The Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL is part of the ETH Domain. Approximately 600 people work on the sustainable use and protection of the environment and on the handling of natural hazards.

The Land Change Science research unit studies patterns and processes of land systems and their dynamics over various spatial and temporal scales. The Forest Diversity and Biodemography research group within the Land Change Science unit is offering a 2-year position (possibility of extension) as a

The position will be hosted in Lalasia Bialic-Murphy’s group at WSL, as part of the Tree-Change Research Project, jointly led by Thomas Pugh (co-PI, Lund University), Johan van den Hogen (co-PI, ETH), and Oliver Phillips (Project Partner, Leeds University). This project is part of a recently funded SNSF International Project grant, focusing on the cascading effects of climate change on tree demographics, extinction risks, and the functional biodiversity of global forests. You will have flexibility to tailor your project to your expertise and skillset, provided the scope of work fits within the broader aims of the research initiative. In addition, you will have opportunities to develop e large collaborative projects with forest network partners, including members of the ForestPlots network.

You hold a PhD in forest ecology, quantitative ecology, computational biology, or a related field, with a developing peer-reviewed publication record, excellent communication skills, and a collaborative mindset. This project requires a strong background in statistics and experience implementing analyses using scripting languages (e.g., R and Python), as well as experience working with large, complex, and unstructured datasets. We are assembling a team with diverse expertise and particularly encourage individuals with skill sets in at least two of the following areas to apply: demographic modeling, large language models, functional trait interpolation, or species distribution modeling. You will have the opportunity to coordinate WSL research-exchange visits for early-career researchers at partner institutions in South America and to supervise and mentor junior group members. The ability to communicate in Spanish or Portuguese is a strong asset but not required.