Scientist/PostDoc/PhD-Position (f/m/x) Workflow Development for Groundwater Modelling

The job

Place of work

Working time

The job position is available for full-time or part-time employment.

Contract limitations

Salary

Contact

Your contact for any questions you may have about the job:
Thomas Kalbacher
thomas.kalbacher[at]ufz.de

Your application

Please submit your application via our online portal with your cover letter, CV (please omit your photo, age, or marital status) and relevant attachments.

Diversity and Inclusion

The UFZ has a strong commitment to diversity and actively supports equal opportunities for all employees regardless of their origin, religion, ideology, disability, age or sexual identity.
We look forward to applications from people who are open-minded and enjoy working in diverse teams.

The UFZ

The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) with its 1,100 employees has gained an excellent reputation as an international competence centre for environmental sciences. We are part of the largest scientific organisation in Germany, the Helmholtz association. Our mission: Our research seeks to find a balance between social development and the long-term protection of our natural resources.

The job

Are you passionate about cutting-edge research in numerical groundwater modelling, eager to tackle real-world geological systems, and excited about shaping open-source software solutions? If so, we invite you to join our dynamic research group.

The position is part of the OpenWorkFlow project, which aims to provide a collaborative, open-source platform for simulation-based analysis of geological systems in the context of long-term safety assessments for deep geological repositories. Within this framework, we develop computational methods and digital workflows for transparent and traceable modelling and system analysis of coupled physical processes in the deep subsurface.

Our core simulation tool is OpenGeoSys (OGS), which enables the simulation of coupled flow and transport processes in porous and fractured media. A central focus of our work is the script-based development and use of reproducible workflows – particularly in Python – for the integration, processing, and analysis of geoscientific data. Our aim is to create numerical models that are scientifically sound, well-documented, reproducible and extensible – capable of representing long-term changes in complex geological systems.

Your tasks

The task areas for the advertised position include the development of geological structure models, mesh generation, groundwater flow and solute transport simulations using OGS, and the integration of existing tools and models into modern computational environments. The focus lies on a clear, script-driven and solution-oriented methodology.

• Independently build and parameterize groundwater flow and solute transport models using OpenGeoSys being suitable for system and scenario analyses based on geological data
• Develop software workflows for automated model preparation, simulation execution and results analysis
• Apply and extend existing Python tools (e.g. feflowlib), and develop new components for specific modelling tasks
• Conduct numerical simulations of flow and solute transport over long simulated time scales acknowledging parametric uncertainty via ensemble runs
• Integrate your own modules and ideas into the OpenGeoSys framework (Python/C++)
• Analyse different geological scenarios (various lithologies, groundwater conditions, simple geochemical reactions)
• Collaborate closely with software developers, geoscientists, and scientific users of the platform

We offer

• The freedom to master even the most demanding challenges between basic research and practical application
• The chance to work in interdisciplinary, international teams and benefit from a variety of perspectives
• Firstclass integration into national and international research networks to work together on global challenges
• Excellent research infrastructure and research data management to optimally support your work
• Flexible working hours and a wide range of options for balancing work and care responsibilities through our family office
• Competent support and advice for international colleagues arriving at the UFZ from the 'International Office'
• Special annual payment, capital-forming benefits and subsidised Germany Job Ticket
• A workplace in a vibrant region with a high life quality and social and cultural diversity

Your profile

We are looking for candidates (f/m/x) with a solid understanding of hydrogeological systems and numerical modelling who enjoy developing digital methods and implementing them. You should feel comfortable working with Python, Linux, and Git, and be motivated to contribute both conceptually and practically to the design and advancement of modelling workflows. 

Further qualifications are:

• Completed university degree (Master’s or PhD) in a natural or engineering science with relevance to geosystems – especially targeting the geological subsurface in general and/or modelling groundwater flow and solute transport in particular
• Strong Python programming skills, ideally demonstrated through contributions to software projects; familiarity with Linux and version control (git)
• Familiarity with numerical modelling is required; knowledge of finite element methods or coupled process simulations are an asset
• Interest in long-term geoscientific system analyses and open, reproducible software development
• Ability to work collaboratively and communicate effectively (English required, German is an asset)

Application deadline: 01.09.2025

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International Office

Accessibility

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion