Research assistant (m/f/d) in the field of soil science, geoinformatics and data science

Research assistant (m/f/d) in the field of soil science, geoinformatics and data science

The PhD position is available at the University of Applied Sciences Weihenstephan-Triesdorf, Germany.

For details and application please visit: https://www.hswt.de/en/about/working-at-the-hswt/vacancies/detail/research-assistant-mfd-in-the-field-of-soil-science-geoinformatics-and-data-science

Application deadline: September 30^th 2025

The position is limited to three years from the start of the project.

A doctoral position is to be filled at the Chair of Data Science for Life as part of the DFG-funded project "IdentBFP-BW". The project is at the interface of soil science, geoinformatics and data science. The background to this is the authorities' need for spatial soil information when implementing legal requirements on issues relating to climate change, environmental risks and human-environment relationships. Knowledge of the multivariate soil parameter space and the site-specific characteristics of soil functions enable sustainable ecosystem management and targeted landscape-scale analyses. The designation of spatial units facilitates official planning processes. In cooperation with the application partner Regierungspräsidium Freiburg - Landesamt für Geologie, Rohstoffe und Bergbau, spatially localised soil functional process units (BFPs) are to be identified for Baden-Württemberg (BW). Spatial data processing and remote sensing methods as well as machine learning algorithms are used for this purpose.

Your area of responsibility

• Soil landscape analysis
• Programming of evaluation routines for soil profile and remote sensing data
• Development of machine learning models
• Publication in scientific journals
• Participation in scientific conferences
• Organisation of project meetings
• Coordination with the project partner

Your profile

• Solid basic knowledge in soil science
• Experience in spatial data processing (remote sensing, GIS)
• Knowledge of machine learning algorithms
• Programming experience, ideally in R
• Good oral and written communication skills in German and English
• Ability to work in a team, analytical thinking skills and the willingness to familiarise yourself with new topics independently

Recruitment requirements

You have a university degree (Diploma [Univ.] or Master's degree) in agricultural sciences, geography, geoecology, geoinformatics, remote sensing or in a comparable field.