Postdoctoral Researcher & PhD Position in Flood Risk, Adaptation, and Machine Learning at GFZ Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences in Germany

GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam, Germany is advertising two research opportunities within the ERC Synergy Grant LIMIT2ADAPT on riverine flood risk and adaptation.

Postdoctoral Researcher & Project Manager: This role focuses on assessment of flood risk, including developing exposure and physical vulnerability maps for past and future periods (1970–2100), integrating these into a flood risk and adaptation modelling system, and supporting interdisciplinary collaboration and project management. The work spans four case study areas: Rhine, Mekong, Pungwe, and Upper Mississippi, with potential upscaling to the global scale. Strong skills in environmental sciences, physical geography, geoinformatics, engineering, programming, machine learning, and large data analysis are especially relevant.

PhD candidate: This position focuses on collection and analysis of data on households’ adaptation and flood risk. The doctoral researcher will organise and implement household surveys, combine new and past survey data, analyse the data using machine learning, and develop a global flood damage model. The project aims to better understand how households’ adaptation decisions influence physical vulnerability and flood risk. The PhD is to be undertaken at Humboldt University Berlin while working in the GFZ research environment.

Funding and conditions: The postdoc is a full-time fixed-term position for 2 years with possible extension, paid at salary group 13 TVöD Bund (Tarifgebiet Ost). The PhD is a 3-year part-time position at 75%, also paid at salary group 13 TVöD Bund (Tarifgebiet Ost). Both positions offer work in a dynamic, international, socially relevant research project with state-of-the-art equipment and strong support for training and career development.

Eligibility highlights: The postdoc requires a Master’s degree and PhD in Environmental Sciences, Physical Geography, Engineering, Geoinformatics or related fields, plus experience in exposure/risk research, large data, programming, and English fluency. The PhD requires a Master’s degree in a related field, understanding of flood risk systems, programming skills in Python or R, and strong teamwork and communication skills. Survey experience, machine learning, and Bayesian statistics are advantageous for the PhD.

Application window: Deadline is 10 May 2026. Applications must be submitted online only, with CV, motivation letter, and degree documents; the postdoc additionally requests a publication list and two referees.