PhD candidate (m/f/d) on “Biogeochemical Modelling”

GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel is a foundation under public law jointly financed by the Federal Republic of Germany (90%) and the State of Schleswig-Holstein (10%). It is one of the internationally leading institutions in the field of marine research.

Through our research and our commitment to the transfer of knowledge and technology, we contribute significantly to the preservation of the function and protection of the ocean for future generations.

The Synergy Project WHIRLS funded by the European Research Council (ERC) researches the role of ocean fine-scale whirls on climate and ecosystems. The focus is on the Agulhas Current System around South Africa as a global hotspot of eddy activity, ocean-atmosphere heat exchange, and marine productivity. Multiple coordinated observing strategies, including research vessels and a large ensemble of autonomous platforms, will collect physical, chemical, and biological datasets across scales. The research group at GEOMAR complements these data and researches the role of fine-scale eddies by using high-resolution models of the ocean and the atmosphere. WHIRLS consists of 4 partners in France, Sweden, South Africa, and Germany.

In the frame of WHIRLS, the research unit Ocean Dynamics of the research division Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics offers a position as a   

PhD candidate (m/f/d)

on “Biogeochemical Modelling”

starting as soon as possible. The position offers the possibility to attain a doctoral degree in natural sciences.

Job Description 

We are seeking a highly motivated PhD candidate (doctoral researcher) to enhance our research group. The candidate will contribute to the numerical modelling, the analysis, and the interpretation of marine biogeochemistry model simulations based on NEMO. The main emphasis is on the role of the (sub)mesoscale dynamics in biogeochemical processes in the Agulhas region in the context of a changing climate. Fine-scale ocean processes alter nutrient and oxygen fluxes and budgets, shape ocean productivity, and modulate the ocean’s ability to absorb and store carbon, with significant climate implications. The PhD candidate will investigate these processes with a range of global ocean biogeochemistry model configurations with enhanced horizontal resolution in the Agulhas region. The precise scientific and methodological focus of the project will be developed jointly with the PhD candidate, depending on scientific interests and strengths. The candidate will work in a team of scientists and numerical modellers at GEOMAR, also in the framework of international collaborators within WHIRLS.

Qualification

Required:

• Completed master studies in oceanography, marine sciences, climate science, or another related field
• Experience in the analysis of data sets using programming languages (e.g. Python)
• Very good command of English (oral and written)

Additonal skills and experiences that are advantagous:

• Experience in ocean dynamics
• Experience in ocean and/or biogeochemical modelling
• Experience in programming (e.g. FORTRAN)
• Experience in the analysis of large data sets and/or the development of diagnostics
• Ability to work in a team, open-mindedness, and scientific creativity

At a workplace, directly on the Kiel Fjord with many leisure and recreational opportunities, we offer you:

• Good conditions for work-life balance: We offer, among other things, the possibility of mobile working and individual working time arrangements, vacation courses for the children of our employees, and good support in finding a place in a daycare center at the Kiel site 
• Support services for professional and personal life situations
• An exciting work environment with the opportunity to provide important impetus for the development of sustainable solutions
• Exciting topics in an international environment
• Work in the field of marine and climate research, a forward-looking area with social significance
• 30 vacation days + additional time off at Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve 
• Company pension plan and capital-forming benefits

The position is available for a funding period 3 years. The salary depends on qualification and could be up to the class 13 TVöD-Bund of the German tariff for public employees. This is a part-time position according to 75 % of a full-time equivalent. The position cannot be split.

GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel seeks to increase the proportion of female scientists and explicitly encourages qualified female academics to apply.  GEOMAR is an equal opportunity employer and encourages scientists with disabilities to apply. Qualified disabled applicants will receive preference in the application process.

Please send your application for this post not later than 19^th April 2026 under the following link:

online application

As soon as the selection procedure has finished, all your application data will be removed according to data protection regulation.

For further information regarding the position and research unit please contact Dr. Lavinia Patara (lpatara(at)geomar.de).

We will answer all your questions if you send us an e-mail to bewerbung@geomar.de. In doing so, please refer to the keyword “WHIRLS-BG”.

For further information on GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel or the Helmholtz Association, please visit www.geomar.de or www.helmholtz.de.
 
GEOMAR is committed to an objective and non-discriminatory personnel selection. Our job advertisements address all people. We expressly renounce the submission of application photos.