The UFZ

The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) with its 1,100 employees has gained an excellent reputation as an international competence centre for environmental sciences. We are part of the largest scientific organisation in Germany, the Helmholtz association. Our mission: Our research seeks to find a balance between social development and the long-term protection of our natural resources.

The job

The UFZ seeks Expressions of Interest from outstanding talents to apply for their own Helmholtz Investigator Group (HIG; HGF call for application). The two-step process will start with an internal selection process at the UFZ of up to two candidates in the thematic tracks as specified below. The final selection of candidates will be carried out by an external expert panel advising the president of the Helmholtz Association. HIGs of successful applicants will be hosted at the UFZ. Funding is on the order of €350,000 per year for a period of five years. The position is limited to five years.

A tenure-track position will be provided, which will be tenured after a successful evaluation of the Helmholtz Investigator group in its fourth year. Criteria for tenure are scientific excellence, proven leadership qualifications and meaningful contributions to the strategic core themes of the UFZ.

Your tasks

Thematic track
In the first step, up to two candidates will be selected from application to the following themes:

Theme 1:
Assessment of landscape-scale properties determining biotic and abiotic processes for farmland management

Through combining life and social sciences, the UFZ Research Unit “Ecosystems of the Future” applies a process-based perspective across different scales and for heterogeneous landscapes to derive options ensuring sustainable use and resilience of managed landscapes under global change. We invite young scientists to explore model-based and synthesis approaches, where AI-based tools could be used to automate meta-analyses, aiming to bridge knowledge gaps on feedbacks between abiotic processes and ecosystem functions, focusing on European agricultural landscapes' responses to climate change and climate-friendly development.

Contact person: Martin Volk (martin.volk@ufz.de)

Theme 2:
Genomics of Water Landscapes

The UFZ Research Unit “Water Resources and Environment” gains knowledge and develops strategies how to guarantee safe water in sufficient quantity and quality for both human and healthy aquatic ecosystems now and in the future under climate change. We invite young scientists to investigate patterns of genomes within water landscapes and to analyses control mechanisms. State-of-the-art methods in environmental genomics should be applied and improved in order to detect both biodiversity patterns and biological water quality parameters (such as pathogens, resistance genes). Such biological information should be linked to chemical water quality and other drivers in order to explain patterns on the landscape scale.

Contact person: Markus Weitere (markus.weitere@ufz.de)

Theme 3:
Exposure Science for Comprehensive Risk Assessment
The UFZ Research Unit “Chemicals in the Environment” conducts cutting-edge research to provide solutions that help prevent exposure to and impacts of harmful chemicals, mixtures, and anthropogenic particles on ecosystems and the human population in a changing world. We invite applications for leading a Helmholtz Investigator Group focusing on developing innovative, computational approaches for human and environmental exposure assessment. Leveraging growing environmental monitoring and human biomonitoring datasets, topics may include but are not limited to integrating human and environmental exposure research, harnessing data science to enhance traditional process-based models, or extending these to aggregate exposures.

Contact person: Jörg Hackermüller (joerg.hackermueller@ufz.de)

Theme 4: Data science for sustainable bioprocess development
The UFZ Research Unit “Sustainable Ecotechnologies”, active at the interfaces of life sciences, chemistry, and engineering, contributes to the transformation of industrial production towards a sustainable circular bioeconomy and to the creation of a low-pollution, liveable environment. We invite young scientists to develop data-driven and computational approaches that integrate into our technology-oriented, interdisciplinary research environment. Examples include, but are not limited to, digital twins for productive bioprocesses, AI approaches for metabolic networks in bioprocesses or for enzyme structure and dynamics elucidation and optimization.

Contact person: Falk Harnisch (falk.harnisch@ufz.de)

Theme 5:
Digital Hydro-Twins for Water Resources Management
The UFZ Research Unit “Smart Models and Monitoring” is working on a deeper understanding of complex environmental systems, providing reliable predictions of their responses to human-induced changes by integrating advanced hydrological models and real-time monitoring and forecasting.
We invite young investigators to lead the development of groundbreaking digital twins, leveraging their expertise in hydrological modeling and cutting-edge AI techniques to create a next-generation framework that simulates real-time global water cycle dynamics taking into account human water demand at global scale in high-resolution. Given the critical role of water management in multifunctional landscapes, there is an urgent need for research that enables decision-makers to explore sustainable and resilient strategies in response to the challenges posed by climate change.

