The Helmholtz Centre Potsdam - GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences is the national centre for research into the geosphere. With around 1,650 employees, we develop a sound understanding of systems and processes of the solid Earth as well as strategies and options for action to counter global change, understand natural hazards and sustainably secure energy and raw material requirements.

As a partner in Geo.X, the GFZ has access to an excellent network of other geoscience institutions in Potsdam and Berlin. This largest regional concentration of geoscientific competence in Europe offers first-class cooperation and development opportunities.

For section2.7 Space Physics and Space Weather (department 2 Geophysics), we are looking for a:

Research Associate (f_m_x) Data Science, Machine Learning and Scientific Programming

Reference Number 9964

The near-Earth space environment is hazardous and poses a significant risk for satellites and humans in space. Currently, there are hundreds of operational commercial satellites with a revenue stream of tens of billions of dollars per year. There are also a number of other satellites that assist in navigation, weather prediction, and telecommunication. Frequent satellite failures caused by space weather have fueled a surge in interest with specification and prediction of space weather during the last decade.

Our section "Space Physics and Space Weather" is working on understanding of the dynamical evolution of the hazardous space radiation environment and developing the tools for specification and prediction of the adverse effects of space environment using models and data assimilation. We study fundamental processes in the near-Earth environment and focus on understanding fundamental processes responsible for the evolution of space radiation. Our research will help safely design and operate satellites and maintain ground networks. In our research we try to bridge our theoretical studies with high performance computing to develop tools that can be used by engineers.

Your responsibilities:

Maintain data and code repositories
Edit websites
Develop real-time visualization on the website
Develop various programming tools for scientific codes and data analysis
Document and test existing codes
Adopt scientific codes for different scientific problems

Your qualifications:

Master's degree in computer sciences or natural sciences
Knowledge of data engineering and data science concepts
Several years of working experience with IT programming or scientific programming
Knowledge of Unix operating systems and maintenance of Unix Workstations
Experience with various programming languages, including C++, Python and Matlab
Ability to work with large datasets
Experience with machine learning, data mining and data assimilation is a plus
Knowledge of git, docker, kubernetes, and/ or metadata is a plus
Ability to work within a team
Attention to detail and strong organizational skills
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills

What we offer

Ambitious and varied tasks in a dynamic and international research environment
State-of-the-art equipment
Public service benefits
Extensive training opportunities
Professional career advice offered by our in-house Career-Centre
Flexible working hours and conditions
Support with finding a good work-life balance offered by benefit@work
Institute day-care centre on site
Working at the Albert Einstein science park on the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam
Work place within walking distance of Potsdam main train station, or just a short ride on the shuttle bus

Start date: 1st January 2025
Fixed-term: 2 Jahre (mit der Option auf Verlängerung)
Salary: Die Stelle ist nach TVöD Bund (Tarifgebiet Ost) mit der Entgeltgruppe 13 bewertet. Die Eingruppierung erfolgt nach den tariflichen Bestimmungen und den entsprechenden persönlichen Voraussetzungen.
Working hours: Vollzeit (derzeit 39 h/Woche); Die Stelle ist grundsätzlich teilzeitgeeignet.
Place of work: Potsdam

Have we piqued your interest?

If so, we look forward to receiving your application by 13th November 2024. Please use our online application form only.

Diversity and equal opportunities are integral components of our human resources policy. The GFZ actively promotes diversity and explicitly welcomes applications from all qualified individuals, regardless of ethnic and social origin, nationality, gender, sexual orientation and identity, religion/belief, age and physical characteristics. Anyone who has been recognized as severely disabled, will be given preferential consideration in the event of equal suitability and qualification in accordance with the provisions of the German Social Code IX. If you have any questions, please contact our representative for the severely disabled at sbv[at]gfz-potsdam.de, who will be happy to assist you in the further application process. In case of further queries regarding gender equality, please do not hesitate to contact our Equal Opportunities Officer at gba[at]gfz-potsdam.de.

Your personal data will be processed for the purpose of conducting the selection procedure on the basis of Art. 6 para. 1 b, Art. 88 GDPR in conjunction with Art. 26 of the Data Protection Act for the State of Brandenburg. After completion of the procedure, application documents will be deleted in compliance with data protection regulations.

In case of any further queries relating to the field of activity, please contact Dedong Wang via email at dedong.wang@gfz-potsdam.de. If you have any general questions about the application process, please contact our recruiting team at our phone number +49 (0) 331-6264-28787.

Projekt Research Associate (f_m_x) Data Science, Machine Learning and Scientific Programming