Postdoctoral Researcher for North Sea ecosystem modelling (24 months)

The Department of Coastal Systems (COS) of the Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ) is looking for a highly motivated and proactive postdoctoral researcher to carry out simulations with a hydro-biogeochemical model.

THE PROJECT

As part of the Energy Transition, further expansion of wind farms is expected in the North Sea in the next decades. This will likely affect the marine ecosystem and fisheries, but how and to what extent is an open question. To address this, Rijkswaterstaat initiated the MONS project (https://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl/water/vaarwegenoverzicht/noordzee/onderzoeksprogramma-mons). In addition to an extensive observational programme, the project will bring together a suite of existing models, ranging from spatially explicit lower trophic level models through fish population models to fisheries management models. These will be made to work together to investigate effects of large-scale renewable energy installations and climate change on the marine ecosystem and fisheries of the North Sea. In this project, NIOZ works together with Wageningen Marine Research (WMR) and Deltares.

THE INSTITUTE
NWO-NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research is the Dutch national oceanographic institute and principally performs academically excellent multidisciplinary, fundamental, and frontier applied marine research addressing important scientific and societal questions pertinent to the functioning of the ocean and seas. NIOZ includes the National Marine research Facilities (NMF) department that operates a fleet of research vessels and the national pool of large seagoing equipment, and supports excellence in multidisciplinary marine research, education, and policy development.

THE DEPARTMENT 
The Department of COS studies integral coastal ecosystems and their populations of fish, birds, and other marine animals in the North and Wadden Seas as well as on a global scale. The department focusses on key physical, chemical and biological processes that determine the productivity and the ecological functioning of coastal areas. The coastal system is studied as a unity by considering the interrelations between the key compartments of the ecosystem (water, sediment, microalgae, macrozoobenthos, parasites, fish, marine mammals and birds).

YOURE ROLE
You will join a team that is maintaining, further developing and applying a marine lower trophic level model for the North Sea. The model, named GETM-ERSEM-BFM, is a 3D mechanistic model that includes hydrodynamics, nutrient cycling, phyto- and zooplankton, as well as a 3-layer benthic model that includes remineralisation processes and a benthic food web based on five functional groups.

You will implement parameterisations for the effects of wind farms in GETM-ERSEM-BFM, run relevant scenarios to investigate the effects on the NIOZ high performance Linux cluster, and compare with results from an alternative model run by Deltares.  You will also produce relevant output from the model that can serve as input for the higher trophic level models used in the project to investigate effects on fish, marine mammals, sea birds and the fishing industry.

A pro-active involvement with the other project members within MONS, as well as NIOZ researchers working on related projects is foreseen. You are expected to publish your research results in peer-reviewed scientific journals and participate in international conferences. You will be integrated within an active group of PhDs and Post-docs within the COS department. The position aims to start on 1 April 2026 and will run for 24 months. 

THE CANDIDATE 

• You have a PhD in a relevant discipline

• The ideal candidate has thorough scientific expertise in marine modelling, oceanography, and marine biogeochemistry including lower trophic level ecosystem dynamics and benthic biogeochemical processes

• You have comprehensive experience with coding (ideally in Fortran). Experience with parallelisation and Linux clusters is an advantage.

• You have a demonstrated ability to work with scripting software (e.g. Phyton, Matlab, R) for visualisation and analysis purposes

• A research interest in, and proficient knowledge of, marine food web dynamics, biogeochemical fluxes, nutrient and carbon storage and the biological carbon pump is an advantage

• You have a demonstrated ability to work accurately, are well-organized, and can adapt to developing insights

• You are highly self-motivated, and able to work both independently and as part of a team

• You have excellent written and oral communication skills (in English) and have first-author publications in peer-reviewed journals and have presented at scientific meetings and conferences

 
We want to be a transparent institute with a healthy working climate and an inclusive culture, where people from diverse backgrounds and gender bring their talents and further develop these talents. We aim for inclusive decision-making processes and expect our leadership to show visible commitment, awareness of bias, and cultural intelligence. 

THE CONDITIONS 

• Employment of this position for 40 hours a week at Royal NIOZ  NWO-I for a duration of two years. 

• Salary compliant with CAO-WVOI  (Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Research Institutes) scale 10 or 11 depending on relevant experience. 

• The freedom to fulfill your role and space and opportunities for your personal (talent) development with the help of the NIOZ Academy. 

• 338 annualized holiday hours for a full-time 40-hour work week. 

• Pension scheme via ABP, 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.33%. 

• 2nd class public transportation travel is reimbursed 100%. 

• Employment benefits plan to exchange a portion of your salary for days off or vice versa, or can be used to purchase a bicycle with tax benefits. 

• We offer relocation expenses for employees coming from abroad and support with finding accommodation.

   

MORE INFORMATION
The deadline for applications is 16 February 2026. Interviews are planned for 2 March 2026.

For additional information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. Johan van der Molen. For additional information about the procedure, please send an e-mail to working@nioz.nl.