Contact: Sabine Attinger (sabine.attinger@ufz.de)

Theme 6:
Carbon Dioxide Removal in Multifunctional Landscapes

The UFZ Research Unit “Environment and Society”, aims to understand the interplay of the complex social, technical and ecological aspects of the human-nature relationship in interdisciplinary approaches. We invite young scientists to understand the possible contribution of Carbon Dioxide Removal to multifunctional landscapes in an interdisciplinary team with data driven social science approaches and new human-nature modelling over the next decades. This includes new ways of automated data generation, coupled techno-ecological-human models in high spatial resolution, scenario development and more.

Contact person: Daniela Thrän (daniela.thraen@ufz.de)

Before applying for one of these themes at the UFZ, please get in touch with the contact person named in each case.

We offer

• The freedom to master even the most demanding challenges between basic research and practical application
• The chance to work in interdisciplinary, international teams and benefit from a variety of perspectives
• Firstclass integration into national and international research networks to work together on global challenges
• Excellent research infrastructure and research data management to optimally support your work
• Flexible working hours and a wide range of options for balancing work and care responsibilities through our family office
• Competent support and advice for international colleagues arriving at the UFZ from the 'International Office'
• Special annual payment, capital-forming benefits and subsidised Germany Job Ticket
• A workplace in a vibrant region with a high life quality and social and cultural diversity
• Competent support and advice for international colleagues arriving at the UFZ from the 'International Office'
• Special annual payment, capital-forming benefits and subsidised Germany Job Ticket
• A workplace in a vibrant region with a high life quality and social and cultural diversity

Your profile

Due to Helmholtz requirements, you will be eligible to apply if you have between two and six years of postdoctoral experience (academic age). Academic age is calculated as years after receiving the doctoral degree, deducting times due to the following reasons:

For maternity leave / parental leave of the parent who gave birth, the track record considered will be extended by 18 months (or if longer by the amount of leave actually taken until the call deadline) for each child born after the PhD award. For parental leave of the parent who has not given birth, the track record considered can be extended by the amount of parental leave actually taken until the call deadline for each child born after the PhD award. Parental leave times include periods of part-time work (no more than 25 % paid work), in which the researcher took over the main share of family work.

Periods of unavoidable downtime of scientific career due to e.g., illness or care leave can also be considered (see HGF call for application).

Further requirements are international research experience as demonstrated by continuous research stay abroad for at least six continuous months during their doctoral or postdoctoral phase and, of course, an exceptionally strong CV and draft proposal addressing one of the theme (see above) for which we seek outstanding experts to strengthen our research program.

Selection criteria and process
The initial selection of candidates by the UFZ will be based on the following selection criteria:
1. Outstanding scientific achievements and research experience of the candidate
2. Quality of the planned research proposal (innovation capacity, relevance, structure, coherence, feasibility)
3. Leadership qualities and the ability to supervise inter(national) and diverse doctoral researchers
4. Compatibility with UFZ‘s research program and scientific topics listed above
5. Strategic importance for the UFZ
6. Synergy effects resulting from the cooperation between the UFZ and the partner university.

Draft applications should include a project summary with information on
• Motivation for the Helmholtz Investigator group
• General significance of the proposed project
• Scientific objectives
• Strategic relevance for the research program “Changing Earth – Sustaining our Future”
of the Helmholtz Research Field Earth and Environment

Your application
A template for the draft proposal is available. Using this template is a formal prerequisite for application submission. Please provide in addition a full curriculum vitae and publication list.

The template for the draft proposal incl. short CV is provided. Please follow this link.

Successful candidates will be informed after the final decision by the UFZ and they will be asked to provide a full proposal in collaboration with and support of UFZ until 30 April 2025.

Place of work

Leipzig, Halle oder Magdeburg, mobile working partially possible

Working time

100 %

Contract limitations

limited contract / five years

Salary

Remuneration according to the TVöD public-sector up to pay grade equivalent 14 including attractive public-sector social security benefits.

Contact

Your contact for any questions you may have about the job:

For formal questions: Martina Kunz-Pirrung (martina.kunz-pirrung@ufz.de).

For content-related questions: please see contact persons

Your application

Please submit your application via our online portal with your cover letter, CV (please omit your photo, age, or marital status) and relevant attachments.

Diversity and Inclusion

The UFZ has a strong commitment to diversity and actively supports equal opportunities for all employees regardless of their origin, religion, ideology, disability, age or sexual identity.
We look forward to applications from people who are open-minded and enjoy working in diverse teams.