Hi!
My professor is looking for someone who can help building a national geodata information system focused on forests. The position is fixed term until end of 2027. The salary should be around 3500€ per month upwards, before taxes and stuff - but this value is without guarantee, I have no details. The job posting is in German, but all applicants are welcome! Bot translation below.
Göttingen is a town with ca 130k inhabitants in Central Germany. Around a quarter of them are students, so it’s quite vibrant. The town is really nice and hosts one of the largest compute clusters in Germany 
The only drawback is that it’s more or less in the middle of nowhere, but e.g. Berlin can be reached in ca 2h by train. The upside is that you have lots of countryside around for bike tours or hiking in forests (which you should like if you apply). 
Research Associate (m/f/d) in the Field of Forest Remote Sensing
Göttingen
At HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen, Faculty of Resource Management, at the Göttingen campus, the following position is available to be filled as soon as possible, limited until December 31, 2027:
Research Associate (m/f/d) in the Field of Forest Remote Sensing
In the ForestPulse project, nationwide, comprehensive forest geodata products will be made available long-term, free of charge, and customizable for four key areas: forest area, tree species distribution, vitality, and forest structure. The data basis will be the Sentinel-2 archive from the Copernicus program as well as the soon-to-be nationally available airborne laser scanning data from the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG).
In addition to HAWK, project partners include the Thünen Institute for Forest Ecosystems, the University of Trier, the State Forests of Rhineland-Palatinate, the Northwest German Forest Research Institute, and the Forest Research Institute of Baden-Württemberg.
The project aims to provide, for the first time, a consistent forest information service, where the individual information layers are spatially, temporally, and thematically aligned. Furthermore, the project will develop options for adapting information layers to local conditions by users.
Your Tasks:
- Contribute to the development of a national forest information service in collaboration with project partners
- Program process chains for processing large ALS datasets to develop national forest structure maps
- Overlay ALS data with forest inventory data, such as federal forest inventory data, to derive area-based forest structure characteristics (e.g., basal area, wood stock, stand height)
- Further development of methods for individual tree detection in ALS data
- Statistical validation of remote sensing products
- Participation in project-related workshops and meetings
- Publication and presentation of project results in scientific journals and at national and international workshops and conferences
Your Profile:
- Completed university degree (Master/Diploma) in forestry, geosciences, environmental sciences, or related fields with a focus on remote sensing and forestry
- Practical experience in analyzing remote sensing data, especially aircraft-based LiDAR and multispectral satellite data
- Proficient in geodata management and statistical data analysis, including machine learning methods, preferably using open-source software (e.g., R, QGIS, PostGIS)
- Basic knowledge in at least one programming language such as C++, Python, Java, or Julia is an advantage
- Experience in planning and conducting forest inventories and forest management plans is desirable
- Ability to work independently in a scientific setting
- Very good written and spoken communication skills in both German and English
- Willingness to participate in fieldwork and business trips, as well as to engage in teaching and academic self-governance
What We Offer:
- Opportunity to contribute to a national flagship project in a renowned forest research network
- A work environment with flat hierarchies, direct communication, and short decision-making paths, as well as a well-equipped GIS and remote sensing lab
- An interesting, varied, and challenging scientific role with high responsibility in a collegial setting
HAWK University is committed to being an institution of opportunity. Therefore, it is expected that the person filling the position will engage in an inclusive and diversity-friendly manner with colleagues and students.
The position allows for part-time employment in accordance with the legal regulations.
As a diversity-friendly university, we welcome applications from individuals with diverse backgrounds. Therefore, individuals from underrepresented groups are particularly encouraged to apply. Our university also supports the compatibility of family and career through very flexible work models. For inquiries regarding this, please contact the Equality Office and the Staff Council.
People with disabilities will be given preferential consideration for this position if they are equally qualified, capable, and skilled, according to relevant regulations. Please indicate in your application whether you have a disability or require equal treatment.
We look forward to receiving your meaningful online application by February 14, 2025, via https://bewerbung.hawk.de/keqzq.
For information on the collection of personal data under Article 13 GDPR, please visit our homepage at: https://www.hawk.de/datenschutz-stellenangebote.