About us:

The Chair for Physical Geography and Land Use Systems (Prof. Julia Pongratz) at LMU’s Department of Geography investigates the interactions between humans, ecosystems and climate. Our group develops and applies the latest generation of carbon cycle, land surface and climate models and integrates them with Earth observations. We investigate the fate of ecosystems under the pressures of land-use and climate change; Earth system feedbacks that emerge through energy, water and biogeochemical cycles; and the role that vegetation and soils can play for greenhouse gas emissions reduction and CO2 removals in support of the Paris Agreement. The team is strongly involved in large national and international collaborations such as the Global Carbon Project, IPCC, CDRterra and several Horizon Europe projects like RESCUE, ForestNavigator and ClimTip.

We are looking for you:

Postdoc for ecosystem-climate interactions (m/f/x)

in Munich

Your tasks and responsibilities:

The postdoc is expected to contribute to our efforts of vastly improving our understanding and quantification of terrestrial carbon fluxes and is invited to join our ongoing collaborations. While there is some freedom in defining their own research question, studies could include improving the land-use representation in bookkeeping and Earth system models; disentangling natural and human-driven impacts in the terrestrial carbon budget (e.g., fires and other disturbances); and interact with other relevant communities (national greenhouse gas inventories, integrated assessment modeling, carbon accounting) to harmonize approaches.

Other responsibilities will be to

• take a leading role in the development of scientific publications
• contribute to outreach activities and support dissemination of results (data portals, visualizations, blogs, …)
• engage in shared responsibilities at the Chair and actively contribute to strengthening the intellectual atmosphere of the Department
• join the teaching activities at the Department of Geography and co-supervise Bachelor, Master and Ph.D. students\

Your qualifications:

• You hold a Ph.D., or will soon finish your Ph.D., in a natural science subject (geography, environmental science, physics or similar).
• a track record of effectively communicating research results (commensurate with career stage)
• good programming skills (such as python or R)
• very good communication skills in English (our working language)
• ability to teach – ideally in German – in the study programs of the Department of Geography\

Benefits:

• the opportunity to be part of a dynamic, internationally connected team working at the forefront of Earth system science
• E13 TV-L position, commensurate with work experience, for three years
• career development through the LMU qualification program
• a stimulating working environment at one of Germany’s top-ranked universities. Our institute is located in the heart of the vibrant and diverse city of Munich with excellent public transportation links.
• organizational assistance from the LMU Gateway service for relocation to Munich

Also possible in a part-time capacity.

Contact:

Please send an application outlining your fit for the position (including a cover letter sketching out your ideas in at least one of the topics mentioned above, a CV, copies of scientific degrees, and the names and contact information of two references) by e-mail (one PDF-attachment with max. 5 MB including all documents) with subject "postdoc-2025LMU" to climate.jobs@geographie.uni-muenchen.de. Applications received prior to July 13, 2025, will receive full consideration, but the position will remain open until filled. For further information please contact Prof. Dr. Julia Pongratz (julia.pongratz@lmu.de).

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