Postdoc - ICOS Carbon Portal Scientist

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May 21, 2025

Your job

As ICOS Carbon Portal Scientist, you will contribute to the growing use of European carbon cycle observations by the international research community, in which our team at Wageningen plays a central role. As member of our team you will initiate research, build collaborations within and outside our team, and coordinate collective efforts in the wider community to use a wide range of greenhouse observations, models and derived data products. These are shared as open science through the Carbon Portal of the Integrated Carbon Observing System (ICOS) of the EU. You will have opportunities to lead scientific publications, coordinate/support/conduct model intercomparisons, develop new data products for the ICOS Carbon Portal, and to support PhD candidates and BSc/MSc thesis students in their research. This includes the development and scientific use of our 'CarbonTracker' family of greenhouse gas models and data products. While strengthening our team in Wageningen with your creativity and scientific and interpersonal skills, you will also coordinate our collaboration with the ICOS Carbon Portal team at Lund University.

Your duties and responsibilities include:

• To initiate, support, and enable carbon cycle research in our team, and in the wider ICOS community we engage with
• To liaise with the ICOS Carbon Portal team at Lund University and support its mission to be the one-stop-shop of greenhouse gas information for Europe (https://www.icos-cp.eu/observations/carbon-portal )
• To contribute to the development and publication of science with our 'CarbonTracker' family of greenhouse gas models and data products (www.carbontracker.eu ).
• To support science of our PhD candidates and BSc/MSc students through co-supervision, mentoring, problem-solving, and technical training

Your team

You will work with the CarbonTracker team at Wageningen University led by Prof. Wouter Peters and dr. Ingrid Luijkx. Together with multiple postdocs and PhD students, we investigate greenhouse gas exchange worldwide, with a focus on the exchange of CO₂. Atmospheric modeling and data assimilation techniques are our core activities. Our group offers an open, social, diverse, collaborative, and stimulating environment that thrives on teamwork, while helping individuals grow in their scientific career.

Our team operates in the wider community of ICOS, the Integrated Carbon Observing System, and works closely with both the European Copernicus Services hosted at ECMWF, and NOAA’s Global Monitoring Division. Importantly, the Carbon Portal Scientist position forms the Dutch contribution to the ICOS Carbon Portal, which has a team of nearly 20 employees at Lund University. Through weekly calls and regular visits, the candidate will engage this team and work particularly closely with their scientific counterpart in Sweden.

Your qualities

You are a nice person who enjoys collaborative research endeavors. You are creative, patient, and accessible and enjoy teaching or explaining difficult concepts or techniques to others in a team. You can take a leading role in a larger collaboration when asked, and you can also assume a mentoring role for early-career students. You have sufficient background in carbon cycle science, numerical modeling, atmospheric or climate science, or a related subject to quickly learn new skills used in our group. You know your way around a UNIX environment and you can perform more-than-basic analyses on gridded datasets using e.g. Python, Julia, R, or a similar language. You can contribute positively to diverse teams on various topics.

You preferably also possess:

• A PhD in physics, chemistry, mathematics, atmospheric, environmental or climate sciences, or related field
• Work experience in a scientific environment that included numerical modeling or data science
• Social and interpersonal skills that make a team stronger

In our international working environment communication occurs primarily in English. For this position it is about language level C1 . If you feel that you have some of the listed qualities but not all, we still encourage you to apply.

You will work here

The Meteorology and Air Quality (MAQ) Group at Wageningen University aims to advance understanding of atmospheric processes and their interactions with the Earth’s surface to address scientific and societal challenges. The group focuses on six themes, all related to weather, climate, and atmospheric composition.

Research in the carbon cycle theme focuses on exchange of CO2 and other greenhouse gases between land, ocean and the atmosphere on regional to global scales. We study forest carbon uptake, fires, permafrost exchange, and combustion of fossil fuels worldwide. We use atmospheric measurements, remote sensing observations, data assimilation and process modelling. Our research contributes to the societal need to constrain and predict emissions and carbon budgets, and is closely linked with other themes.

We offer you

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed year-end bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive gross salary of between € 3.378,- and € 5.331,- for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 10). As for your contract, we initially offer a one-year contract that can be extended on good performance, to 3 years. Of course, we are happy to have a conversation with you if you have any questions about this.

Wageningen University & Research offers plenty of opportunities for growth and development, with a strong internal recruitment policy and excellent training programmes.

You will work on the greenest and most innovative campus in the Netherlands, in an international and open working environment. For 20 consecutive years, we have been voted the "best university" in the Netherlands! A place to be proud of.

Coming from abroad

Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.

Because we expect you to work and live in the Netherlands our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, our Welcome Center can assist you with any additional advice and information about for example housing, opening a bank account, dual career programs or schooling. Finally, certain categories of international staff may be eligible for a tax exemption on a part of their salary during the first five years in the Netherlands.

Do you want more information?

For more information about the position, please contact Ingrid Luijkx, associate professor, via ingrid.luijkx@wur.nl and Wouter Peters, professor, via wouter.peters@wur.nl

Questions about the procedure? Get in touch with Edgar Tijhuis, Corporate Recruiter, via edgar.tijhuis@wur.nl

Ready to apply?

Click on the application button next to the vacancy on our website. Only applications submitted through our website will be considered.

You can apply until June 14th 2025. The first interviews are scheduled soon afterwards.

Welcome, safe, and valued

Wageningen University & Research (WUR) highly values diversity and inclusion because we believe that different insights lead to innovative solutions. We create a work environment where everyone feels welcome, safe, and appreciated, regardless of background, identity, or experience. Together, we are building a culture where everyone's unique contribution adds to the success of our organization.

We are

The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below to get an idea of our green campus!

_We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated._