(W-0059) Postdoctoral | Research Scientist

THE POSITION

Subject to the official project start date, the Climate and Weather Extremes Group at MPI-M invites applications for a 33-months position as a

Postdoctoral | Research Scientist (W-0059 | all genders)

SaliNova (Horizon Europe project) aims to enhance Europe’s predictive capabilities to map, monitor, and understand soil salinity across scales, and to accelerate the uptake of sustainable land management practices to mitigate and adapt to salinization. The project contributes to the EU Soil Strategy 2030, supporting the ambition that European soils are in healthy condition by 2050.

SaliNova combines cutting-edge modelling, novel field and laboratory experiments, and hyperspectral remote sensing. It will identify and quantify the environmental, climatic, and socio-economic drivers shaping current and future soil salinization dynamics across Europe, with special attention to interactions among soil salinity, vegetation, crop production, and plant adaptation under drought and other climate stressors, across land-use types and vulnerable coastal regions.

Responsibilities

The successful candidate will investigate key climate drivers shaping current and future soil salinization dynamics across Europe using observations and global kilometer-scale climate simulations. The postdoc will work at the interface of climate science, land processes, and extremes, contributing to model–data analyses and synthesis across the consortium. The successful candidate will join the and work in close collaboration with the of the Hamburg University of Technology.

YOUR PROFILE

• PhD degree in physical oceanography, meteorology, physics, mathematics, engineering, or a related field
• Experience with ICON global km-scale model simulations is an advantage
• Experience in land–atmosphere interactions, hydrological cycle, or extreme processes
• Excellent programming skills in Python (or related languages)
• Proven record of high-quality research, demonstrated through publications, presentations, and references
• Strong written and oral communication skills, and the ability to work independently as well as collaboratively

OUR OFFER

• Participation in a challenging part of science in an international, intellectually stimulating environment
• Access to complex workflows on the bleeding edge of what is technologically possible, as well as working for and with an open-source community
• A network of very experienced and innovative colleagues within the institute, and at partner institutions with a long-proven tradition of sharing knowledge and information
• Possibility for flexible time-management and measures to support work-life balance
• Attractive benefits including subsidy for public transport across Germany (Deutschlandticket)

EMPLOYEEMENT CONDITIONS

• The potential start date is as early as possible following June 1st, 2026 (subject to the official project start date in the Grant Agreement of the project)
• Payment will be in accordance with German public service positions depending on qualification (E14 TVöD), including extensive social security plans. The conditions of employment, including upgrades and duration, follow the rules of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science and those of the German civil service
• The Max Planck Society strives for gender and diversity equality. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds
• The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals

INTERESTED?

We are looking forward to receiving your online application by April 3th, 2025 (23:59 CEST).

The application documents should include:

1. a complete curriculum vitae that includes a list of publications
2. 1-page (excluding references) research statement summarising past research activities
3. contact information of three references

ABOUT US

The Max Planck Institute for Meteorology (MPI-M) is a multidisciplinary center for climate and Earth system research located in Hamburg, Germany. It is one of the premier climate science research institutes in the world. Located in the heart of one of Europe’s most livable and vibrant cities, it provides a highly international and interdisciplinary environment to conduct scientific research as well as access to state-of-the-art scientific facilities. You can also have a .

CONTACT

For further information, please contact .

Please do not forward your application to this email address. The application documents (PDF only) need to be submitted through this online application system.

Deadline: April 03, 2026

Max-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie
Bundesstraße 53
20146 Hamburg
Deutschland

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