Student Assistant (m/f/d) | Data Evaluation

Scientific and Technical Assistance Jena

Developmental and Evolutionary Biology & Genetics Immunobiology and Infection Biology & Medicine Earth Sciences and Climate Research Social Sciences Linguistics

Job Code: 260916

Job Offer from September 16, 2026

The Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung group for co-evolutionary modelling of the coupled human-earth system at the MPI of Geoanthropology is looking for a student assistant (f/m/d) to develop a data evaluation pipeline for the World-Earth Model InSEEDS, starting as soon as possible.

The Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, founded in 2022, is a dynamically growing and highly interdisciplinary international research institution. Our research focuses on modelling and analysing the interrelationships between natural and human-made systems, looking from the deep past into the future to examine how humanity has driven the emergence of the Anthropocene – the period in which human activities began significantly impacting our planet’s climate and ecosystems – and how we can still positively influence its course.

The multidisciplinary research at MPI-GEA will bring together research areas represented by all three scientific sections of the MPG: Biology & Medicine; Chemistry, Physics and Technology; and Human Sciences. Corresponding inter- and transdisciplinary research projects concern, for example, planetary urbanisation, the global food system, and global material, energy and information flows.

In our research group, we are developing the InSEEDS model (Integrated Social-Ecological rEsilient lanD Systems), an agent-based World–Earth model developed with the copan:LPJmL modelling framework (https://copanlpjml.pik-potsdam.de) to investigate the co-evolution of human land management decision-making and biophysical land dynamics. By explicitly coupling social processes with the Dynamic Global Vegetation Model LPJmL, InSEEDS enables the representation of spatially resolved social–ecological feedbacks in agricultural systems. Previous work has demonstrated how farmers’ management decisions can shape both biophysical processes and vice versa. It has shown the emergence of endogenous adoption dynamics through social learning interactions and environmental feedbacks.

We are working across natural and social sciences in a multidisciplinary way. This approach requires new ways of integrating different types and sources of data to validate if the results or structure of the model are coherent with real-world observations. For that purpose, we are currently developing a data pipeline, copan:eval. We are looking for a student assistant as a developer for scientific software to support our group’s scientific software engineer in this endeavor and extend the currently existing toolchain.

Your tasks

• researching data sources and their APIs relevant for the InSEEDS model, evaluating their quality and reliability
• developing modules for the copan:eval data pipeline, for the integration of diverse data sources and their harmonization
• managing various data formats and dimensions from different disciplines
• writing documentation for implemented modules
• supporting researchers in developing modules for their data processing and model evaluation

We expect

• field of study: geoinformatics, data science, digital humanities, computational science, bioinformatics, computer science, physics or a similar quantitative field in which you work with different types of Earth or human system data and develop software to process it
• strong interest in the topic of intertwined human and natural systems
• proficiency in Python beyond using an AI agent
• knowledge of good practices regarding scientific software development
• high degree of personal and professional organizational skill
• ability to work independently
• capacity to familiarize yourself quickly with new topics
• good proficiency in English
• beneficial: knowledge of (geo-)science software libraries
• beneficial: experience in open source software development and community management
• current enrollment at a German university

We offer

• Payment according to the guidelines for student assistants by the TdL ("Richtlinien der Tarifgemeinschaft deutscher Länder über die Arbeitsbedingungen der wissenschaftlichen und studentischen Hilfskräfte")
• Flexible working hours with a monthly working time of up to 80 hours
• Work on cutting-edge research in social-ecological systems modelling
• Ability to work remotely
• Work and experiences on cutting edge science for a planet in crisis in a highly interdisciplinary field

The Max Planck Society is committed to the compatibility of family and career and is certified under the "berufundfamilie" audit. The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals. We are committed to promoting diversity and actively combating prejudice based on gender, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and other aspects of identity. The MPI-GEA has received the TOTAL E-QUALITY award in recognition of its commitment to diversity and equality.

Please do not send a picture of yourself with your application.

Please apply via our application portal.

Contact: Lorenz Sieben [email protected]