Postdoctoral researcher in remote sensing and land degradation (f/m/d)

The Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO) in Halle (Saale), Germany, invites applications for a

Postdoctoral researcher in remote sensing and land degradation (f/m/d).

The candidate will join the TransMoP project (Transcending Boundaries: Navigating Mobility and Persistence in Arid and Degraded Landscapes). TransMoP investigates how land degradation and climate change shape human mobility and staying in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The postdoc will lead the geospatial analyses, assessing water stress, vegetation dynamics and land degradation using long-term climate and Earth-observation data. Tasks include data processing, time-series analysis and spatial mapping.

The position is funded for three years according to the German TV-L payment scheme, salary scale E13, and is expected to start in early 2027. IAMO is an equal opportunity employer and particularly welcomes applications from female candidates. Disabled persons with equivalent qualifications will be given preference.

We expect:

• A doctoral degree in geography, remote sensing, geoinformatics, environmental science, land-system science, geoecology, or a closely related field;
• Strong expertise in remote sensing and spatial analysis, including time-series analysis of Earth-observation and climate data (e.g., Landsat, Sentinel, MODIS, ERA5), preferably applied to land degradation, vegetation dynamics, water stress, agriculture, or dryland systems;
• Strong quantitative and geospatial programming skills, preferably in R and/or Python, and experience with GIS, statistical analysis and spatial modelling; change-detection, composite indicators, or dimensionality-reduction methods would be an asset;
• Experience with research data management, open science and reproducible research workflows;
• A publication record appropriate to the applicant’s career stage and excellent communication and English-language scientific writing skills;
• Ability to work independently and across disciplinary boundaries within an international team, collaborating closely with researchers working on migration, livelihoods and qualitative research, and willingness to contribute to broader research-group activities beyond the postdoc’s immediate thematic work;
• Willingness to undertake research visits in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and collaborate closely with regional partners; familiarity with Central Asia and proficiency in a language spoken in the region (e.g., Russian, Uzbek or Kazakh) would be an advantage; willingness to contribute to the supervision of early-career researchers within the research group is expected.

What we offer:

• The opportunity to work at the interface of remote sensing, land degradation, climate change and human mobility within an international, interdisciplinary team, including partners in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan;
• Computational infrastructure and methodological expertise at IAMO;
• Opportunities for research stays and field visits in Central Asia, with support for participation in international scientific conferences and publication in peer-reviewed journals;
• Integration into IAMO’s active community of researchers working on Central Asia and access to a wider network of research partners and institutions across the region;
• Support for developing an independent research profile and advancing your career through mentoring and IAMO and Leibniz training programmes; opportunities for teaching and integration into the academic environment at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU);
• A collaborative and international working environment with flexible working arrangements and opportunities for mobile work.

Application:

Interested candidates should submit the following application documents in English:

• Letter of motivation (maximum 1 page);
• Curriculum vitae;
• Copies of all relevant transcripts and certificates, as well as an English-language certificate if the PhD thesis was not written in English;
• A research proposal (maximum two pages) outlining an approach to detecting and assessing water stress and land degradation in arid agricultural landscapes of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. It should specify the research question and objectives, proposed datasets, indicators and methods for analysing spatial patterns and changes over time, and an approach to integrating indicators into a multidimensional index;
• Names and contact information of two academic referees.

This set of application documents should be sent by email as a single PDF file with “TransMoP Postdoc” in the subject line to application.agpolicy(at)iamo.de. Applicants are also requested to submit electronic copies of their PhD thesis and the three most relevant (co-)authored scientific publications. For Open Access publications, links will be sufficient. The closing date for applications is 15.11.2026. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews by email.

About us

IAMO (http://www.iamo.de) is a research institute, a foundation under public law that pursues basic and applied research in the field of agricultural economics with a focus on the formerly centrally planned economies of Europe and Asia. It offers an excellent infrastructure and a stimulating research environment in an international, ambitious, and multidisciplinary team. IAMO is a member of the Leibniz Association (http://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/en/home/), a German network of non-university research institutes. The city of Halle is located in Eastern Germany, near Leipzig, and offers an attractive and affordable living environment. Equality of opportunity is part of our personnel policy. Female researchers are strongly encouraged to apply. Persons with severe disabilities and persons with equivalent status will be given preferential consideration if they are equally qualified in accordance with legal requirements (please enclose proof). We particularly welcome applications from our IAMO study regions.

For further subject-related information, please contact Prof. Dr. Kathleen  Hermans (email: khermans(at)iamo.de). Please note: Applications sent to this email address will not be considered.

Please note the data protection information for applications in accordance with Art. 13 GDPR on data processing in the application process under the following link: https://www.iamo.de/footer/datenschutz/