GFZ is Germany's national centre for solid Earth research. We advance the understanding of dynamic processes to address global challenges, from mitigating the impacts of natural hazards and sustaining our habitat amid global change to responsibly managing georesources. We are part of the Helmholtz Association, the largest German scientific organisation. With around 1,200 employees as well as ca. 500 guest researchers, we contribute to the Helmholtz Research Field Earth and Environment, aligning cutting-edge research with societal relevance and international collaboration. Our work integrates multidisciplinary studies across Earth's system components, leveraging advanced technologies and infrastructure to research solutions and to transfer our knowledge to society. We are doing this in line with our vision: “Taking the pulse of our Earth to safeguard a habitable planet”.

For section 4.5 "Subsurface Process Modelling" (department "Geosystems”), we are looking for a:

Postdoctoral Researcher (f_m_x) – HYDROCONNECT-HYDROPREDICT

Reference Number 11261

How does hydrological connectivity interact to influence water storage, runoff generation, groundwater recharge, and streamflow across the landscape?

This position is part of the project “Securing Terrestrial Water Cycles: the Helmholtz SOlution Lab Elbe RiVEr Basin (SOLVE)” (funded by the Helmholtz Association). We are looking for a candidate to investigate the hydrological/hydrogeological connectivity in the Elbe River basin to assess groundwater resilience under climatic and water management scenarios. Activities will rely on coupled hydrological and groundwater modelling combined with machine learning techniques to quantify groundwater recharge and resilience to climate variability, predict possible developments under future climate change, and thus provide guidance for its sustainable management. The successful candidate will closely interact with other partners in SOLVE and, in particular, in the WP HYDROCONNECT, where soil moisture connectivity and its relationship with streamflow will be quantified using satellite data, and gravity-based terrestrial water storage observations will be integrated with isotopic tracer methods and geophysical monitoring.

Your responsibilities:

• Develop a hybrid framework to approximate groundwater recharge from a distributed hydrologic model and translate it into groundwater table fluctuations (WTF) for its direct use in groundwater modelling
• Employ xAI to uncover the key climatic, land surface, and hydrogeological drivers underpinning the recharge WTF-dynamics and to reduce uncertainty in recharge estimation
• Introduce groundwater resilience analysis by linking recharge dynamics with aquifer response under stress scenarios
• Use of explainable AI to identify factors influencing groundwater resilience under different demand-recharge scenarios
• Interpretation and publication of results in peer-reviewed journals

About You:

Essential Qualifications:

• A PhD degree in Physics, Mathematics or Geosciences is mandatory
• Knowledge of thermal-hydraulic physical processes
• Knowledge in 3D hydrological and hydrogeological modelling and numerical methods

Desirable Qualifications:

• Programming skills are an advantage
• Very good communication skills
• Very good English language skills

Start date: 1st July 2026 Fixed-term: 18 months (latest until 31.12.2028) Salary: Die Stelle ist nach TVöD Bund (Tarifgebiet Ost) mit der Entgeltgruppe 13 bewertet. Die Eingruppierung erfolgt nach den tariflichen Bestimmungen und den entsprechenden persönlichen Voraussetzungen. Working hours: Vollzeit (derzeit 39 h/Woche); Die Stelle ist grundsätzlich teilzeitgeeignet. Place of work: Potsdam

What we offer:

• Ambitious and varied tasks in a dynamic and international research environment
• State-of-the-art equipment
• Public service benefits
• Extensive training opportunities
• Professional career advice offered by our in-house Career-Centre
• Flexible working hours and conditions
• Support with finding a good work-life balance offered by benefit@work
• Institute day-care centre on site
• Working at the Albert Einstein Science Park on the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam
• Workplace within walking distance of Potsdam main train station, or just a short ride on the shuttle bus

Have we piqued your interest?

If so, we look forward to receiving your application by 1st June 2026. Please use our online application form only.

Required documents:

• CV (with scientific publication list, if applicable)
• Cover letter on research interests and motivation (letter of motivation)
• Names and contact information of two referees
• Transcripts and diplomas for MSc and PhD degrees (certificates/grades); if not available, a confirmation from your institution on the completed degree by the application deadline

The GFZ actively promotes diversity and explicitly welcomes applications from all qualified individuals, regardless of ethnic and social origin, nationality, gender, sexual orientation and identity, religion/belief, age and physical characteristics. We also promote an inclusive working environment in which everyone can fully develop their own talents. Anyone who has been recognised as severely disabled will be given preferential consideration in the event of equal suitability and qualification in accordance with the provisions of the German Social Code IX. If you have any further queries regarding gender equality, please do not hesitate to contact our Equal Opportunities Officer.

“Diversity in perspectives” is one of GFZ's core values. As an integral part of supporting diversity at our centre, we actively promote women in science and in leadership positions. We, among others, do this through our gender equality plan and the cascade modelmeasures, which we actively implement to enable sustainable equal opportunities in academic career paths. The GFZ thus committedly strives for gender equality in science, including in leadership positions, and strongly encourages women to apply.

Data protection information for applicants

In case of any further queries regarding the field of activity, please contact Dr. Mauro Cacacevia email. If you have any general questions about the application process, please contact our recruiting team at our phone number +49 (0) 331-6264-28787.