WU Vienna University of Economics and Business

Organisation/Company WU Vienna University of Economics and Business Research Field Economics Social economics Economics Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Application Deadline 11 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Vienna) Country Austria Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Part-time Hours Per Week 15 Offer Starting Date 16 Nov 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

You want to understand how things are connected and make a fundamental impact? We offer an environment where you can realize your full potential. At one of Europe’s largest and most modern business and economics universities. On a campus where quality of work is also quality of life. We are looking for support at the
Institute for Ecological Economics
Part-time, 15 hours/week
Starting November 16, 2026, and limited until December 31, 2027

Few researchers get the chance to build an institution from the ground up. Do you want to help found WU's new home for energy research, and connect it to one of the world's densest energy ecosystems right here in Vienna? We offer an environment where you can realize your full potential, at one of Europe's largest and most modern business and economics universities, on a campus where quality of work is also quality of life.

We are hiring a predoc researcher (15 hours/week) to contribute to the new research cluster Energy Transitions and Future Energy Systems that unites energy researchers across WU's departments. The position covers the cluster's founding period, from November 16, 2026 to December 31, 2027.

What to expect





Your tasks include contributing to the cluster’s build-up, which is led by its founding Senior Scientist, and benefit from a structure that is being set up to serve exactly the kind of work you will be doing. You are also expected to undertake your own research. You will work on a doctoral thesis on a topic within the cluster’s thematic scope, supervised by one of the coordinating professors and embedded in a community of researchers across departments. This is a launch year: you will see an academic institution being built from the inside and help shape it, while keeping clear time and space for your doctoral work.

Your responsibilities will include:

- Contributing to the cluster’s research activities: You will support the Senior Scientist and the coordinating professors on the substantive side of the build-up, for instance by contributing to the research workshops and the speaker series, helping prepare collaborative grant applications, and producing background analyses for the cluster’s engagement with policymakers, businesses, and international organizations. The cluster’s day-to‑day operations are handled by the Senior Scientist and a team of student assistants, so your contribution is as a researcher, not as an administrator.
- Your own research: You will pursue a doctoral thesis on energy transitions,



future energy systems, present your work at international conferences, and publish in peer-reviewed journals, with the support of your supervisor and the cluster’s faculty.
- Contributing to the shared agenda: You will take part in the cluster’s research workshops, bring your perspective to the development of its problem‑focused research agenda, and co‑author papers with cluster faculty where this fits your thesis.
- Connecting early‑career researchers: You will help build and animate a network of predoctoral researchers working on energy across WU, together with the Senior Scientist who mentors this group.
- Teaching: You will contribute to teaching at the institute in line with the standard workload for this position (1 hour per semester).

What you have to offer

- A completed master’s degree in economics, socio‑economics or ecological economics, or a related field, completed by the starting date at the latest
- A strong interest in energy transitions and a research idea, or an openness to developing one, within the cluster’s thematic scope
- Solid methodological training, quantitative or qualitative, appropriate to your intended research; experience with energy systems modelling and participatory methods and processes is an advantage
- Curiosity about interdisciplinary work and the ability to engage with colleagues from economics, law, management, and technology
- Excellent written and spoken English; German is an advantage but not required
- Initiative, reliability, and the ability to organize your own work within a collaborative setting

- A wide range of benefits, from an in‑house medical officer to athletic activities

📌 Research and Teaching Associate (Loreto)
🏢 WU Vienna University of Economics and Business
📍 Loreto