Vacancies at the KIT Online Application System

• Scientific Assistant in Environmental Change Sciences (f/m/d) Part-time 60-80 %
• PostDoc / Senior Scientist (f/m/d) for the installation and implementation of the National Facility „Aerosol Remote Sensing“

Scientific Assistant in Environmental Change Sciences (f/m/d)
Part-time 60-80 %

Category

Administrative staff

Job description

We are seeking a motivated, communicative and organised colleague who wishes to support science on climate and environmental changes and enjoys a diverse set of tasks. The successful applicant will pro-actively support the Division Ecosystem-Atmosphere Interactions of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), located at KIT’s attractive ‘Campus Alpin’ in Garmisch-Partenkirchen with the two diverse research groups Global Land Ecosystem Modelling Group and Plant Ecophysiology. Specifically, we seek active support with the:

• Development of research proposals and the coordination and management of national and international multi-partner research projects
• Project-Controlling, monitoring of project deliverables and -goals
• Scientific communication with partners and funders
• Web page management
• Organisation of internal events, international scientific workshops and meetings, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen as well as other locations
• Administrative work related to the hiring of new staff, including welcoming and onboarding at KIT-Campus Alpin management of the websites of the two groups

Personal qualification

You have a Master in Biology, Environmental Science, in International Relations or in a related field and a keen interest in environmental topics. You have documented experience in project management and applications, ideally related to global environmental change. You are able to work independently as well as within a team. At last, you have very good command of German and English, both spoken and written.

Salary

Salary category 11, depending on the fulfillment of professional and personal requirements.

PostDoc / Senior Scientist (f/m/d)
for the installation and implementation of the National Facility „Aerosol Remote Sensing“

Category

Academics / Scientists / Engineers (master´s degree) (f/m/d)

Job description

For the measurement of vertical profiles of tropospheric aerosols, water vapor and temperature, two lidar systems will be installed being a part of the research infrastructure within the BMBF project "ACTRIS-D" at the institute at Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Additionally, an existing lidar system at the high altitude environmental research station Schneefernerhaus at Mt. Zugspitze will be complemented and prepared for a remotely controlled / automated operation. For measuring aerosol optical properties of the atmosphere two sun photometers will be installed in the valley and on Mt. Zugspitze.

The instruments will importantly contribute to the pan-European ACTRIS research infrastructure. This allows for a better exploration of atmospheric processes in the climate system. Furthermore, this will contribute to a better identification and analysis of future variations and trends. To some extend, the measurements contribute to the international „Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change“ (NDACC), the „European Aerosol Research Lidar Network“ (EARLINET) and the “Aerosol Robotic Network” (AERONET).

In this project position you will work on the hardware installation of optical remote sensing devices and the implementation of data handling. The scope of your job reaches from setting up optical systems and electronic devices in the field of lidar technique (lasers, optical detection, signal processing) to the ongoing development of data retrieval algorithms and the implementation of processing and archiving measurement data according to the rules and strategies defined within ACTRIS.

Your Tasks:

- taking part in the installation and implemantation of two lidar systems and two sun photometers

- taking part in upgrading of a lidar-system at the environmental research station Schneefernerhaus (laser system, optical detection system)

- implementing data processing from raw-data to ready-to-archive data products

- scientific analysis of diurnal variability of the vertical distribution of aerosols and water vapor in the planetary boundary layer and their passage to the free troposphere and their influence on the aerosol optical properties of the atmosphere

- publication of scientific results.

Personal qualification

- a PhD in Physics, Physical Engineering, Photonics, or related fields with a superior university degree.

- practical experience in the field of optics / laser / remote sensing.

- advanced skills in programming Python or an equivalent programming language (e.g. Perl). Experience in working on Linux computers is a benefit.

- willingness to experimental work and self-motivated approach to technical and scientific questions.

- interest in working on superordinate and multi-disciplinary scientific questions of climate research together with an international research community.

- self-motivated personality, with strong communication and coordination skills to work within a multi-disciplinary team.

- proficiency in the field electronic controls and data acquisition is a benefit.

- very good skills in English (spoken and written), German (spoken and written) is a benefit.

Salary

Salary category 13, depending on the fulfillment of professional and personal requirements.