Careers
Whenever there are any new positions available at the ICOS or related communities we will announce it on this page.
If you have information about related open vacancies, please email ICOS Communications at icos-comms (at) icos-ri.eu
Head of Climate and Agriculture Research Group, Agroscope, Zurich, Switzerland (starting date 1st January 2027)
We're hiring a new Head of the Climate and Agriculture Research Group at Agroscope - Agroecology and Environment Research Division:
We are looking for someone to lead one of our six research groups in our division, and we’d like to tell you a bit about who we are.
In the Agroecology and Environment Division, we care deeply about the environment. That's why we come to work. But caring isn't enough, so we focus on solutions. We want our research to change how agriculture works in practice: fewer emissions, enhanced biodiversity, more resilient farms, healthier soils.
We're also ambitious. We compete for the best funding, the best ideas and the best people. At the same time, we know we don't have all the answers. Some of our best work happens when we learn from ecologists, economists, modellers, farmers and policymakers. And whatever we do, one question guides us: what gives society the most benefit?
The Climate and Agriculture group works on how agriculture can cut greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture, how carbon sinks can help, and how crop and livestock production can adapt to a changing climate. The group is also responsible for the Swiss Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Inventory, so your work will feed directly into national climate reporting and policy.
As head of the group, you will:
- Lead the group and shape its research on climate mitigation and adaptation, especially the role of soils as a greenhouse gas source and sink
- Coordinate a research call within the Agroscope work programme
- Bring science to practice and policy: federal authorities, committees, and national and international stages
- Mentor early-career researchers and help them grow
What you should bring:
- A PhD in climate science, ecology, environmental systems science, agricultural science or a related field
- > 5 years of experience in the field, including leadership
- A proven record of winning competitive funding
- Systems thinking across disciplines and real enthusiasm for strategic research planning
- A drive for results, creativity, and a love of teamwork
- English and at least one Swiss national language, preferably two
PhD candidate, characterisation of atmospheric air pollution in the Gulf Region, Khalifa University and The Cyprus Institute (deadline 28th September 2026)
In the framework of a partnership between Khalifa University and The Cyprus Institute, we are looking for qualified and motivated PhD students to work with us for 4 years on exciting projects related to the characterisation of atmospheric air pollution in the Gulf Region!
The project requirements:
Essential requirements
- A Master’s degree (or equivalent) with excellent results in atmospheric science, environmental science or engineering, chemistry, analytical chemistry, physics, chemical engineering or a closely related discipline.
- Demonstrated interest in, and preferably first experience with, experimental work — laboratory analysis, field measurements or instrument operation.
- Solid quantitative skills and competence in scientific rogramming and data analysis (Python; MATLAB acceptable), including handling of large time-series datasets.
- Excellent command of written and spoken English, and demonstrated ability to write clearly.
- Willingness to work in the field under demanding conditions, including intensive campaigns, high summer temperatures and dust events, and to travel regularly to Cyprus and Europe for analytical work and training.
Desirable qualifications
- Experience with aerosol instrumentation (impactors, filter sampling, particle counters, mobility size spectrometers, aethalometers, aerosol mass spectrometry).
- Laboratory experience in analytical chemistry, in particular ion chromatography, thermal-optical carbon analysis, XRF, ICP-MS or GC-MS.
- Familiarity with receptor modelling and source apportionment (PMF, ME-2, chemical mass balance) or a demonstrated aptitude for multivariate statistics.
- Experience with atmospheric transport or dispersion modelling, trajectory analysis, or the use of satellite aerosol products.
- Knowledge of air quality standards, monitoring regulations and QA/QC frameworks.
Prior publication or conference presentation record.
Personal qualities
We are looking for a candidate with genuine scientific curiosity and the rigour required for long-term, quality-assured measurements; with the patience and care that impactor sampling and trace-level chemical analysis demand; with the resilience to troubleshoot instrumentation in a demanding environment; and with the communication skills to work across two institutions, several European partner laboratories and a multidisciplinary supervisory team.
Deadline for applications is 28th September 2026.
Apply here (under the Earth Science department).
Research Software Engineer, AI Digital Twins for Climate, CSC – IT Center for Science, Espoo, Finland (deadline 28th September 2026)
Do you want to contribute to an international effort to develop AI‑driven digital twins for climate, while leveraging some of the world’s leading supercomputers?
At CSC, we offer unparalleled growth opportunities, a supportive and inclusive work environment, and the chance to work on the future of research and learning. Join us today!
We are now looking for a Research Software Engineer to join CSC’s Digital Twin Technologies Group in Espoo. Our team develops cutting‑edge technologies for digital twins, with a particular focus on Earth system digital twins as part of the Destination Earth initiative (https://destination-earth.eu/).
In this position, you will play a key role in an EU‑funded research project focused on developing an AI‑driven digital twin platform for delivering climate simulations to support science, industry, and policymaking. The platform will run on EuroHPC supercomputers, including LUMI (https://lumi-supercomputer.eu/), and will also leverage LUMI AI Factory capabilities (https://lumi-ai-factory.eu). You will work as part of an international team of scientists, software engineers, and AI experts to develop this platform.
Your key responsibilities will be to:
- Develop and maintain workflow orchestration for distributed, hybrid execution across HPC and cloud environments
- Develop containerized, reproducible deployments on EuroHPC systems and AI Factories
- Implement CI/CD pipelines with integrated computational performance, data quality, and energy‑efficiency metrics
- Benchmark example pipelines to ensure reusable, reproducible, and sustainable operation on HPC platforms
- Collaborate closely with a multidisciplinary, international project team
- Contribute to software documentation and project reporting
What we expect
To be successful in the role, you need:
- Proven experience working with HPC environments, including large‑scale workflows, batch scheduling (Slurm), and performance considerations
- Solid programming and scripting skills in Python and Bash
- Experience with workflow management and orchestration for distributed or parallel execution
- Experience with CI/CD practices and automated testing, benchmarking, and performance monitoring
- Experience with container technologies (e.g. Docker, Singularity/Apptainer)
- Fluent communication skills in English, both written and spoken
We also value
- Experience with physical modeling, e.g. climate or Earth system modelling
- Experience in working with AI models
- A degree in a relevant field, e.g. physics, meteorology, computer science
Deadline for applications is 28th September 2026.