Vacant job

Luleå University of Technology is experiencing strong growth with world-leading expertise in several research areas. Our scientific and artistic research and education are conducted in close collaboration with international, national, and regional companies, public actors, and leading universities. Luleå University of Technology has an annual turnover of over 2.3 billion SEK. We have more than 1,800 employees and nearly 21,600 students.

The research subject Work Science at Luleå University of Technology is seeking a postdoctoral researcher to a stimulating research environment focusing on work environment, advanced technology, and sustainable societal development, to work on research projects concerning the role of humans in sociotechnical systems and how these systems should be designed for sustainable green and digital transformation.

As a postdoctoral researcher in Work Science, you will belong to a research group in a dynamic research environment in close collaboration with industry and universities worldwide. Work Science at Luleå University of Technology was established in 1974 and today has 24 employees conducting research and education in both societal and technical areas. Our research is highly interdisciplinary, and we have close collaboration between engineers and social scientists. The research is often need-driven, conducted close to workplaces, and in collaboration with actors in the surrounding society – manufacturing companies, service companies, labor market partners, and other organizations and actors in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. We have projects in areas such as industry (mining, forestry, steel, construction), health and social care, education, and retail. Organizationally, the research subject Work Science is part of the Department of Human & Technology, which is part of the Department of Economics, Technology, Arts, and Society at Luleå University of Technology. More information about us can be found on our website www.ltu.se/arbetsvetenskap (http://www.ltu.se/arbetsvetenskap).

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will have excellent opportunities to enhance your qualifications primarily scientifically but also pedagogically within our research subject over two years.

Subject Description

Work Science encompasses research on work environment, technology and production systems, work organization, and other societal processes and environments based on people's conditions and needs to create safe and attractive jobs and socially sustainable development in working life, industry, and society.

Project Description

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will work and drive research within an ongoing research project, Circular Arctic Sweden (CAS), which aims to develop new knowledge about how municipalities and other actors in Norrbotten organize and implement waste management to increase circularity. Your role in the CAS project is to examine work processes, forms of collaboration, distribution of responsibilities, and goal conflicts between activities and systems within municipal waste management in Norrbotten, based on work science and sociotechnical perspectives, and how these affect the possibilities of creating sustainable material and energy flows. Through mappings and in-depth case studies, combined with workshops and co-creation with practitioners, you will identify user needs and develop frameworks for digital tools and working methods that can support coordination and experience exchange across organizational and municipal boundaries. The project is conducted in an interdisciplinary research team within Creaternity at LTU and in close collaboration with Region Norrbotten, municipalities, and other actors in waste management, enabling both practice-oriented research and implementation of project results. The project also includes national and international collaboration.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities for you as a postdoctoral researcher primarily involve research, including collaboration with the surrounding society, research communication, publishing scientific articles in international research journals, and similar activities. In addition to conducting your own research within the CAS project, you are expected, when possible, to contribute to other research and activities within Work Science. This may involve assisting in the analysis of research material, co-authoring articles, supporting the subject's doctoral students, and participating in research applications and internal and external assignments. Teaching and pedagogical development work may comprise 20% of your working hours.

Qualifications

To be eligible for employment, a doctoral degree or equivalent foreign degree in Work Science or a social or technical subject relevant to Work Science is required, obtained no later than four years before the application deadline. If there are special reasons, candidates who obtained their doctoral degree earlier may also be considered, for example, due to various types of statutory leave. Since the research is communicative, you must have a very good ability to express yourself verbally and in writing in both Swedish and English.

In addition to this, we also prefer that you have:

• Knowledge of sociotechnical systems, work organization, work environment, gender equality, and the design of sustainable workplaces.
• Experience with both quantitative and qualitative research methods.
• The ability to work independently in empirical and analytical tasks as well as collaborate in interdisciplinary teams.

Experience in the waste management sector is an advantage.

Information

The employment is limited to two years with the possibility of extension for another year. The place of employment is Luleå, and the intended start date is as soon as possible.

For further information, please contact:

• Lena Abrahamsson, +46 920 49 2107, [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
• Joel Lööw, +46 920 49 3411, [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Union representatives:

• SACO-S Diana Chroneer, 0920-49 2037 [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
• OFR-S Marika Vesterberg, 0920-49 1721 [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Application

We prefer that you apply for the position via the application button below, where you attach a personal letter as well as a CV/resume and copies of verified degree certificates. Please label your application with the reference number below. The application should be written in Swedish.

Application deadline: April 14, 2026

Reference number: 2623-2026