CALL FOR APPLICATIONS – DEADLINE JULY 15, 2026
The Centre for European Studies at Carleton University (https://carleton.ca/ces/) is accepting applications for a postdoctoral fellowship in the Research Network on Trade Politics in North America and Europe (TRADEPOL). We are looking for a scholar with expertise in data science and/or computational social science. The anticipated start date is September 15, 2026; the fellowship will have a duration of two years. The postdoctoral fellow will contribute to the conceptualization and implementation of a research database that tracks public debates about trade policy through an LLM-assisted political claims analysis. The fellow will also be involved in knowledge mobilization activities within an international network of university and civil society partners.
Research Project Overview
The TRADEPOL Network will be launched in July 2026 with the support of an external research grant. Housed at Carleton University, it will include 20 partner organizations in North America and Europe. TRADEPOL will study the societal contestation and (geo-)politicization of trade relations in North America and Europe, focusing on their impact on trade governance: How do governments, bureaucracies, economic stakeholders, interest groups, and civil society navigate an increasingly politicized trade environment? Which actors gain influence, which ones lose out? Which policy issues become more important in trade-related debates, which ones are marginalized? Which new alliances form in domestic and international trade politics? TRADEPOL will address these questions based on an actor-centric conceptual and methodological framework that examines trade policy actors, issues, and interactions through a political claims analysis of trade-related public discourse.
Research Project Supervisor and Principal Investigator
The postdoctoral fellow will work under the supervision of Achim Hurrelmann, Professor of Political Science and principal investigator of TRADEPOL.
Salary
The postdoctoral fellow will be offered a salary of $70,000 CAD per annum, with the additional ability to opt into an extended health and dental benefit plan. The postdoc will be considered unionized and will be a member of PSAC Local 77000. Information on this bargaining unit can be found here: https://psac77000.ca/.
Position Duties and Responsibilities
The postdoctoral fellow will work with the principal investigator and other members of the TRADEPOL team on the establishment of a database that categorizes trade-related claims in public discourse, drawing on news media sources and publications by civil society organizations. This work includes, but is not limited to the following core responsibilities:
- Developing parameters and procedures for the political claims analysis, including the identification of sources, definition of selection procedures, and development of a codebook;
- Building and maintaining LLM-assisted extraction pipelines, including automated collection from online sources, prompt design, and structured output validation;
- Designing and implementing reliability testing protocols and coordinating human validation with research assistants;
- Developing a training manual for research assistants and training them in LLM-assisted political claims analysis;
- Working on single-authored and/or co-authored academic publications that present early results of the research.
Job Requirements
- Demonstrated expertise in data science and/or computational social science, including coding skills in Python and/or previous experience applying LLMs or computational text analysis to social or political questions;
- Previous research and publications with a focus on international political economy and/or experience with content analysis of political texts are an asset;
- Experience with web scraping, data collection APIs, or automated document processing and familiarity with multilingual NLP tools are an asset;
- While flexible work arrangements can be agreed, the incumbent must perform the majority of the work in person at Carleton University. This postdoctoral fellowship cannot be completed remotely.
Accommodations and Accessibility
Should you require a copy of this posting in an alternate format, please contact us as soon as possible and we would be happy to get one to you in a timely manner. We believe in the importance of supporting on-the-job success for the incumbent and are pleased to discuss and/or provide specific tools, resources or other requirements for day-to-day work requirements, as needed.
About Carleton University
Carleton University is a dynamic and innovative research and teaching institution with a national and international reputation as a leader in collaborative teaching and learning, research and governance. To learn more about our university and the City of Ottawa, please visit www.carleton.ca/provost.
Carleton University is committed to fostering diversity within its community as a source of excellence, cultural enrichment, and social strength. We welcome those who would contribute to the further diversification of our university including, but not limited to: women; visible minorities; First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples; persons with disabilities; and persons of any sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression. Carleton understands that career paths vary. Legitimate career interruptions will in no way prejudice the assessment process and their impact will be taken into careful consideration.
We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. If contacted for an interview, please inform us should accommodation be required, and arrangements will be made in a timely manner. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply.
How to Apply
Candidates who would like to apply for this fellowship opportunity are invited to submit the following materials:
- A cover letter that outlines their educational and professional background and interest in the TRADEPOL project,
- A curriculum vitae, including a list of publications (if applicable),
- One scholarly publication or excerpt from their dissertation (max. 30 pages).
Please combine these documents in a single pdf file and send them to Achim Hurrelmann at achim.hurrelmann@carleton.ca. The application deadline is Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
Questions about this opportunity can be directed to Achim Hurrelmann at achim.hurrelmann@carleton.ca.