Postdoctoral Position in Quantitative Social Media Research

You will be part of a collaborative team committed to rigorous research on how to improve public discourse on social media and online environments. We study the effects of platforms’ policies and design and test interventions to improve the quality of online discussions and reduce harm caused by online toxic and hate speech. To do so, we combine data from social media, online newspapers and original surveys with causal inference and machine learning methods to bring new evidence to bear on the urgent problems policymakers and practitioners face. 

Job description

We are looking for one postdoctoral researcher, dedicated to rigorous quantitative analyses using advanced statistical methods. 

Your primary task is to design and implement randomized experiments and analyze natural experiments in online settings, using recent advances in experimental design and methods for causal inference. You should also be able to implement methods in natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) to analyze online behavior, such as the text of and engagements with the posts. 

You will be involved in all aspects of the research, but with a particular emphasis on study design, data analysis, and preparation of manuscripts for leading peer-reviewed journals. This position is part of a collaborative research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The position is located in the team of Dominik Hangartner at ETH Zurich, and you will work closely with Gloria Gennaro at the University College London, and Fabrizio Gilardi and Karsten Donnay at the University of Zurich.

While we expect that the majority of your time is dedicated to the collaborative research project, you will also have time to develop your own independent projects related to those topics. In addition, you will have minor teaching responsibilities (about 10% of your time). 

Your Profile

• Doctorate in a social science program with a preference for Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Data Science, or in a closely related discipline (degree must be completed at the time of appointment)
• Graduate-level knowledge of advanced causal inference methods and applied statistics
• Working knowledge of NLP methods (topic models, word embedding models, transformers, etc.)
• Experience in running and analyzing field experiments and/or conducting quasi-experimental studies
• Ability to collaborate effectively with project team members and external stakeholders alike
• Proficiency and excellent writing skills in English
• Knowledge of social media platforms and content moderation policies are highly valued

Workplace: Leonhardshalde 21, Zurich

We offer

• Highly collaborative work environment within a very motivated and supportive team
• Opportunity to develop a strong academic network
• Career mentoring by experienced researchers
• Salary and pension benefits according to ETH standards.
• Generous research and travel allowance

If you have questions about the position please contact Gloria Gennaro by email: g.gennaro@ucl.ac.uk (Subject: Postdoc 2025).

For more information on the Public Policy Group and the Immigration Policy Lab, please visit our websites at http://pp.ethz.ch and https://immigrationlab.org.