Post doctor in computational

The University of Gothenburg tackles society’s challenges with diverse knowledge. 56 000 students and 6 600 employees make the university a large and inspiring place to work and study. Strong research and attractive study programmes attract scientists and students from around the world. With new knowledge and new perspectives, the University contributes to a better future.

At the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences (BioEnv) we have teaching and research activities that stretch from the alpine ecosystem, through forests, cultivated land and streams, all the way into the marine environment. In these environments we study different levels of biological organisation from genes, individuals and populations to communities and ecosystems. We work within ecology, evolution, physiology, systematics, and combinations of these fields in order to understand the impact of natural and anthropogenic changes of the environment.

The Department of Biological and Environmental Science (http://bioenv.gu.se) is the host of the Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre (GGBC, http://ggbc.gu.se). The Centre has two main goals: to further develop biodiversity research, and to bridge the gap between scientists, the public and industry. The working language is English.

The department is placed at three different localities: in Gothenburg Botanical Garden, at Medicinareberget in Gothenburg and Kristineberg Marine Research Station. The current position is placed at Gothenburg Botanical Garden with flexibility for spending time in Switzerland (University of Fribourg). Whenever possible, international collaborations will be carried out through video-conferencing to reduce environmental impact.

The goal of this project is to compile and analyze large fossil datasets including paleontological occurrences, morphological and life history traits and spatial information to model the drivers and causes of species diversification and extinction. The project will involve the implementation of analytical pipelines to pre-process the data, perform imputation of missing values through machine learning algorithms. New macroevolutionary models coupling unsupervised Bayesian inference and deep learning approaches will be used to quantify the effect of traits on species diversification dynamics.

This project will be primarily supervised by Daniele Silvestro (University of Fribourg, University of Gothenburg, and GGBC), and further interactions and collaborations within the vibrant research environment provided by the GGBC are highly encouraged. The work may include research visits to the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

This employment includes the following tasks: conducting independent and collaborative research; compiling and curating trait and fossil occurrence databases; responsibility for managing own workload; production of scientific articles; implementing own scripts and pipelines in R or Python to carry out the analyses; effective communication including in seminars and conferences.

To be eligible for employment as a researcher, the applicant must have a PhD exam in a relevant subject (e.g., computational paleobiology, evolutionary biology, paleontology) as outlined in the advertisement. The exam must be finished before closing date for this announcement.

We are seeking a motivated person with demonstrated experience to compile, analyze, and interpret large fossil datasets. Solid knowledge of R and/or Python and statistical methods to analyze paleontological data is required. Excellent communication skills, written and spoken, in English are necessary since we work in an international environment.

Candidates are encouraged to bring own datasets from previous work and/or propose suitable taxonomic groups for the project.

The application should be written in English and must include:

• A cover letter with the applicant’s justification for the application, i.e., that describes how the applicant meets the selection criteria
• A list of qualifications (CV)
• Certificate of PhD exam and other educations of relevance
• Complete list of publications, including submitted and accepted manuscripts
• Employments certificates and other documents deemed important by the applicant
• Completed assessment task: Explain how you plan to develop the project (200-300 words)

The top ranked candidates will be selected for an interview, which will be held in English and performed by Zoom.

This is a fixed-term employment for 2 years, 100 %, starting as soon as possible or upon agreement.

For further information please contact:

Daniele Silvestro, PhD
University of Gothenburg, and Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre
Email: [email protected]  

Åsa Arrhenius, Head of Department
Phone: +46 31 786 26 25
Email: [email protected]

Union representatives at the University of Gothenburg can be found here: https://www.gu.se/om-universitetet/jobba-hos-oss/hjalp-for-sokande  

To apply for a position at the University of Gothenburg, you have to create an account in our recruitment system. Submit your application via the University of Gothenburg’s recruitment portal by clicking the “Apply” button. It is your responsibility to ensure that the application is complete as per the vacancy notice, and that the University receives it by the final application deadline. 

Applications must be received by: October 24th, 2022

The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions, and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations.

Salaries are set individually at the University.

In accordance with the National Archives of Sweden’s regulations, the University must archive application documents for two years after the appointment is filled. If you request that your documents are returned, they will be returned to you once the two years have passed. Otherwise, they will be destroyed.

In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.