Graduating from the Department of Economics at the Middle East Technical University in 2007, Bayraktar has received his M.A. degree from the Ataturk Institute for Modern Turkish History at Boğaziçi University in 2009. Bayraktar holds a joint Ph.D. degree (cotutelle) from Boğaziçi University and  École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) with the dissertation titled "Yurtluk-Ocaklıks: Land, Politics of Notables and Society in Ottoman Kurdistan, 1820-1890." Before joining the Social Sciences University of Ankara, Bayraktar conducted post-doc research in the Research Center for Anatalian Civilizations (ANAMED) at Koç University (2017-18) and in the Near and Middle Eastern Studies (Seminar für Nahoststudien) at the University of Basel (2018-2019). His current research includes the comparative transformation of the Ottoman notables of the nineteenth century and the Albanian blood feuds.