EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, is one of the most dynamic university campuses in Europe and ranks among the top 20 universities worldwide. The EPFL employs more than 6,000 people supporting the three main missions of the institutions: education, research and innovation. The EPFL campus offers an exceptional working environment at the heart of a community of more than 16,000 people, including over 12,000 students and 4,000 researchers from more than 120 different countries.

Postdoc in atmospheric science in polar environments

Your mission :

EPFL is creating a new Alpine and Polar Environments Research Centre (ALPOLE) as part of the expansion of the EPFL Sion campus. The establishment of ALPOLE recognizes the global relevance of changes taking place in high-altitude and high-latitude environments, which are sentinels of climate change. The Extreme Environments Research Laboratory (EERL) at ALPOLE focuses amongst other on understanding natural and anthropogenic atmospheric processes, as well as exchange processes between the atmosphere and cryosphere, ocean and (inhabited) land that have climate impact and are impacted by climate.

For the 2-year project “Arctic climate change: Exploring the Natural Aerosol baseline for improved model Predictions” we are looking for a postdoctoral researcher. Your mission will be to develop a data-driven model in collaboration with the Swiss Data Science Center to investigate potential natural drivers of long-term changes in Arctic aerosol species. You will be able to develop your research themes in international collaborations. You have a strong ambition to publish and to help shape the new Extreme Environments Research Laboratory in Sion. Main duties and responsibilities include :

Perform research in the field of Arctic aerosols.

• In tight collaboration with the Swiss Data Science Center, develop a data-driven modelling framework to identify natural drivers (meteorology, sea ice, algal blooms...) of aerosol trends.


• Use a large variety of existing data: long-term in situ observations, remotely sensed data, and output from numerical weather prediction as well as atmospheric chemical models.


• Generate data with available tools (e.g., back trajectory models)


• Lead the collaboration with the project partners.


• Write proposals as a lead or as a partner in a consortium.


• Participate in education and student coaching.


• Promote polar and alpine research and its impact to the public.

Your profile :

• PhD in atmospheric science or a related field.


• Experience with data science methods.


• Good programming skills.


• Experience with handling a diverse set of data.


• Experience with atmospheric modelling is an asset but not a prerequisite.


• Good interpersonal skills, team player.


• Good knowledge of English (written and spoken).

We offer :

• A dynamic, interdisciplinary and young research group.


• A vibrant, internationally visible and rising academic institution in alpine and polar environments research.


• A great working atmosphere and ample opportunities for professional and personal development with access to many continuing education courses.

Start date :

1 July 2021 Term of employment :

Fixed-term (CDD)Duration :

2 years Remark :

Only candidates who applied through EPFL website or our partner Jobup’s website will be considered. Files sent by agencies without a mandate will not be taken into account.apply online