Drone Technician (f/m/d) for the Remote Sensing working group (RSA)

The mission of the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) as a nationally and internationally active research institute is to deliver solutions for an ecologically, economically and socially sustainable agriculture – together with society. ZALF is a member of the Leibniz Association and is located in Müncheberg (approx. 35 minutes by regional train from Berlin-Lichtenberg). The institute maintains further locations in Brandenburg (Dedelow, Paulinenaue) as well as in Hesse (Giessen, Kassel, and Geisenheim).

The Remote Sensing working group (RSA) uses drones (UAV) with multispectral, hyperspectral and thermal sensors together with ground-based reference measurements to capture agricultural landscapes at high resolution. The data are linked with IoT sensor networks and satellite data (e.g. Sentinel-2, EnMAP, Landsat). To strengthen the team, we are looking for a technical specialist who supports the entire workflow from flight to quality-assured data product.

We areoffering a full-time (100%) position, temporarily limited to two years and starting as soon as possible, at our location in Müncheberg as

Drone Technician (f/m/d)

Your tasks:

• Planning, preparing and conducting UAV flights
• Sensor configuration (multispectral, hyperspectral, thermal), surveying ground control points with RTK-GNSS, field logistics and maintenance, safety and checklist routines, and flight logs
• Processing and quality assurance of UAV data into orthomosaics, reflectance-calibrated maps and thermal maps, including quality and uncertainty layers; developing and running automated QC pipelines in Python/R
• Integrating UAV data with ground-based spectral measurements

Your qualifications:

• Completed university degree (Bachelor’s or University of Applied Sciences), preferably in geoinformatics or remote sensing
• At least two years of hands-on experience operating UAV systems (flight planning, sensor integration, data acquisition)
• Experience in processing multispectral and hyperspectral data
• Valid EU drone pilot certificate
• Knowledge of the relevant regulations, in particular the EU UAS regulations and aviation law, the GDPR, and nature conservation law (Federal and State Nature Conservation Acts, EU Habitats Directive)
• Programming skills in Python and/or R
• Willingness to do fieldwork and a category B driving licence

We offer:

• The filling of the position in part-time is possible in principle
• an interdisciplinary working environment that encourages independence and self-reliance
• classification according to the collective agreement of the federal states (TV-L), up to E10 (including special annual payment)
• a collegial and open-minded working atmosphere in a dynamic research institution
• company ticket
• hands-on work with state-of-the-art UAV, sensor and measurement technology at the interface of fieldwork, data processing and research

ZALF promotes equality among all employees and welcomes applications regardless of ethnic, cultural, or social background, age, religion, ideology, disability, gender, or sexual identity. The filling of the position in part-time is possible in principle. Please send your application preferably online (see button online application) stating the reference number 53-2026 until 31 December 2026 to.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us: Dr. Gohar Ghazaryan, Tel. +49 (0) 33432/82-411, e-mail: gohar.ghazaryan(at)zalf.de.

For cost reasons, application documents or extensive publications can only be returned if an adequately stamped envelope is attached.

If you apply, we collect and process your personal data in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of the EU GDPR only for the processing of your application and for purposes that result from possible future employment with the ZALF. Your data will be deleted after six months.