Vacant job

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About the job

As a research engineer, you will work within the project "Folk High Schools as a Mirror of Society: Sociological Perspectives on the Educational Offerings of Folk High Schools 1868–2018." The main tasks consist of research and infrastructure development related to a large corpus of program descriptions from Swedish folk high schools from the 1860s to the present day.

You will primarily work with large-scale text analysis of program descriptions for adult education, school descriptions, and their changes over time. Your tasks will also include assisting in building a digital interface for teachers, principals, and researchers in collaboration with the university library.

The position includes the following tasks:

• Building a database of archival material.
• Contributing to a frontend and backend for browsing the archive.
• Designing dynamic visualizations of text and images on the library's website.
• Conducting large-scale computerized text analysis on a corpus of Swedish program descriptions from folk high schools.
• Contributing to research on social movements and civil organizations offering folk high school education.

About you

We are looking for someone who combines a high academic education in social sciences with professional competence in software development.

The following education, experience, and expertise are required:

• PhD in sociology, analytical sociology, or another social science degree that the employer considers equivalent to strong methodological competence in computational social science techniques.
• Background knowledge in history, pedagogy, or political science.
• Solid experience with quantitative text analysis methods (specifically topic models, word embeddings, BERT, and GPT models).
• Solid experience running LLM on research infrastructure.
• Excellent programming skills in Python, R, and JavaScript/TypeScript.
• Proficiency in relevant tools and frameworks (PyTorch, Vue, SOLR).
• Excellent command of English.

Additionally, the following education, experience, and expertise will strengthen an application:

• Experience with the Swedish national infrastructure for data processing (SNIC/NAISS).
• Experience with big data analysis on distributed computing clusters and corresponding tools (Slurm, Bash, parallel operations, etc.).
• Experience writing backend and frontend code for websites.
• Solid experience with methods from computational social science (CSS).
• Experience with longitudinal text data analysis over long historical periods.
• Ability to bridge the gap between qualitative and quantitative research.
• Interest in adult education research, political sociology, library science, or literary sociology.
• Good reading comprehension in Swedish.
• Proficiency in German, both spoken and written.

Your workplace

The position is located at both the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning (IBL) and the Department of Economics and Industrial Development (IEI). The role involves collaboration between sociological research and the development of digital infrastructure. More information about the activities at the relevant departments and units can be found at here (https://liu.se/organisation/liu/ibl/pvl) and here (https://liu.se/organisation/liu/iei/ias).

About the employment

Temporary position for 10 months, full-time. Start as soon as possible.

A security check may be conducted before a hiring decision is made.

Salary and benefits

Linköping University applies individual salary setting.

We offer the possibility of remote work for part of your working time when the needs of the business and the tasks allow it.

Read more about employee benefits here (#).

Union contacts

Information about union contacts can be found in Help for applicants.

Application

Welcome to submit your application with a CV and cover letter by January 30, 2026. You apply for this position by clicking the "Apply" button below. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

We welcome applicants with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, as this enriches and develops our operations. It is self-evident for us to uphold everyone's equal value, rights, and opportunities. Read about our work with Equal Conditions.

Welcome with your application!

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