Postdoctoral Researcher in Sociology / Health Inequalities University of Bamberg in Germany

The University of Bamberg is offering a five-year, full-time postdoctoral researcher position in Sociology / Health Inequalities within the Junior Professorship of Sociology, especially Work & Health. The post is part of the ERC Starting Grant project FIELDS – Fields of Education as New Drivers of Health Inequalities, beginning on 1 January 2027.

FIELDS examines how fields of education, including study majors and vocational training programmes, shape physical and mental health over the life course. Rather than focusing only on the general educational gradient in health, the project investigates how educational specialisation can contribute to health inequalities within educational levels. The project uses longitudinal household panel data from six major national studies: SOEP (Germany), PSID (United States), LISS (Netherlands), SHP (Switzerland), KLIPS (South Korea), and HILDA (Australia), covering more than 2.3 million observations.

The successful candidate will take a leading role in the scientific implementation and management of the project. Core tasks include preparing and harmonising multi-country panel data, constructing measures of education, health, background characteristics, and mediating factors, and conducting longitudinal and cross-country analyses using advanced quantitative methods such as fixed-effects and random-effects regression, matching approaches, and time-to-event analyses. The postdoctoral researcher will also co-supervise two doctoral researchers and two student assistants, contribute to manuscripts for leading peer-reviewed journals, present findings at international conferences, and support the Principal Investigator in scientific coordination.

This position offers a strong platform for building an independent academic profile, with opportunities for international collaboration, research visits, and methodological training. Bamberg is presented as one of Germany’s leading locations for sociology, with strong connections to major research institutions including the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi), the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), and the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA).

The post is based in Bamberg and requires regular on-site presence, although some remote work may be possible if compatible with project duties. Continued employment beyond the ERC project may be possible depending on future funding.

Eligibility highlights include a completed relevant doctoral degree, strong expertise in quantitative longitudinal research, excellent English writing skills, and experience with panel data and programming in Stata or R. German is helpful but not mandatory. Applications should be submitted as a single PDF in German or English by email to the departmental secretariat.

Application deadline: 31 October 2026, 23:59 (Europe/Berlin).