The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) is a leading authority in the field of water and environmental research in Norway. We specialize in ecosystems both in freshwater and marine environments, spanning from mountains, through lakes and rivers, to fjords, coastlines, and oceans. We generate science-based knowledge and solutions to address challenges related to the interactions between water and climate, environment, nature, people, resources, and society.
NIVA recognizes the value of diversity, as different perspectives foster creativity, insight, and improved decision-making processes. Our work environment is characterized by respect and equality, and we treat all employees with the same dignity.
The Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) is Norway's premier research institute in the fields of water and the environment. We are seeking a postdoctoral scientist who will investigate human impacts on marine ecosystems through the lenses of ecosystem modeling and data science.
About the project:
CLIMAX - Understanding cumulative human impacts in a marine ecosystem with computational experiments.Cumulative impacts refer to the combined effects of multiple stressors on an ecosystem, e.g., climate change, pollution, and fishing. They are one of the biggest threats to ecosystems and biodiversity, but understanding them better remains a grand challenge in marine ecology. Modeling is a crucial component of tackling this challenge. However, current modeling approaches contradict empirical studies, suffer from data limitations, and ignore the statistical possibilities arising when ecosystem simulations are repeated many 1,000 times. New modeling and analysis approaches are therefore needed. The Norwegian Research Council FRIPRO project CLIMAX aims to make a leap in the modeling of cumulative impacts and exploit this methodological progress to understand how cumulative impacts emerge at the ecosystem scale. Specifically, we ask: 1) How might stressor interactions at the ecosystem scale emerge from known effects on individual species? 2) How do chronic stressors affect ecological resilience to short-term, extreme disturbances like marine heatwaves?
Work assignments
This is a 100% research position focusing on ecosystem modeling and analysis of data generated with the model.
The successful candidate will:
Build a spatiotemporal ecosystem model for the Skagerrak-Kattegat marine region, curate the required data, and simulate how stressors like climate change, fishing, and pollution act together in a complex food web.
Conduct uncertainty and sensitivity analyses to understand how much uncertain parameters and stressor scenarios affect the model outputs.
Run the model many times to generate ‘big data’ about the simulated ecosystem and explore these data with various statistical methods to understand, e.g., how chronic stress affects the ecosystem’s resilience to extreme events.
Publish your results in scientific journals and present them at international conferences.
Qualifications
PhD in a related field (must be in hand by October 1st, 2025).
Experience with ecosystem modeling (preferably, Ecopath with Ecosim and Ecospace) and/or strong general computational and data analysis skills (preferably including supervised learning)
Good programming skills
At least fundamental knowledge of marine ecology
Fluency in English (both oral and written) and effective communication skills for writing papers and presenting at scientific conferences.
We will consider all candidates with good quantitative and computational skills and offer training opportunities to fill any gaps. For example, an excellent statistical ecologist with no experience in ecosystem modeling or a computer scientist with only basic knowledge of ecology could both be competitive for this position.
Personal qualifications
The candidate needs to be self-motivated, independent, and cooperative, with a will to work in an interdisciplinary and multicultural environment. Good scientific communication skills are important.
NIVA offer
A key role in an innovative research project with potential for high scientific impact
Support for writing grants and fellowship applications for the post-docs next career step
A comprehensive network of national and international researchers
Flexible working hours
NIVA has the best pension scheme on the market, where the annual contribution to retirement pension amounts to 7% of salary up to 7.1 G (National Insurance basic amount) and 25.1% of salary between 7.1 and 12 G. This is the maximum permitted contribution, cf. the law on defined contribution pensions. The employee's own contribution is 1.5% of the pension basis
Great insurance schemes, included health insurance
Postdoctoral positions are normally paid from gross NOK 660.000 – 690.000 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority.
Access to a gym at the office and to NIVAs cabin in Hemsedal
Information about the process
In our recruitment processes, we utilize Semac background checks. This includes, among other things, document and source verification to confirm the validity of the documentation you have submitted.
Please upload
A cover letter (max. 2 pages) explaining your research interests and experience, your fit for this position, and how your past education and work demonstrate the qualifications listed above
An academic CV including a list of publications
We will request contact information for three references from candidates who reach the final stage of the selection process.
