Botanical Institute of Barcelona (CSIC)

Location

Barcelona, Spain — The position will be based at the Botanical Institute of Barcelona (IBB), a joint research institute of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Natural History Museum of Barcelona (CMCNB).

The IBB is located on Montjuïc hill, offering an inspiring working environment with close proximity to major research centers, green spaces, and the Mediterranean coast. The institute hosts a vibrant international research community with strong expertise in plant ecology, biogeography, biodiversity, genomics and phylogenomics. Barcelona combines an outstanding quality of life, excellent public transport, strong international connectivity, and a dynamic scientific and cultural scene.

Homepage: https://www.ibb.csic.es

Postdoctoral Position in Remote Sensing & Global Change Ecology

DISECO Project – Botanical Institute of Barcelona (IBB, CSIC)

We invite applications for a 2-year Postdoctoral Researcher position to join the DISECO project (The role of disequilibrium on niche and biodiversity effects over ecosystem trajectories). The position focuses on the remote sensing component of the project and offers the opportunity to work at the forefront of global change ecology, biodiversity science, and satellite time-series analysis.The position will be hosted at the Botanical Institute of Barcelona (IBB), a joint institute of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Natural History Museum of Barcelona, providing a highly international, interdisciplinary, and collaborative research environment

In DISECO we aim to understand how climatic disequilibrium shape ecosystem trajectories worldwide. The project integrates large biodiversity datasets, climate time series, and long-term satellite observations of vegetation to detect ecosystem change, disturbance, resilience, and early warning signals under ongoing climate change.

The postdoctoral researcher will play a central role in developing and leading the remote sensing analyses of the project, with substantial scope for scientific independence, innovation, and high-impact publications.

Main Expectations

· Lead the remote sensing work package within the DISECO project

· Extract, process, and analyse long-term satellite time series of vegetation (e.g. Landsat, Sentinel, etc.)

· Develop and implement workflows for terrestrial ecosystem trajectory analysis and disturbance detection

· Integrate remote sensing products with biodiversity and climate datasets

· Contribute to peer-reviewed publications and international collaborations

Desired Qualifications

• PhD in Ecology, Geography, Environmental Science, or a closely related discipline
• Demonstrated specialization in remote sensing and spatio-temporal environmental data analysis
• Strong programming skills in Python and/or R
• Experience with Google Earth Engine
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in an international research team
• Ability to write and communicate in English

Desirable Experience

• Ecosystem monitoring and vegetation indices
• Time-series analysis of environmental or satellite data
• Cloud-based geospatial computing and large-scale data synthesis

Contract

Duration: 2 years (full time)

Salary: €40,300 gross per year. To facilitate international comparison, this salary is approximately equivalent in purchasing power to: €52,000–55,000 in Paris, £48,000–50,000 in London, USD $65,000–70,000 in major US cities. (Estimates based on standard cost-of-living indices; provided for orientation purposes only.)

Benefits: Full social security coverage through the Spanish public system, including healthcare, pension, and unemployment insurance, fully included at no additional cost to the employee. Spain’s public healthcare system provides comprehensive coverage from day one, with no private insurance required.

Application Procedure

Interested candidates fill in the application form and the materials through this link [https://saco.csic.es/apps/forms/embed/MSrT4wW9Zqozo2Bqods3qK3s]

Application materials include: (1) A short cover letter describing research interests and relevant experience (2) A CV (including publication list) (3) Contact details of 2–3 referees

Applications will start to be reviewed by April 1st 2026, and on a rolling basis afterwards until the position is filled. We have flexibility on the starting date, but we expect candidates to start the position by September 2026 the latest.