Academic Staff Member bei Universität Potsdam

Job Announcement

Young, modern, and research-oriented... the University of Potsdam has firmly established itself within the scien-
tific landscape since its founding in 1991. Nationally and internationally renowned scientists teach and perform
research here at Brandenburg’s largest university. The University of Potsdam is successful in acquiring third-party
funds, delivers outstanding performance in technology and knowledge transfer, and has a very service-oriented
administration. With about 21,000 students studying at three campuses – Am Neuen Palais, Griebnitzsee and
Golm – the University of Potsdam is a prominent economic factor and engine of development for the region. The
University of Potsdam has a total of over 3,000 faculty and staff members and is located in one of Germany’s
most scenic areas.

The University of Potsdam, Faculty of Science, Institute of Geosciences invites applica-
tions for the following position subject to funding approval:

Academic Staff Member (f/m/d)
PhD Position

Requisition No.: 337/2024

Earliest start of the project is October 1, 2024 and the position is funded for three years. The
successful candidate will work 40 hours per week (100 %).

The PhD position “Topographic signatures of mass movements in the Central Andes and
Corinth Rift” is available from October 01, 2024 within the framework of the EU-funded Marie
Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network for Climate-Tectonics Interactions using Big Data in-
formed Models (INITIATE, https://www.initiate-dn.eu/). The salary is competitive and deter-
mined by the EU living allowance (approx. 40.000 € annual salary in Germany) plus an addi-
tional mobility allowance and family allowance if applicable. This is a temporary position for
three years. The fixed term of employment is in accordance with Section 2 subsection 2 of
the German Act on Fixed-Term Employment Contracts in Science and Academia (Wissen-
schaftszeitvertragsgesetz or WissZeitVG).

The goal of the project is to enhance our understanding of unstable hillslopes and slow-
moving landslides in tectonically active regions and areas experiencing climatic changes.
The Eastern Cordillera in northwestern Argentina and the Gulf of Corinth are excellent natu-
ral laboratories with several decades of airphoto, UAV, and high-resolution satellite image-
ries. This project will further develop methods to detect and measure rates of mass move-
ments using offset tracking and machine learning techniques and link them with geologic
observations.

Your Qualifications:
The applicant should hold a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in geosciences, physics, physi-
cal geography, or computer science and have a strong interest in computer-vision methods
and time-series analysis. Experience with remote-sensing data, image analysis, and geo-
morphologic processes will be ideal. Proficiency in English is necessary and German-
language knowledge will help, but is not a requirement.

Importantly, the applicant should meet the following EU-defined eligibility criteria: (1) All re-
searchers recruited in a Doctoral Network must be Early-Stage Researchers (ESRs; i.e., be

in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and
have not been awarded a doctoral degree); (2) Researchers can be of any nationality; (3)
Mobility Rule: at the time of recruitment by the host organisation, researchers must not have
resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of their host or-
ganisation (in this case: Germany) for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior
to the hiring date. Compulsory national service and/or short stays such as holidays are not
taken into account. The mobility rule is only determined at the time of the fellow’s first re-
cruitment in the project.

What We Offer:
As a university, we combine the strong potential for development of a teaching and research
institution with the attractive working conditions of the public sector. The University of
Potsdam is a reliable employer that supports its employees with a variety of offers and
benefits:

Make the most of the various continuing education and networking opportunities offered
by the University of Potsdam to refine your subject-specific and interdisciplinary
competencies for professional as well as personal growth.

All campuses have good transport connections. You can receive a monthly subsidy for the
public transport job ticket and use our campus bicycles.

Benefit from a company pension scheme, a special annual payment, and capital-forming
bene