Based on a cooperation agreement and in a joint appointment procedure, the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Nutritional Sciences and Environmental Management of Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU) and the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) e. V. in Müncheberg, invite applications for a
W3 Professorship in Landscape Data Analytics
according to the Jülich model (leave of absence model) as of now. Reference is made to § 67 Para. 7 Hessian Higher Education Act (HessHG) and to the conditions of employment based on § 68 HessHG. Proficient knowledge of German is expected.
Basically, the appointment shall be under a non-tariff employment contract. In justified exceptional cases and if the personal requirements are met, a permanent civil servant appointment may be granted. In case the candidate exceeds the basic age limit of 50 years, a civil servant appointment under § 66 Para. 3 sentences 2 and 3 HessHG in conjunction with § 11 Hessian Career Regulation (HLVO) requires a specific functional interest.
You will be appointed as a professor (m/f/d) at JLU and granted leave from this position in order to serve as co-director (m/f/d) of the newly established ZALF's Innovation Center for Agricultural System Transformation in Giessen.
The Innovation Center for Agricultural System Transformation (IAT) is a comprehensive strategic expansion of ZALF to include living lab research and is accompanied by the establishment of three new campuses in Hesse (Giessen, Kassel and Geisenheim). Further new working groups are being established at ZALF's campus in Brandenburg. In total, the planned expansion involves the establishment of 19 new working groups. The working groups will contribute expertise in the natural sciences, agricultural sciences, social sciences, and data science and further develop this expertise in the context of living lab research. The new organizational unit will also cooperate closely with ZALF's existing research areas and service platforms and contribute to interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research on agricultural landscapes that will help to transform agricultural and food systems toward greater sustainability.
Duties:
You will develop the research area of data science in agricultural landscapes with a special focus on living lab research and contribute to its international visibility.
You will assume the co-leadership of the IAT in an interdisciplinary team with two other colleagues (m/f/d) and drive forward its development, integration, and (international) profiling. Central to this is the development and implementation of a strategy, the coordination of the activities of the working groups assigned to the IAT, the development of collaborations and the acquisition of further externally funded projects for the IAT, as well as the publication and communication of research results.
Furthermore, you will lead the working group "AI-based quality assurance and analysis of monitoring and experimental data" within the IAT and advance the research in these domains. A central aspect of this is the collection, use, and integration of data from agricultural living labs using innovative methods. In living labs, complex ecological and socio-economic relationships are investigated using diverse data types, data qualities, and spatial references. A particular challenge lies in the generalizability of the findings. Within this context, you will conduct excellent, internationally visible research, drawing on AI technologies.
Your research activities at ZALF and JLU should be embedded within national and international research contexts. You should participate in relevant collaborative projects and corresponding scientific networks. Close exchange with the JLU's area of potential "Agricultural Systems and Resources" is desirable, as is cooperation with the Center for Applied Computing and Data Science, which is currently being established at JLU.
At JLU, the professorship contributes to teaching at a rate of two semester hours per week. You will be responsible for teaching courses in the bachelor's and master's degree programs in the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Nutritional Sciences and Environmental Management, which are also attended by students from other faculties and study degree programs. In addition, you will participate in the training of young scientists in agricultural and environmental sciences. In particular, engagement in the further development of international degree programs and the provision of opportunities for graduates is desired.
Requirements:
Applicants must have a university degree, an outstanding doctorate, and excellent additional academic achievements (proven, for example, by a habilitation or in the form of relevant peer-reviewed publications) in the field of agricultural data science.
Your ability to collaborate across disciplines as well as to develop and refine data science methods is also required. Therefore, information on relevant experience must be included in your application.
Relevant experience in leading scientific working groups and consortia is also required. Success in the independent acquisition (and management) of externally funded projects (preferably DFG, EU, BMFTR, BMLEH) is a further prerequisite.
Through close exchange and cooperation with JLU, committees, authorities, and political institutions, you will contribute to the co-design of innovations for a sustainable transformation of the agricultural and food system in collaboration with non-scientific actors. Interest in and experience with transdisciplinary research at the interface between science and society are therefore desirable.
The ability to publish and teach in German and English, as well as in a disciplinary and interdisciplinary manner, is mandatory.
Relevant teaching experience and experience in supervising theses and doctoral dissertations are also required.
Proven activities in science transfer as well as a commitment to science communication and policy advice are desirable.
The JLU welcomes qualified applications regardless of biological and social gender (m/f/d), disability, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, ideology, age as well as sexual orientation and identity. The JLU aims for a higher proportion of woman in accordance with the women's promotion plan. We therefore particularly encourage qualified female candidates to apply. JLU is certified as a family-friendly university. Applications from disabled people of equal aptitude will be given preference.
We strongly recommend candidates to refer to our fact sheet on application procedures.
Please send your application with the required documents via online form to the President of Justus Liebig University Giessen by October 23rd* 2025*, quoting the reference number 9-14/25. In addition to members of JLU, representatives (m/f/d) of ZALF also participate in the appointment committee. The application documents will be made available to the appointment committee as well as to the ZALF's executive board.
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Job Type: Full-time
Work Location: In person