Assistant professor in Digital Soil Mapping

The Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University, Denmark, is offering a position as Assistant professor focused on Digital Soil Mapping. The position will be available from 1st August or as soon as possible thereafter. The position will be available for a 4-year period.

You will be part of a working environment focused on research, teaching and supervision within the field of Digital Soil Mapping, and participate in different research projects. You will contribute to research on soil mapping methods at local, regional up to paneuropean scales and the use of data-driven tools for obtaining insights on  soil formation and processes in a spatial context. The main focus of your position will be (1) local- to paneuropean-scale mapping of soil properties, such as soil texture, soil organic carbon content, as well as soil functions, (2) use of remotely and proximally sensed data to improve predictions of soil characteristics, and (3) application of spatial modelling techniques from geostatistics to machine learning, including methods for uncertainty assessment and model interpretation.  

We expect that you will be an important part of the research environment and that you will contribute positively to the social working environment. We also expect that you will take part in our teaching activities and that you will report research results in high-impact scientific journals.
 

Your profile

We are searching for a highly motivated candidate who has

• A PhD in soil science, geography, geology, biology, agricultural sciences  or similar fields
• Collaborative skills and ability to participate actively in teams
• Research experience in some of the areas of Digital Soil Mapping
• Extensive knowledge of statistical analyses and modelling with methods from geostatistics, machine learning and CNN
• Significant knowledge of GIS and programming languages, such as R and Python
• Networking experience
• Documented experience in scientific writing and publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals
• Teaching and supervision experience at BSc, MSc and PhD level
• Experience in contributing to the writing of research proposals for external funding

Further, we will prefer candidates with some of the following qualifications:

• Experience in planning and conducting field work
• Insight into pedology and soil formation
• Experience with research-based policy support and consultancy
• Knowledge in obtaining, processing and analyzing remotely sensed data
• Experience with management and analysis of large datasets

Who we are

At the Department of Agroecology, our main goal is to contribute to sustainable solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems within the areas of soil, plants, animals, humans, and the environment. We want to make a difference by contributing to both fundamental knowledge generation and the attainment of sustainable production systems via high quality research, contracted policy advice, and education. We offer professional laboratories, greenhouses, semi-field, and field-scale research facilities, advanced computing capacities as well as an extensive national and international researcher network.  The department consists of seven research sections with around 270 highly dedicated employees, of which approximately 50% are scientific staff. More information can be found here.
 

What we offer

• An informal and multicultural research environment with high professionalism, where accountability, commitment, helpfulness, flexibility, and close collaboration is a prerequisite solving the core tasks
• A good social environment with activities and routines that make it possible to talk across and strengthen the collaborative relationship, and where mutual trust, respect, kindness, and professional sparring are emphasized
• A flexible workplace with a good work-life balance
• An exciting and varied working environment, where two days rarely resemble each other. We are often busy, and we work creatively for solutions to societal challenges
• Subsidized preschool child care and a free education system from primary school up to university level
• Universal health insurance as a resident of Denmark, including family members officially residing in Denmark
• Five weeks paid holiday per year
• In connection with childbirth: the right to have a total of 52 weeks shared maternal/paternal leave with full or partial salary pay

Place of Work

The place of work is Aarhus University, Campus Viborg.  The affiliation will be with the Department of Agroecology.
More information can be obtained from Mogens H. Greve: greve@agro.au.dk
 

Application procedure

Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the assessment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. The selection is made on the basis of an assessment of who of the candidates are most relevant considering the requirements of the advertisement. All applicants will be notified within 6 weeks whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee and will receive his/her assessment. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.
 

Letter of reference

If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.
 

Formalities and salary range

Technical Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.

 

Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/