Postdoctoral position (m/f/d) in movement ecology and digital twins

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

Through our research and our commitment to the transfer of knowledge and technology, we make a significant contribution to preserving the function and protecting the ocean for future generations.

The research Group Marine Behavioural Ecology of the research unit Marine Evolutionary Ecology is offering a

Postdoctoral position (m/f/d)

in movement ecology and digital twins

Starting date is flexible, preferred April 1^st, 2026 but no later than May 1^st, 2026.

We are seeking a postdoctoral researcher with expertise in animal movement modeling to join the research group of Marine Behavioural Ecology, led by Dr. Christopher Monk. GEOMAR is located in Kiel, Germany on the Baltic Sea and is one of the internationally leading institutions in the field of marine sciences. The position is supported through the DTOTrack project, funded by the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership and the successful applicant will work closely with seven other project partners located around the North Sea within the European Aquatic Animal Tracking Network.

Job Description:

The Marine Behavioural Ecology Group’s work focuses on understanding how individual fish movement scales up to macroecological patterns using tagging and tracking technology. The successful applicant will play a leading role in constructing a prototype digital twin of animal movement in the North Sea using the European Digital Twin of the Ocean (EDITO) platform. This involves building and evaluating predictive models of fish movement from archived data and building associated data visualization applications. There are numerous opportunities for related scientific outputs in collaboration with other international project partners, including but not limited to assessing interactions of marine fauna with offshore infrastructure, exploring the role of digital twins for understanding animal movement, and analyzing fundamental behavioural patterns of key species such as Atlantic Cod, or Atlantic Mackerel.

Qualification:

Required:

• A diploma/MSc and a PhD degree or equivalent qualification in Biology, Marine Biology, Statistics or related subjects
• Manuscripts published or in progress on topics related to movement ecology, behavioural ecology, marine or aquatic ecology, or machine-learning
• Movement modeling expertise
• Expertise in Python or R
• Excellent knowledge of English (written and spoken)

Desirable:

• Expertise in machine-learning methods
• Knowledge of acoustic telemetry and geolocation methods
• Knowledge of marine biology and the North Sea ecosystem
• Experience with relational databases

 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 of 12 months. 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 full-time position and can be split.  

The working language of GEOMAR and the research group is English.

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 (including a letter of motivation discussing your research interests, your interest in the position, and how your past experience has prepared you for this role, a CV with contact information for two references, academic and professional certificates) not later than February 15^th, 2026 under the following link:

Online application

Please put the keyword “Marine Behavioural Ecology Postdoc_2026” in the subject of your cover letter.

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. Christopher Monk (cmonk(at)geomar.de).

We will answer all your questions if you send us an e-mail to bewerbung(at)geomar.de. In doing so, please refer to the keyword “Marine Behavioural Ecology Postdoc_2026”.

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.