"Postdoctoral Research position in Soil Spectroscopy"

Job description

The Center for soil and Fertilizer research in Africa at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) is inviting applications for a Postdoctoral Research position in the field of Soil Spectroscopy. The successful candidates will join an interdisciplinary team to work on projects focused on the development of new easy, accurate, and low-cost tools for soil agricultural soils diagnosis based on the coupling of spectroscopic techniques (FTIR, NIR, Raman, …) with machine learning/ chemometrics.

Responsibilities of the Position

The Postdoctoral researcher is intended to support the soil spectroscopy research activities and digital soil mapping with specific responsibilities as presented below:

• Conduct research on the development and application of spectroscopy methods such as near infrared and FTIR as alternatives to traditional methods of soil characterization, monitoring and management,
• Organization of field campaigns, data collection and lab work,
• Spectral data analysis, data processing, and model development,
• ‘R’, Python programming / package development,
• Co-supervise PhD and undergraduate students.
• Be engaged in technology transfer.

Criteria of the candidate

Qualified applicants should have the following skills:

• Ph.D. in soil spectroscopy / Chemometrics/ analytical chemistry or related field.
• Experience in soil spectroscopy by using Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR), near infrared Spectroscopy and advanced programming skills in ‘R’, Python …
• Experience in Data analysis and chemometrics (PLS, SVMR, NN…)
• Excellent communication skills, and the ability to work both independently and in a team environment,
• The ability to work to high standards within deadlines,
• Excellent command of English and French,
• Proven ability to publish in high impacted scientific peer-review journals.

Application and Selection

Interested candidates should submit the following documents:

• Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Cover letter outlining research interests, relevant experience, and career goals.
• Contact information for three professional references.