Research Associates (Doctoral Candidates) (f/m/d) within the Cluster of Excellence “The Ocean Floor"

The University of Bremen at MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences within the Cluster of Excellence “The Ocean Floor – Earth’s Uncharted Interface” is seeking to fill – subject to the approval of funds – starting on January 1, 2026 at the earliest, up to 15 positions as

Research Associates (Doctoral Candidates) (f/m/d) German Salary Scale 13 TV-L/TVöD (depending on the project partner)

at 75% of the regular weekly working hours (29.4 working hours / week) for a fixed-term period of 4 years, until at most December 31, 2029 (according to § 2 WissZeitVG) with the aim of obtaining a doctorate.

International applications are expressly encouraged. We aim to increase the proportion of women and strongly encourage female applicants to apply.

The Cluster of Excellence is a joint project of the Universities of Bremen and Oldenburg and a consortium of five partner institutions: Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Constructor University and the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg – Institute for Advanced Study.

Funded by the German Excellence Strategy, the cluster quantifies exchange processes at the ocean floor and investigates their role in the Earth system. The cluster’s research portfolio consists of projects that (i) decipher the processes that control the transport of biogenic particles to the ocean floor under changing climate conditions, (ii) balance the transfer of carbon and other elements between the ocean floor and seawater, (iii) investigate how ecosystems on the ocean floor react to environmental changes and (iv) develop scenarios for a “warmer world” from climate archives on the ocean floor with the help of climate models.

Further information about the Cluster of Excellence can be found at https://theoceanfloor.de.

Along these central research topics, the Cluster offers a structured training for doctoral students in an interdisciplinary framework of marine biogeochemistry, marine geosciences, marine (micro)biology and (paleo)climatology.

The cluster offers a versatile qualification program in which doctoral researchers can strengthen their professional competence and develop their personal skills. The program offers rich opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration across different disciplines of marine sciences, including research stays at partner institutions. Further details on the training program can be found at https://theoceanfloor.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor/ECR-support.html.

In this context, the partner institutions of the cluster invite applications for:

Doctoral researcher positions in the areas:

• EXC1-01 Carbon Sequestration at the Molecular Level
  https://theoceanfloor.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor/Career/Jobs/EXC-DR-1-01.html
• EXC1-02 The role of iron cycling in sequestration and remobilization of organic matter
  https://theoceanfloor.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor/Career/Jobs/EXC-DR-1-02.html
• EXC1-03 Molecular Gatekeepers of Carbon Sequestration
  https://theoceanfloor.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor/Career/Jobs/EXC-DR-1-03.html
• EXC1-04 The role of lateral transport in enhancing carbon fluxes to the ocean floor
  https://theoceanfloor.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor/Career/Jobs/EXC-DR-1-04.html
• EXC1-05 Unraveling the spatio-temporal development of cold-water coral ecosystems
  https://theoceanfloor.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor/Career/Jobs/EXC-DR-1-05.html
• EXC1-06 Anthropogenic particulate carbon from source to sink
  https://theoceanfloor.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor/Career/Jobs/EXC-DR-1-06.html
• EXC1-07 Lighting the Way: Metabolic Tracing of Plankton Sugars in Marine Sediments
  https://theoceanfloor.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor/Career/Jobs/EXC-DR-1-07.html
• EXC1-08 From surface to seafloor: process-oriented modelling of particulate organic carbon
  https://theoceanfloor.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor/Career/Jobs/EXC-DR-1-08.html
• EXC1-09 Metal-microbe interactions in hydrothermal plumes
  https://theoceanfloor.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor/Career/Jobs/EXC-DR-1-09.html
• EXC1-10 Deconstructing Arctic hydrothermal systems
  https://theoceanfloor.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor/Career/Jobs/EXC-DR-1-10.html
• EXC1-11 Nanoscale Interactions of Vent-Derived Particles
  https://theoceanfloor.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor/Career/Jobs/EXC-DR-1-11.html
• EXC1-12 Deep-sea natural petroleum seeps and hydrothermal systems
  https://theoceanfloor.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor/Career/Jobs/EXC-DR-1-12.html
• EXC1-13 Forecasting changes in pelagic ecosystem functions in a warmer ocean
  https://theoceanfloor.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor/Career/Jobs/EXC-DR-1-13.html
• EXC1-14 Determining the pre-anthropogenic baseline of pelagic biodiversity change
  https://theoceanfloor.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor/Career/Jobs/EXC-DR-1-14.html
• EXC1-15 Decoding feedbacks and thresholds
  https://theoceanfloor.de/en/The-Ocean-Floor/Career/Jobs/EXC-DR-1-15.html

Follow the links for detailed project descriptions and application requirements. It is recommended to contact the cluster spokesperson Prof. Heiko Pälike ([email protected]) or the responsible researchers of the individual projects for further information.

Place of employment and remuneration (TV-L or TVöD) depend on the partner institutions where the project is located. Further information can be found in the project descriptions.

We offer you:

• A secure salary and statutory health and social insurance.
• In the Cluster of Excellence, doctoral researchers are mentored by a team of experienced scientists and benefit from a large international network of doctoral researchers.
• We offer flexible working hours and the opportunity to work remotely. In addition, 30 days of vacation are standard with us.
• Our health management offers you, e.g., discounted company fitness programs, as well as internal health-promoting offers (e.g. health courses).
• Easy access to your workplace by public transport or bicycle.

All partner institutions in the cluster pursue a strategy of diversity. We therefore welcome all applications regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion/belief, disability, age, sexual orientation and identity.

Disabled persons with essentially equal professional and personal qualifications will be given priority when applying.