Technician in Palaeoclimatology/-ecology 80% (f/m/d)
Eidgenössische Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft (WSL)
Birmensdorf
Key information
- Publication date:22 August 2025
- Workload:80%
- Place of work:Birmensdorf
Job summary
Join WSL, a leading research institute focused on environmental sustainability. This role offers a collaborative and innovative work environment with great benefits.
Tasks
- Support research on Late Glacial climate changes using tree-ring data.
- Assist in high-resolution scanning and sample preparation for analysis.
- Contribute to wood anatomical data production through microsectioning.
Skills
- Master's degree in Environmental or Earth Sciences preferred, with relevant lab experience.
- Experience in stable isotope and radiocarbon analysis.
- Strong teamwork and communication skills in English.
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The Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL is part of the ETH Domain. Approximately 600 people work on the sustainable use and protection of the environment and on the handling of natural hazards.
Technician in Palaeoclimatology/-ecology 80% (f/m/d)
The Research Group Dendrosciences uses tree rings to investigate and understand environmental impacts on tree growth and to reconstruct past environmental changes at scales ranging from minutes to millennia and from cells to ecosystems around the globe. From 1 November 2025, we offer a position for two years as a
As part of the SNSF-project Signatures of Global Late Glacial Climate Change in TreeRing Records (SiGnaL), co-led by the Dendrosciences Group at WSL and the Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics (LIP) at ETH Zurich, you will support research on the nature and drivers of abrupt climate changes during the Late Glacial period (approximately 11’000-15’000 years ago).
You will assist three PhD researchers in dating, measuring, and synchronizing tree-ring samples from preserved subfossil wood across several regions. This will help refine our understanding of Late Glacial climate dynamics and contribute to improvements of the global radiocarbon calibration curve.Your main tasks will involve surface preparation and high-resolution scanning of subfossil tree-ring material, sample preparation for stable isotope analysis (δ¹³C / δ¹⁸O / δ²H) including image-based tree-ring width measurements, cutting of individual tree rings, cellulose extraction and homogenization, and packing of samples for isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). In addition, you will contribute to the production of quantitative wood anatomical (QWA) data by preparing wood microsections and image-based measurements of cell structures using the software ROXAS.
You will be part of an enthusiastic international team of leading researchers in dendrochronology, palaeoclimatology, and radiocarbon dating, along with three PhD candidates and other technicians. The position is based at WSL within the Dendrosciences Group, a globally recognized center for tree-ring based research.
You preferably hold a Master's degree in Environmental Sciences, Earth Sciences, or a related field and have demonstrated experience in preparing wood samples for stable isotope, QWA, and/or radiocarbon analysis. ldeally, you are familiar with dendrochronology and laboratory work, enjoy contributing to methodological advancements, and have interest in interdisciplinary and international research. You work independently, structured and accurate, are communicative and team-oriented, and have very good spoken and written English language skills.
Please send your complete application to Stefania Pe, Human Resources WSL, by uploading the requested documents through our webpage. Applications via email will not be considered. Kerstin Treydte, phone +41 (0)44 739 26 62, E-Mail schreiben will be happy to answer any questions or offer further information. WSL is committed to diversity and inclusion as core values. We actively promote gender equality and foster an open, inclusive work environment.
