Marco Madella

Universitat Pompeu Fabra’s Department of Humanities is offering two PhD researcher positions within the CASEs research group under the line Data Management and Remote Sensing of South American Heritage . The posts are part of the MAPHSA project, which focuses on pre-Columbian South American heritage and aims to build an open-access digital database integrating historical records with new data obtained through geospatial methods. The selected researchers will carry out doctoral research leading to a PhD thesis while contributing to archaeological data collection and processing, database development, and the application of geospatial and remote sensing tools to identify new sites. The project also involves integrated spatio-temporal analysis of archaeological data to test hypotheses about settlement distribution patterns and the long socio-ecological history of pre-Columbian populations in South America. The results are intended to support heritage preservation, documentation, mapping, and protection. These are full-time predoctoral positions based in Barcelona, with a shared workspace in the Department of Humanities at Universitat Pompeu Fabra. The contract starts on 1 November 2026 and runs for a minimum of 1 year and up to 4 years. The remuneration is approximately €19,007.28 gross per year. Applicants should hold a Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in Archaeology, Geography, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field, and must be admitted to or enrolled in the PhD Program in History at Universitat Pompeu Fabra by the start date. The call highlights experience in spatial data collection and analysis, database construction and management, and good knowledge of English and Spanish. Additional strengths include GIS, machine learning, geospatial modelling, SAR/LiDAR/optical imagery processing, and R/Python programming. The application must be submitted via Interfolio using the call link published by Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Required documents include ID/passport/NIE, degree certificates, a short CV, and a motivation letter, together with evidence supporting the assessed merits. The deadline is 9 October 2026 .