The research unit Biological Oceanography of the research division Marine Biogeochemistry at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel is offering a position as a Doctoral researcher. This position will be part of the computer and marine data science area in the project “AqQua - Generating an Aquatic Life Foundation Model”.

The position offers the possibility to attain a doctoral degree in computer sciences as member of the graduate “Helmholtz School for Marine Data Science” (MarDATA). MarDATA aims to define and educate a new type of “marine data scientists” by introducing and embedding researchers from computer sciences and mathematics into ocean sciences, covering a broad range from supercomputing and modelling, (bio)informatics, robotics, to statistics and big data methodologies. Education of doctoral researchers in joint block courses, international summer schools and colloquia goes beyond a single discipline towards genuine scientific insight into and a more systematic treatment of marine data.

This is a joint research project located at Marine Biogeochemistry department of GEOMAR (AG Prof. Dr. Kiko, Plankton Biogeochemistry and Dynamics), the Department of Computer Science at Kiel University (AG Prof. Dr. Kevin Köser, Marine Data Science), and the Max Delbrück Centre, Berlin (AG Prof. Dr. Kainmüller, Biomedical Image Analysis). You will be based at GEOMAR in Kiel and will be co-supervised at Kiel University, but you will also be able to spend extended time periods at the Max Delbrück Centre, Berlin. You will work at the interface between Computer Science and Biological Oceanography, but with a focus on the Computer Science aspects.

Qualification

Required:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Computer Sciences or a related field by the beginning of the project, preferably with a focus on neural networks or machine learning and image recognition in general.
• be able to communicate fluently in spoken and written English
• have experience in software development, preferably in image processing applications, in Python or related programming languages
• If the required degree is not completed at the time of application, the degree certificate must be handed in before the start date of the contract and the application must contain plausible evidence that the degree can be finished before that date.

Desired:

• knowledge in Marine Sciences, in particular Marine Biology
• ability to work in a collaborative, interdisciplinary team and the MarDATA school
• experience with neural networks
• experience in image processing
• ability and interest to delve into a new topic

Please send your application for this post no later than October 2nd, 2024.