Postdoctoral position in statistical modeling of forest properties

Are you interested in developing statistical models to map forest properties to contribute towards more sustainable and biodiversity-positive forestry practices, with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in an international research environment? Are you looking for an employer that invests in sustainable employeeship and offers safe, favourable working conditions? We welcome you to apply for a postdoctoral position at Uppsala University.

The Department of Organismal Biology (Institutionen för organismbiologi – Uppsala universitet) conducts research and teaching on the evolution, development, and function of organisms. The position is based at the Biodiversity Data Lab (BiodiversityDataLab), a young and dynamic research group led by Tobias Andermann. We work at the intersection of computational biology and biodiversity research, developing computational methods and fieldwork/labwork workflows to quantify terrestrial biodiversity in a standardized and reproducible manner. Our vision is to contribute with high-quality, high-impact research to help alleviate the biodiversity crisis.

The position is administratively placed at Uppsala University but includes close collaboration with SLU Umeå, Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Sciences, where co-supervisor and project coordinator Jörgen Sjögren (restoration ecology) is based. Regular research visits to Umeå may be included.

Duties

The project addresses an urgent issue for Sweden’s future forestry: how much of the country’s forests are suitable for continuous cover forestry (CCF) and where are these forests located? CCF require forests with multi-layered canopy structures, but currently, we lack national-scale knowledge of their spatial distribution.

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will:

• Compile and prepare data together with experts in remote sensing and forest data.
• Develop and implement statistical models to identify forests suitable for CCF.
• Carefully differentiate between forests suitable for CCF and forests of high conservation value that should instead be prioritized for biodiversity conservation. 
• Contribute to estimates of how much forest is currently suitable for CCF and how this potential will change over time.

Requirements

PhD degree in biology or statistics or a foreign degree equivalent to a PhD degree in biology or statistics. The degree needs to be obtained by the time of the decision of employment. Priority will be given to applicants who have completed their degree no more than three years before the deadline for applications. Due to special circumstances, the degree may have been obtained earlier. The three-year period can be extended due to circumstances such as sick leave, parental leave, duties in labour unions, etc.

• Excellent communication skills in spoken and written English.
• Ability to work independently, take initiative, and drive projects forward.
• Demonstrated experience in working with remote sensing data and statistical models, particularly in a spatial modeling context.

Additional qualifications 

• Previous experience of working with biodiversity and/or forestry related research.
• Coding experience in Python, R, or equivalent.
• Experience with GIS software or other spatial visualization programs.
• Familiarity with working on computational clusters, collaborative coding (e.g., Git), and environment management tools (e.g., conda, Docker).
• Good Swedish language skills

About the employment

The employment is a temporary position of 2 years according to central collective agreement. Full time position. Starting date 1 April 2026 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala with regular research visits to SLU Umeå.

For further information about the position, please contact: Tobias Andermann, tobias.andermann@ebc.uu.se .

In this recruitment we have replaced the cover letter with questions that you are asked to answer when making your application. The answers will be used as a part of the selection process.

Please submit your application by 23 January 2026, UFV-PA 2025/3924.

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