Senior Scientist Coral climate change ecology & geochemistry

Universität Wien

Job description:

At the University of Vienna, over 10,000 people work together on the big questions of the future. Approximately 7,500 of them are academic staff members. These are individuals who, with their curiosity and their continuous pursuit of excellence, engage in international cutting-edge research and teaching. With us, you will also find space to unfold your potential. We are currently seeking a

Senior Scientist Coral climate change ecology & geochemistry

Explore and teach at the University of Vienna, where over 7,500 brilliant minds have found a unique balance of freedom and support. Join us if you’re passionate about groundbreaking international research and academic excellence. Ready to be part of our team? Let’s shape the future together!

Your personal sphere of play:

The position is based in the Department of Functional & Evolutionary Ecology and will focus on studying coral responses to climate change in space and time. Both, tropical- and cold-water coral reefs are threatened by ocean warming and acidification. In particular, more intense and frequent heatwaves jeopardize tropical reef corals. It is therefore crucial to better understand how different coral species respond to climate change stressors and whether some populations are more resilient to abiotic stress in order to guide global conservation efforts. While much can be learned from studying locally adapted populations of living corals, geochemical analysis of carbonate structures formed by corals in the past can help to disentangle global from local pressures. We would like to establish a new research avenue targeting corals that combines eco-physiological and geochemical approaches, thereby making use of the unique infrastructure and expertise in the department and ideally bridge the Departments of Functional Ecology & Evolution and Palaeontology.

For this position, we seek a senior scientist that can combine field and laboratory approaches in coral reef ecology with geochemical analysis of coral carbonates. The successful candidate will study the physiological basis of coral calcification under a range of environmental settings and climate change scenarios. In addition, the successful candidate will conduct comparative work between tropical and cold-water corals to decipher energetics of coral calcification under different modes of energy acquisition and how these affect skeletal geochemical proxies. We are seeking applicants that already have established an internationally visible research portfolio that bridges the fields of marine ecology and marine geochemistry/paleoclimatology, with an emphasis on how skeletal trace elements and isotope proxies reflect coral ecophysiology and can be used as a window into the past.

Your working place:

The Department of Functional & Evolutionary Ecology is part of the Faculty of Life Science at the University of Vienna. The successful candidate will be expected to establish and lead coral eco-physiological and geochemical research within the department, raise external funding and advise scientists. He/she is encouraged to establish cooperative links with the Department of Palaeontology and take advantage of the rich research environment present at the University of Vienna. 

The position is full-time and permanent. The starting date is as early as April 1st, 2026.

Your future tasks:

Active participation in research, teaching & administration, which means:

• You build an excellent research profile in the field of coral ecophysiology and geochemistry & further develop methods.
• You lead and participate in scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at international meetings.
• You (co-)supervise Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral students in Marine Biology.
• You take on administrative tasks in research and teaching as well as evaluation procedures.

This is part of your personality:

You must have:

• Ph.D. in marine ecology or related field with multi-year postdoctoral experience in geochemistry and ecophysiology
• Scientific diving experience
• Experience with high-resolution geochemical analyses to study coral calcification (e.g. laser-ablation ICP-MS or electron microprobe analyses) in relation to climate change
• Experience with high-resolution physiological techniques to understand coral calcification mechanisms (e.g. microsensor techniques) in relation to climate change
• Experience with field and laboratory aquarium experimental approaches to study impacts of climate change on tropical and cold-water corals
• Ability to organize and lead expeditions to remote tropical and cold-water coral field locations
• Publications as first and senior author in peer-reviewed journals in the fields of coral ecology and coral geochemistry
• Demonstrated experience with third-party funding acquisition and successful project completion as a principal investigator

Desired skills:

• Supervision and teaching experience
• Good organisational skills
• Presentation experience in an international setting
• Science outreach experience
• Leadership experience
• Track record of working internationally in cross-cultural settings

What we offer:

Inspiring and dynamic working atmosphere with excellent and diverse lab facilities and a wide range of research and teaching support services.

Work-life balance: Our employees enjoy flexible working hours. Upon agreement, hybrid working hours within Austria might be possible up to a certain extent.

Internal further training & coaching: Opportunity to deepen your skills on an ongoing basis. There are over 600 courses to choose from – free of charge.

Fixed-term contract and fair salary: The basic gross salary of EUR 5.014,30 (14 times a year for a Senior post Doc, §48 VwGr. B1 lit. b) increases, if we can credit professional experience. The complete advance crediting (senior scientist with > 8 years Post Doc experience and/or group leader position)  is desired.

Equal opportunities for all: We look forward to diverse personalities in the team!

It is that easy to apply:

Please prepare your application as a single PDF file which includes:

• A cover letter with your CV including a list of publications and fundings obtained
• A motivation letter / letter of intent and statement of research interests (maximum of 3 pages)
• Doctoral/PhD degree
• Please apply via our job portal / Apply now button

If you have any questions, please contact:

Frank Melzner  

frank.melzner@univie.ac.at

We look forward to new personalities in our team! 
The University of Vienna has an anti-discriminatory employment policy and attaches great importance to equal opportunities, the advancement of women and diversity. We place particular emphasis on enhancing women’s representation among the academic and general university staff, particularly in leadership roles, and therefore expressly encourage qualified women to apply. Given equal qualifications, preference will be given to female candidates.

University of Vienna. Space for personalities. Since 1365.

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​Application deadline: 02/16/2026 

Apply now