The climate needs bright minds. The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) addresses crucial scientific questions in the fields of global change, climate impacts and sustainable development. It is one of the world's leading research institutions in its field and offers natural and social scientists from around the world an inspiring environment for excellent interdisciplinary research.

For the Energy Transition Lab in Research Department 3—Transformation Pathways—PIK is offering a

in the field of model and code development for the transformation and circularity in energy-intensive industries (steel, cement, and plastics) starting as soon as possible.

The position is initially funded for two years. Extensions are envisaged and rely on new external funding. Remuneration is in accordance with the German public tariff scheme (TV-L Brandenburg), salary group E 13. This is a full-time position with a weekly working time of 40 hours. The position can be filled on a part-time basis.

As a valuable member of our team, your task is to further advance REMIND Materials, the integrated modeling framework, which we use to assess the industry transition of the three basic materials: steel, cement, and plastics. It consists of the dynamic material flow analysis model REMIND-MFA, tracking material demand, use, and recycling dynamics, which is coupled to the industry module of the REMIND model, one of the world’s leading integrated energy-economy-climate models informing global climate policy making.

Please note that no first-author publications are planned for this position, as the focus is on model development.

• collaborative code development in an interdisciplinary and international team
• deriving global, European and German energy transformation pathways with the integrated assessment model REMIND with a focus on industry sectors, material production, hydrogen and trade
• understanding circularity through material flow analyses with the REMIND-MFA model, which is coupled to REMIND
• further refining our model dynamics and validating our model against newly published empirical data
• creating a link between our industry analysts and the research software engineering team
• collaboration with national and global modelling teams from around the world in international research projects
• communication of research results in stakeholder dialogues with industry actors and policymakers

• Master’s Degree or PhD in Computer Science, Physics, Engineering, Mathematics, Economics, Environmental Sciences, or a related field
• excellent analytical skills and interest in theoretical and applied modeling
• required: demonstrated programming experience (knowledge of R, Python and/or GAMS would be ideal)
• experience with multi-person code development projects and git is a plus
• experience with sustainable code development and clean code is a plus
• ideally (but not required): Experience with energy systems analysis, material flow analysis or integrated assessment modeling of climate change

• capacity to collaborate in a team, while progressing independently with own responsibilities
• structured, goal-oriented thinking and clear communication
• capacity to familiarise yourself quickly with new topics
• creativity and openness to new approaches
• reliability and a high level of motivation
• a high level of competence in oral and written English

• The chance to be part of a creative, interdisciplinary, international team developing the internationally recognized model REMIND and complementing models.
• opportunities for direct stakeholder engagement and high-level policy advice to use your research to make a difference
• a stimulating working environment in an internationally recognised research institute on Potsdam's beautiful, historic Telegrafenberg campus, a short commuting distance from Berlin
• company KITA/kids day nursery “Geolino” directly in the science park on Telegrafenberg, within walking distance of PIK
• Flexi-time and mobile working (up to 50% of your hours)
• A collective pay scheme and associated benefits as well as a subsidized travel card or the Deutschland-Ticket Job
• free charging stations for e-bikes on Telegrafenberg campus

PIK values equality and diversity. We encourage applications without photos. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless of ethnic and social origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, care responsibilities, or age. PIK seeks to increase the share of women in scientific positions and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply. In cases of equal qualification and within the given legal scope, women will be given preference. PIK also encourages applications by parents returning from parental leave.

Please apply directly via our application form below this job advertisement on our website. Applications before 17th March 2026 are certain to be considered. The application process remains open until the position is filled.

Application documents should comprise a letter of motivation, including research interests, a CV with the contact details of two referees, academic transcripts, and a sample of your work (e.g., a thesis or journal publication, GitHub profile and/or code of projects you contributed to, online publication profile, or similar).

If you apply for several positions at PIK, please indicate a preference in your cover letter.

If you hold an international higher education qualification, please also submit the Statement of Comparability from the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) with your application. In the case that you do not yet have a ZAB Statement of Comparability for your qualification, please be aware that you may need to request this if your application is successful. You can find further information on this website: https://www.kmk.org/zab/central-office-for-foreign-education.html

For further information or to discuss the position please contact Mrs. Leonie Schweiger, Dr. Jakob Dürrwächter or Dr. Lavinia Baumstark.