Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Arctic Humanities, Arctic Infrastructure Studies and GIS UiT The Arctic University of Norway in Norway

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Arctic Humanities, Arctic Infrastructure Studies and GIS at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø.

This three-year full-time postdoctoral position is part of the Research Council of Norway-funded project ROADS – The Roads That Remain: Residual Pathways as Living Archives in Northern Fennoscandia (2026–2030), led by Dr. Tarja Salmela. The project investigates residual road infrastructures—bypassed roads, abandoned transport corridors, old pathways, seasonal routes, and former military or extractive infrastructures—and asks how these traces continue to shape landscapes, memory, mobility, and community knowledge in Northern Fennoscandia.

The postdoctoral researcher will work at the School of Business and Economics (Handelshøgskolen), UiT in Tromsø, and will join an interdisciplinary team connected to UiT’s Environmental Humanities thematic network. The role centers on GIS-based spatial analysis, critical mapping, archival research, and collaborative, place-sensitive research with local and Sámi communities. The project combines spatial analysis with ethnography, repeat photography, visual documentation, artistic methods, and participatory countermapping, with public outputs including a multilingual digital storymap and participatory mapping platform.

Key responsibilities include tracing temporal changes in infrastructure using historical maps, infrastructure records, aerial imagery, and satellite data; developing critical spatial visualizations that foreground memory, erasure, survivance, and infrastructural power; participating in fieldwork and collaborative mapping; and contributing to dissemination through journal publications, conferences, outreach, and community-responsive outputs.

Applicants should hold, or be near completion of, a PhD in geography, GIScience, human geography, spatial humanities, environmental humanities, infrastructure studies, archaeology, heritage studies, Indigenous studies, anthropology, planning, landscape studies, digital humanities, or a related field. Strong GIS and spatial analysis skills are required, along with experience handling spatial datasets, historical maps, or remote sensing materials. English proficiency is required. Useful additional experience includes critical GIS, participatory mapping, countermapping, archival work, visual storytelling, digital heritage, multimedia dissemination, and community-based or Indigenous research. Knowledge of Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, or Sámi languages is an asset.

The position offers a gross annual salary of NOK 630,000–720,000, pension membership, flexible working hours, and strong opportunities for academic development and international collaboration. The deadline for applications is 1 September 2026.

Applicants must submit their application through Jobbnorge with a letter of motivation, project proposal (3–5 pages), CV, diplomas and transcripts, proof of English proficiency, reference contacts, documentation of educational competence if available, a description of academic production, publication list, and up to ten academic works. If applying while in the final stage of the PhD, the thesis must be submitted with the application.