Research Assistant (Doctoral Researcher/PhD)

The position is offered with a fixed term until 2029-09-30, if no former times of qualification must be considered. The starting date is 1st of June 2026. The position is part-time (65% of regular working hours) with salary and benefits commensurate with a public service position in the state Hesse, Germany (TV-H E 13, 65%).

The position is funded by Horizon Europe (Call: Horizon-Miss-2024-Soil-01) and part of the project “ProPollSoil” (Understanding and managing soil health impacts to protect soil-dependent pollinators). The project focuses on soil-dependent pollinators, e.g. ground-nesting bees, and their relationship to soil conditions. In collaboration with soil scientists, it will examine the extent to which land use and climatic conditions influence soil-dependent pollinators. Samples will be collected in Germany as well as European project partner countries and include sampling for chemical and physical soil properties, soil fauna, and pollinators. New methods to sample and monitor pollinators will be developed.

Tasks:

• Development and testing of new methods (e.g. eDNA, Camera and drone imagery, deep-learning based image analyses) for monitoring soil-dependent pollinators, especially ground-nesting wild bees
• Application of new methods to investigate ecological research questions within the ProPollSoil project, e.g., analyzing whether ground-nesting wild bee diversity differs across land-use categories and soil types
• scientific services in research, including authoring and publishing peer-reviewed scientific articles and presenting research findings in team meetings and at scientific conferences 

The position is limited to a time period deemed adequate for the completion of a doctoral degree. As part of the assigned duties, there will be ample opportunity to conduct the independent scientific research necessary for the completion of a doctorate. The limitation complies to § 2 sec. 1 WissZeitVG.

Profile:

• MSc degree (or equivalent) in biology, nature conservation, environmental sciences, bioinformatics or a related field
• Experience with, or a strong willingness to learn, computer-based data acquisition and analysis methods (e.g. statistics in R or Raspberry Pi programming)
• Effective team player with strong collaboration skills
• Excellent writing and presentation skills in English and sufficient proficiency in German, or a demonstrated willingness to learn, to manage everyday work in Germany
• Experience with, or a strong willingness to learn, at least one of the above-mentioned methods (eDNA, AI-based cameras, drones)
• Willingness to collaborate across disciplines, especially with bioinformatics and soil ecology

Disposition to own scientific qualification is expected. 

We actively support the professional development of junior researchers by the offers of Marburg Research Academy (MARA), the International Office and the Higher Education Didactics Office.

We offer:

• Integration into a broad research network – both at the University of Marburg and through collaboration with the 23 partners of the ProPollSoil project, especially from the LMU Munich
• Professional development opportunities
• Regular exchange with other research groups
• Ticket for free use of public transportation in the state Hesse, Germany
• German retirement plan (VBL) benefits

Contact for more Information

We support women and strongly encourage them to apply. In areas where women are underrepresented, female applicants will be preferred in case of equal qualifications. As a certified family-friendly university, we support our employees in balancing family and career. A reduction of working time is possible. Applicants with a disability as discribed in SGB IX (§ 2 Abs. 2, 3) will be preferred in case of equal qualifications. Application and interview costs can not be refunded.

Please apply by 2026-03-29 using the application-button below.

---