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The Department of Physical Geography at Georg-August University of Göttingen is seeking to fill the position of a

Research assistant / PhD student (all genders welcome)

with 75 % of the regular weekly working hours (currently 29,85 hours/week), to be filled on a fixed-term basis for a period of 3 years. Salary is paid according to pay group 13 TV-L.

What to expect
an exciting PhD project is waiting for you, aiming to shed light on landscape water fluxes and soil processes in desert soils of southern Namibia, including several field campaigns, measurements in the field (e.g., soil moisture/temperature, infiltration rates, surface runoff, eroded sediment load in surface runoff), laboratory analyses (e.g., soil organic carbon fractions, pedogenic iron, carbonates, exchangeable cations, soluble salts), as well as soil thin section preparation and analysis for determining spatial differences in pedogenesis, soil structure, surface crusts and vesicular horizons;
you will participate in the prestigious PhD programme Geography of the Georg-August University School of Science (GAUSS) under joint supervision by an interdisciplinary team of three experienced researchers;
you will be a member of the Physical Geography Department at the University of Göttingen, where your new international colleagues and friends are looking forward to welcome you in the team;
you will be located on the North Campus of the University of Göttingen, in a nice and green surrounding, with a brand-new canteen, not far from the university’s sports facilities; the medieval city centre with its pubs and bistros, and an atmosphere characterised by the high proportion of students among the city’s population, can be reached in 10 minutes by bike.

Your tasks
in the DFG-funded tandem research project “Desert Pavements: Interactions with Pedogenic and Microbial Processes“, you will be the PhD candidate focussing on soil hydrology, resulting landscape water fluxes, and pedogenesis;
you will closely collaborate with a second early career researcher, who will be located at the GFZ Potsdam and will focus on microbial processes in the same soils; together, the two of you will explore mutual relationships between relief, desert pavements, landscape water fluxes, spatial patterns of pedogenesis and soil properties, and microbial communities;
with support by your supervisors, you will publish your results in three papers in international peer-reviewed journals.

Your profile
you hold a master’s degree in geography, geoecology, soil science or a related field, with a good to very good grade;
you have profound knowledge in soil hydrology and pedogenesis;
you are prepared to conduct extended fieldwork under basic field conditions (staying in tents, with showers and toilets provided), together with an interdisciplinary team, with which you share living, cooking, and research work;
you have strong soil-analytical skills and enjoy doing laboratory analyses in a very clean and accurate manner;
you are able to work independently, but also in a team, and you have very good organization and communication skills;
you are enthusiastic and highly motivated, focused on achieving research outcomes, and ready to handle the physical demand of extended fieldwork;
excellent written and spoken English skills are essential;
experience with extended camping stays in foreign countries, especially in Africa, is advantageous.

The University of Göttingen seeks to increase the proportion of women in fields where they are underrepresented and therefore strongly encourages qualified women to apply. The University also considers itself a family-friendly institution and promotes the compatibility of academic/professional life with family life. The University is particularly committed to the professional participation of employees with disabilities and therefore welcomes applications from people with disabilities. When qualifications are equal, applications from people with disabilities will be given preference. To safeguard your interests, any disability or equal opportunity status must be disclosed in the application.

Applications, including the usual supporting documents, can be submitted until 30 April 2026 in the form of a single PDF document to the secretary of the department, Ms. Dörte Dede: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Department of Physical Geography, Goldschmidtstr. 5, 37077 Göttingen, Germany, E-mail: physgeo@geo.uni-goettingen.de

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Prof. Dr. Daniela Sauer
Phone: +49 (0)551 - 39 2801, e-mail: daniela.sauer@geo.uni-goettingen.de

Note:
We would like to point out that by submitting your application, you are giving your consent under data protection law to the processing of your applicant data by us. For more information on the legal basis and the use of your data, please refer to the Information Sheet on the General Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO) https://www.uni-goettingen.de/hinweisdsgvo