Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research (SGN), headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, is seeking to fill the following position at its Department of River Ecology and Conservation in Gelnhausen, starting as soon as possible
2 Postdoctoral Researchers (ecologists) (m/f/d)
(full-time / part-time)
Location: Gelnhausen
Employment scope: full-time / part-time options are available
Type of contract: limited two years / an extension is be possible
Remuneration: Collective agreement of the state Hesse (TV-H) E 13
Senckenberg is one of the world’s leading research institutions in the field of Biodiversity and Earth System Research, with eight research institutes and three natural history museums across Germany and scientists from over 40 nations. Our headquarter is located in the thriving commercial metropolis of Frankfurt in the heart of Germany, which also hosts one of our most famous facilities, the Senckenberg Natural History Museum. The location of the available position is in a Senckenberg institute about 40 kilometers east of Frankfurt in Gelnhausen, a historic town accessible via public transport (rail and bus).
We are looking for enthusiastic ecologists with a background in broad-scale biodiversity change, community ecology, macroecology, metacommunities, and/or analysis of ecological time series.
The two positions are embedded in one or more of the following projects:
1) Synthesis Center on Freshwater Biodiversity Change in Europe (www.senckenberg.de/synthesis-center)
Synthesis Center on Freshwater Biodiversity Change in Europe The Synthesis Center brings together and supports a broad variety of researchers and practitioners investigating a broad variety of fundamental and applied ecological questions, with a particular focus on broad-scale and long-term biodiversity change, community ecology, freshwater ecology, time series analyses, multiple stressor impacts, and conservation (see doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06400-1 for an example). Data for > 30,000 freshwater biodiversity time series across 30 European countries have already been compiled from rivers and lakes, covering invertebrates, fish, macrophytes, diatoms, and benthic algae, in collaboration with a large pan-European network of > 200 researchers. Positions involved in this project are expected to pursue similar questions using the already available data.
2) EU Horizon Europe project BEAGLE (started on 1st October 2026)
BEAGLE (Biodiversity methods for advanced monitoring at large scales) is an EU-funded project using new technology to enhance biodiversity monitoring across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments. Specifically, the project uses sensors, environmental DNA (eDNA) and AI, as well as citizen science to collect large-scale and high-quality biodiversity data across a consortium of 17 partners. Positions involved in this project will focus on several tasks, including European-scale biodiversity data mobilization activities (e.g., tracking down datasets and preparing them for use), and the learning and deployment of field-based methods for data collection (e.g., Malaise traps). Participating researchers will gain experience in broad-scale biodiversity data collection and management, biodiversity monitoring, and participation in European-scale research networks.
