development and social scientific research. You will work directly with Kasper Welbers, Wouter van Atteveldt, and Sofia Gil-Clavel to transform two existing open-source prototypes – AmCAT and Anno Tinder – into a unified tool to enhance the creation and sharing of multimodal data.

• Lead Technical Implementation: Act as the primary engineer of the OPTIMA roadmap: implement standardized vocabularies, integrate AmCAT and Anno Tinder, and expand sharing and non-consumptive research features.
• Architect Open Science Tools: Develop non‑consumptive research facilities that allow scholars to run analyses on sensitive data without violating privacy or copyright, standardize vocabularies, and enable fine‑grained access control.
• Integrate Ecosystems: Seamlessly connect AmCAT (data management) and Anno Tinder (human annotation) using modern web standards and standardized vocabularies (RDF/linked data).
• Foster Co‑creation: Work with the project team to run workshops and hackathons, ensuring the infrastructure meets scientists’ needs and offers a good user experience.
• Publish & Disseminate: Co‑author methodological papers and technical reports on the infrastructure, presenting your work at major conferences such as ICA or Comp Text.

• A Ph.D. in the social sciences with a strong computational focus, OR a Ph.D. in a computational field with a demonstrated passion for social science research, OR an experienced research engineer with passion for open computational social science.
• Strong Programming
  
  Skills:
  
  Proficiency in Python (backend/data science) and/or Type Script (modern web development). Comfortable moving between both.
• Infrastructure Affinity: Experience with or eagerness to learn Docker, API design, and version control (Git/Git Hub).
• Methodological Breadth: Interest in Automated Content Analysis, including LLMs, image analysis, and manual annotation workflows.
• Collaborative Mindset: Excellent social skills and the ability to translate technical speak into researcher speak during co‑creation sessions.
• Commitment to Open Science: Strong belief in transparency, reproducibility, and FAIR data principles.

As a university, we strive for equal opportunities for all, recognising that diversity takes many forms. We are committed to creating an inclusive community so that we can use diversity as an asset.

Duration:
The project runs from September 2026 to September 2028. You would start September 1, 2026, or as soon as possible thereafter.

• Position: 0.8 FTE (per year), potentially raised to 1.0 FTE depending on teaching and/or related funded projects. Teaching is possible if you have at least C1 proficiency in Dutch and/or English.
• Salary: Minimum €3,546.00 to maximum €5,538.00 (gross) per month, based on UFO profile Researcher 4. Position is for a full‑time basis; exact salary depends on education and experience.
• Environment: Embedded in the Department of Communication Science and the Societal Analytics Lab, with access to high‑performance computing and a vibrant interdisciplinary community.
• Benefits:
  38‑hour working week, 232 hours of holiday leave per year. 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end‑of‑year bonus. Pension scheme (ABP). Partial disability insurance with 50% employer contribution. Contribution to commuting expenses.

Ready to build the future of communication research? Please apply via the application button by June 14, uploading your CV and a cover letter that details your experience with Python/Type Script and your vision for developing open‑science infrastructure. A diploma is required for the application process.

Questions? Reach out to dr. Kasper Welbers (k.welbers) or prof. dr. Wouter van Atteveldt (wouter.van.atteveldt).

Applications received by e‑mail will not be considered.