Postdoc to support international research and capacity-building projects employing electromagnetic

One 2-year postdoc position is available from February 1st, 2026 or shortly hereafter, at Aarhus University, Department of Geoscience's HydroGeophysics Group (HGG), within the field of airborne and ground-based transient electromagnetic (TEM) methods.

The position is part of a Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs funded project titled "Scaling Up Electromagnetics Surveys for Large-Scale Hydrogeological Imaging of Groundwater in Complex Ethiopian Geological Settings (2025–2028)", implemented in partnership with the Ethiopian Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE) and Addis Ababa University (AAU).

Job assignments

The successful candidate will contribute to the acquisition, processing, inversion, and interpretation of large-scale EM datasets for hydrogeological mapping in Ethiopia. The work will involve both airborne and ground-based TEM systems and contribute directly to capacity building within MoWE and Ethiopian universities.

The position will include:

• Processing, inversion, and geological interpretation of large-scale EM data for groundwater mapping.
• Teaching and training of Ethiopian partners and students in EM methods, data processing workflows, inversion software, and geological interpretation.
• Participation in fieldwork campaigns in Ethiopia multiple times per year (typically 2–3 weeks per trip), assisting with survey planning, deployment, and data collection.
• Contribution to the development of processing and modelling workflows that integrate EM data with other hydrogeological datasets.
• Collaboration with Ethiopian and Danish researchers to tailor EM methodologies to Ethiopia's geological settings.
• Publication of scientific results in international journals and presentation at conferences.
• Supervision and mentoring of MSc and PhD students.

The successful applicant will also be required to support parallel TEM related projects in collaboration with other researchers in the Hydrogeophysics Group, including parallel airborne and ground-based EM surveys to be conducted in Kenya.

Required Qualifications

• PhD degree in geophysics, engineering, or a related field.
• Proven experience with EM data processing, inversion, and interpretation (e.g., TEM, AEM).
• Experience with geophysical inversion software, such as Aarhus WorkBench or similar platforms.
• Ability to develop geological interpretations from EM datasets.
• Demonstrated skills in training, teaching, or capacity building in geophysics or data processing.
• Strong analytical and programming skills (advanced Python preferred).
• Willingness and ability to participate in international fieldwork, including field campaigns in Ethiopia lasting up to 2–3 weeks.
• Excellent written and spoken English communication skills.
• A record of peer-reviewed publications and presentation of research at international conferences.

The qualified candidates must have several peer reviewed scientific publications in recognized international journals and experience in presenting scientific results at conferences and meetings.

Place of Employment and Place of Work:

The place of employment will be Aarhus University, and the place of work is the Department of Geoscience, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark.

Further information

Applicants are encouraged to contact Associate Professor Denys Grombacher, Department of Geoscience, for additional information.

Application procedure

Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the appointment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. All applicants will be notified whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee, and each applicant is given the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that concerns him/her self. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.

Letter of reference

If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee's contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee's contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline. Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.

If you wish to add a referee after you have submitted your application, you must send this person's details (name, job title, place of work, and email address) as well as the name of the position you have applied for to:

Formalities and salary range

Natural Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

Aarhus University's ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners.

Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU.

At the Faculty of Natural Science at Aarhus University, we strive to support our scientific staff in their career development. We focus on competency development and career clarification and want to make your opportunities transparent. On our website, you can find information on all types of scientific positions, as well as the entry criteria we use when assessing candidates. You can also read more about how we can assist you in your career planning and development.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University's recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.