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 according to our vision: “Taking the pulse of our Earth to safeguard a habitable planet”.
For section 2.3 “Geomagnetism” (deapartment “Geophysics”), we are looking for a:

YOUR QUALIFICATIONS:

• A Master’s degree (or equivalent) and a PhD in geophysics, physics, geosciences or a closely related field
• Experience in data assimilation and numerical simulations
• Knowledge about geomagnetic field evolution (secular variation, reversals, excursions)
• Global geo-/paleomagnetic field modelling expertise is advantageous
• Strong programming skills, preferably in Fortran, Python and/or Matlab, parallel programming
• Experience in international collaboration
• Fluent in English (spoken and written)
• Demonstrated ability to publish in international journals and present at conferences
  Start date: 1st November 2025
  Fixed-term: 2 years (with possibility of extension)
  Salary: The position is classed as salary group 13 according to “TVöD Bund (Tarifgebiet Ost)”. The salary group is determined on the basis of the Collective Wage Agreement and the respective personal qualifications.
  Working hours: Full-time (currently 39 h/week); The position is generally suitable for part-time work.
  Place of work: Potsdam

• Assessing data-based models of the geomagnetic field over long-time scales, excursions, reversals and time-averaged field
• Development and testing of a data assimilation framework for transitional events
• Assessing available numerical dynamo simulations for Earth-likeness
• Reconstructing the large-scale core dynamics during excursions
• Investigating the obtained core flow reconstructions regarding characteristics, similarities and differences of the studied events
• Exchanging results with the project team and collaborators
• Publication of results in international journals and at conferences