The PhD position is offered within the Cluster of Excellence PhenoRob – Robotics and Phenotyping for Sustainable Crop Production. We are looking for a highly motivated PhD candidate to join our world-leading research program in robotics, remote sensing, and data-driven approaches for sustainable agriculture. PhenoRob’s mission is to transform crop production by optimizing breeding and farm management through innovative sensing technologies, advanced modeling, and intelligent automation.
Table of Content
Summary
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Benefits
We work on the very latest issues that impact our society and are offering you the chance to actively help in shaping the change! We offer ideal conditions for you to complete your doctoral degree:
- Working in an interdisciplinary environment as well as excellent facilities for remote sensing research and numerical simulation and inversion
- Opportunities to being part of the national and international scientific community
- PhD students are encouraged to attend international conferences and a three-month research stay abroad with a cooperating partner is possible
- Working in the heart of Europe
- Partial remote (home office) work may be arranged/disscused with main supervisor approval, outside the growing season once fieldwork is completed
- Dynamic and diverse working group and work environment
- Your professional development is important to us – we support you specifically and individually e.g., through training and networking opportunities specifically for doctoral candidates (JuDocS): https://go.fzj.de/JuDocs
- 30 days of annual leave
- Targeted services for international employees, e.g. through our International Advisory Service
Requirements
- Master’s degree in geography, remote sensing, geoscience, physics, computational geoscience, or related natural sciences with an overall grade of at least good
- Experience in programming (e.g., Phyton, Fortran)
- Advanced knowledge of numerical methods
- Experience with flying drones and drone data processing (thermal IR, multispectral, LiDAR), fieldwork experience
- Strong English communication skills. Knowledge of the German language is considered an asset
- Since the work involves interdisciplinary cooperation with several researchers and technicians, good communication and organizational skills are essential
- Driver’s license and EU drone license is required (or should be obtained within first 3 months)
- Fieldwork is required for manual soil and plant measurements in and transport of equipment to the field
- Very good command of written and spoken English (at least B2 level according to the CEFR: https://go.fzj.de/languagerequirements ), ideally supported by a certificate confirming the language level.
Selection Process
- Application Receipt: You will receive confirmation of receipt immediately after submitting your application.
- Document Review: Your application will be reviewed personally by the contact persons without AI tools or preselection by the HR team.
- Feedback: You will receive an invitation to the interview or a rejection (approx 1-6 weeks after submitting your application).
- Interim Information: If the process takes longer, you will be kept actively informed.
- Selection Design: You will receive an offer or rejection (approx. 1-2 weeks after the interview).
- Contract Preparation: After accepting the offer, your contract will be prepared (approx. 1-2 weeks after the interview).
- Getting Ready: The welcome guide provides all the key information to get started.
- Onboarding: You will be welcomed and accompanied as you settle in (e.g., welcome day, onboarding mentor).
What you should know about the selection process at Forschungszentrum Jülich:
- Format: If applicable, a video interview for pre-selection and/or a more in-depth interview either in person or via video.
- Interview content: Questions about your background, professional expertise and transferable skills, as well as information about the general conditions and the opportunity to ask your own questions.
- Possible additional selection components : Presentation, (practical) task, interview simulation.
- Participants: Employees from the hiring department, and where applicable also representatives from HR and employee representative bodies (Works Council, Representative Body for Employees with Disabilities, Equal Opportunities Officer).
Application Documents
- Cover letter
- CV
- Supporting documents
- References for PhD applications
Check also:
2026 Fully Funded Humboldt Research Fellowship
2026 Konrad Adenauer Foundation Scholarship
Application Deadline
Not SpecifiedHow To Apply
For more information, kindly visit the Forschungszentrum Jülich webpage.
