Predoctoral Project Researchers

at  Universitt Wien

The University of Vienna is a community of over 10,000 individuals, including approximately 7,500 academic staff members, who passionately pursue answers to the profound questions that shape our future. They represent individuals driven by curiosity and a relentless pursuit of excellence. With us, they find the space to try things out and unfold their potential. Are you inspired by their passion and determination? We are currently seeking two

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Very good Master’s degree or equivalent in the social sciences or related disciplines
• Strong knowledge of sociology, interaction(ism), discursive construction of reality and app technologies
• Experience with / strong knowledge of interpretive social research methods, in particular of genre and discourse analysis and ethnography
• Excellent command of written and spoken English and German
• Excellent communication skills and readiness to collaborate with the project team and the research unit

DESIREABLE QUALIFICATIONS:

• Knowledge of the current state of communicative AI development
• Knowledge of grief and day-to-day life management and artificial companionship in the US, UK and Germany
• Experience with interpretive and comparative analysis
• Experience with empirical research through digital and focused ethnography
• Interest in the methods of Computational Social Sciences

You actively participate in empirical research, which means:

• You collect, analyze and compare qualitative data on (grief and day-to-day life companionship) on-site with artificial companionship provided by apps
• You contribute to the analysis of international discourse on companionship and its spread within society
• You assist in data management and documentation and contribute to the development of the Research Unit’s “ComAI Research Space”
• You proactively write and co-write project-related publications and participate in events and networking activities

We offer the opportunity to pursue a PhD. We expect you to write your dissertation in the thematic field of the research project and finish your dissertation within 2028.