PhD and Postdoctoral Opportunities in Food Systems, Sustainability, and Environmental Research at ETH Zurich and Eawag ETH Zurich in Switzerland

ETH Zurich’s World Food System Center is sharing multiple PhD and postdoctoral openings across food systems, sustainability, environmental science, agriculture, economics, chemistry, and biology-related research.

Postdoctoral positions include: co-evaluating bio-inputs for smallholder farmers in Kenya with the Sustainable Agroecosystems Group (Prof. Johan Six), and stakeholder engagement with TdLab (Prof. Christian Pohl).

PhD positions include research on PFAS pathways through soil–groundwater interfaces, circular economy and climate change resilience, pathways to a net-zero target for hard-to-abate Swiss emissions, plant metabolism and stable isotope biology (in collaboration with the University of Basel), and novel mineral sources for treating micronutrient deficiencies in humans. The page also lists additional PhD opportunities in sustainability assessment for future global food systems and food processing for planetary and human health.

These openings are hosted by ETH Zurich and partner groups including Eawag and the University of Basel. The research themes are strongly interdisciplinary and connect food systems, sustainable agroecosystems, environmental processes, circular economy, agricultural economics, nutrition, and food processing.

Eligibility and requirements are not fully detailed in the post, but applicants should be well matched to the relevant research area and prepared to work in an academic research environment. The World Food System Center also advertises a separate World Food Forum delegation opportunity for ETH Zurich students and researchers aged 35 or younger, with a deadline of 2026-06-03. That delegation offers limited financial assistance of 400 CHF per delegate, while travel and hotel costs are self-funded.

To apply, review the linked open positions page and follow the instructions for the specific role. For the World Food Forum delegation, submit a 1-page letter of interest and a 1-page CV by the deadline.