Project Assistant in Biodiversity and Remote Sensing

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is consistently ranked as one of the world's leading universities. There are approximately 47,000 students and more than 8,800 employees in Lund, Helsingborg, and Malmö. We unite in our efforts to understand, explain, and improve our world and the conditions of people.

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Gender equality, equal opportunities, and diversity are fundamental principles for all parts of our operations.

Research and education at the Department of Environmental and Geological Sciences (MGeo) address fundamental and applied questions about the Earth's past, present, and future climate and environment, including human interaction with nature and its consequences for human well-being. MGeo develops and applies groundbreaking methods, models, and techniques in environmental science, Quaternary and bedrock geology, paleontology, human geography, biodiversity and ecosystem science, remote sensing, geographic information science (GIS), and computational science in environment and health to study processes ranging from the microscopic to the planetary, across all timescales.

Workplace Description

The position is part of a project aimed at assessing reindeer grazing lands in Fennoscandia from a biodiversity perspective.

You will work in an interdisciplinary group consisting of junior to senior specialists in remote sensing, geobotany, and ecology, at various career levels. The group brings together researchers at different stages of their careers and offers an excellent opportunity to develop a broad scientific perspective as well as versatile skills, including scientific communication and collaboration. The employment offers flexible working arrangements without a fixed office location. However, regular physical meetings are held at Geocentrum II and supplemented with frequent digital meetings. A balanced workload is ensured through a clear distribution of roles and tasks within the group, with overall coordination by the project leader.

We Offer

A flexible remote/on-site position that combines theoretical training in arctic vegetation and reindeer husbandry with practical experience in remote sensing, GIS, and biodiversity modeling. The position is fully compatible with ongoing master's studies.

Lund University is a government authority that offers good employment conditions.

Read more on the university's website about working with us.

Job Responsibilities

The project assistant will primarily be responsible for collecting, processing, and managing data for biodiversity, vegetation cover, and biomass modeling. Job responsibilities include, among other things:

• Searching, downloading, and processing biodiversity, vegetation, and remote sensing data (including satellite images and GIS datasets)
• Developing species distribution models and evaluating their performance
• Identifying and implementing optimal methods for biodiversity modeling
• Optimizing data storage, structuring, and documentation
• Script development for automating data management and analysis workflows
• Technical support to students involved in the project
• Contributing to the methods section in scientific publications
• Actively participating in disseminating project results (e.g., presentations, reports, and popular science material)

Eligibility

To be eligible for employment as a student assistant, the applicant must:

• Be registered in full-time master's studies at the Faculty of Science
• Have completed at least 60 higher education credits
• Not have started a doctoral program

In addition, the applicant must have passed the following courses at Lund University: NGEN20, NGEN22, NGEN23, NGEN28, and NGEN34.

Qualifications

Requirements for the position are:

• Ongoing full-time master's studies
• Advanced programming skills in Python and R
• Advanced use of ArcGIS and/or QGIS
• Experience with machine learning algorithms applied to environmental or spatial data
• Documented experience working with satellite-based time series data (e.g., MODIS, Sentinel)
• Experience developing geospatial tools and workflows
• Very good statistical skills in R
• Very good knowledge of English, both spoken and written
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills

Desirable for the position is:

• Contributions to publicly available GIS and remote sensing datasets

Other

The employment is temporary for 3 months with a desired start date of 2026-03-01 or as soon as possible thereafter and comprises 25% of full-time. Working hours will be arranged by agreement. Regulations for employment as a student assistant can be found in the “Agreement on Temporary Employment as a Student Assistant”.

How to Apply

The application should include a CV and a cover letter describing why you are interested in the position and how your qualifications meet the requirements. You should also attach an extract from LADOK that confirms your eligibility. The application may also include other documents that you wish to refer to (transcripts, references, recommendation letters, etc.).

Welcome with your application!

At the Faculty of Science, research and education are conducted in biology, astronomy, physics, geoscience, chemistry, mathematics, and environmental science. The activities are conducted in the northern university area. The faculty has about 1,900 students, 330 doctoral students, and 730 employees.

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