TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is seeking to recruit a political economics expert amid heightened geopolitical risk.

The world’s largest chipmaker is hiring a “business intelligence analyst” with a doctorate in political economics or international relations on LinkedIn. The successful applicant will be responsible for researching “U.S.-China-Taiwan relations” among other analyses and will report to the company’s vice president of corporate planning directly, according to the job description.

More than 80 applications for the vacancy have been filed as of Tuesday (Feb. 15).

Austin Wang (王宏恩), an assistant professor in political science at the University of Nevada, said on Facebook that Taiwanese businesses taking political economics seriously is a welcome development. It will boost investment in Taiwanese think tanks and contribute to the study of relevant topics, he reckoned.

Having earned the epithets the “silicon shield” and “the hope diamond of the semiconductor industry,” TSMC finds itself needing to navigate the growing U.S.-China tensions. The Economist wrote in a May 2021 article that the Taiwanese government has urged TSMC and the country's other chipmakers to keep their advanced capacities in the country to protect them from foreign interference.

The chipmaking giant is picking up the pace as it establishes new plants in Taiwan. The proposal to expand semiconductor investment in the Central Taiwan Science Park in Taichung, was greenlit in January.

The proposal allegedly involves TSMC’s 2-nanometer process facilities, though the company has yet to confirm this, saying only that it’s not ruling out such a plan, per CNA.

TSMC job post. (LinkedIn screenshot)