Aktuelles: We are hiring: 4 PhD Positions in Ecology / Data Science and one Ecological Data Scientist

Join the Theoretical Ecology Group (externer Link, ?ffnet neues Fenster) at the University of Regensburg (externer Link, ?ffnet neues Fenster) - we are currently looking for candidates for the following jobs:

• PhD Position (3 yrs, 65% E13) on understanding plant-pollinator interactions. The work plan contains a mix of field work, genetic lab work and data analysis. The project is a cooperation with Prof. Eva Knop and Prof. Christoph Reisch.
  • The official job announcement (in German) is here. An English translation is here.
  • Apply by Nov. 30th 2025 via our recruitment system here.
• PhD Position (1+3 yrs, 70% E13) on Theoretical Ecology or related subjects (e.g. Macroecology, Ecological Statistics, Ecological Modelling). This position is intended as a 1+3 year position for developing an open-topic PhD project in our lab. The successful applicant will have the opportunity to join our research group and develop their own research program in interaction with the group members during the first year. There are 3 more years of funding to finalise this project. We will consider any applicant with a strong CV and a scientifically promising idea.
  • The official job announcement (in German) is here. An English translation is here.
  • Apply by Dez. 07 2025 via our recruitment system here.
• PhD position (1+3 yrs, 65% E13) on Ecological Machine Learning, as part of the bAImo project (PI: Dr. Maximilian Pichler). Here, we are looking for someone with statistics / machine learning / deep learning experience, with the overall goal to build an AI system similar to a multi-species occupancy model that predicts insect abundance in Bavaria.  
  • The official job announcement (in German) is here. An English translation is here.
  • Apply by Dez. 07 2025 via our recruitment system here.
• PhD Position (1+2.5 years, 75% E13) on Ecological Machine Learning, as part of the BaySenseAI project. The goal of this project is to build a multi-modal AI system that integrates a wide range of traditional and novel biodiversity data and sensors (e.g. surveys, eDNA, acoustic sensors) and predicts species composition at any point in space and time at as broad as possible taxonomic breath.
  • The official job announcement (in German) is here. An English translation is here.
  • Apply by Dez. 07 2025 via our recruitment system here.
• Scientific programmer / data scientist (100% E11, permanent). We are looking for a person with experience in statistical data analysis, curation of ecological data and scientific programming (focus on R) that supports our research group long-term in the curation of datasets and maintenance of our software packages.
  • The official job announcement (in German) is here. An English translation is here.
  • Apply by Dez. 07 2025 via our recruitment system here.

Frequently asked questions:

• Which documents should I submit: Ideally cover letter, CV, transcripts of records, copy of your MSc / BSc thesis, and if applicable examples of your programming work (e.g. GitHub repo)
• Can I apply for several of the PhD positions at once? Sure, but explain your motivation and preferences in your cover letter!
• Can I apply for a PhD position if I already have a PhD or similar qualifications? In principle, this is possible, as the positions themselves don't require that you do a PhD, they only allow it. However, the German employment law states that to employ you on a fixed-term position for > 2 yrs, the job just have the goal of improving your qualification (this is called the WissZeitVG, see this Wikipedia article). If you have already a PhD and maybe also done a PostDoc, it may not be possible to do a fixed-term contract because you fall outside the context of the WissZeitVG . Details would have to be checked with our legal department.
• How much will I earn? The remuneration corresponding to the salary levels (e.g. E13, E11) can be calculated here here.
• How does life in Germany work? How much do I need to calculate for a flat? See information of our welcome center here.
• Are these positions suitable for remote work? For PhD positions, usually not (exceptions are possible if there are particular circumstances). For the programmer position, remote work can be negotiated, but a full-time remote work from outside Germany is probably complicated due to  tax / legal reasons.