TUD Dresden University of Technology, as a University of Excellence, is one of the leading and most dynamic research institutions in the country. Founded in 1828, today it is a globally oriented, regionally anchored top university as it focuses on the grand challenges of the 21st century. It develops innovative solutions for the world's most pressing issues. In research and academic programs, the university unites the natural and engineering sciences with the humanities, social sciences and medicine. This wide range of disciplines is a special feature, facilitating interdisciplinarity and transfer of science to society. As a modern employer, it offers attractive working conditions to all employees in teaching, research, technology and administration. The goal is to promote and develop their individual abilities while empowering everyone to reach their full potential. TUD embodies a university culture that is characterized by cosmopolitanism, mutual appreciation, thriving innovation and active participation. For TUD diversity is an essential feature and a quality criterion of an excellent university. Accordingly, we welcome all applicants who would like to commit themselves, their achievements and productivity to the success of the whole institution.

At the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Department of Forest Sciences, Institute of Forest Utilization and Forest Technology, the newly established Chair of Digitized forestry processes and systems is seeking to employ a

Research Associate / PhD Student / PostDoc (m/f/x)

(subject to personal qualification employees are remunerated according to salary group E 13 TV-L)

The position is limited to 3 years with the option of extension. The period of employment is governed by the Fixed Term Research Contracts Act (Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz - WissZeitVG). The position entails 75 % (PhD Student) or 100% (PostDoc) of the full-time weekly hours and aims at obtaining further academic qualification (usually PhD/habilitation thesis) to be based in Tharandt (near of Dresden).

The position is intended to advance the fields of extended reality, digital forest twins and AI applications in forestry, and offers great potential to set your own priorities in one of these areas.

Tasks:

• collaboration on scientific research projects of the chair
• collaboration on the teaching programme of the chair (preparation and teaching of courses, support of exams)
• further development of the XR Forest Lab TUD
• participation in administrative tasks at the chair and in the faculty
• application for national and international research projects
• supervision of scientific theses
• publishing and presentations at international conferences

Requirements:

• a university degree with excellent grades in geoinformatics, computer science, surveying, AR/VR/XR development, forestry/environmental sciences with an IT focus, or equivalent knowledge
• experience with digital twins
• experience with AR/VR/XR
• knowledge of data processing (e.g., GIS, point clouds, cloud solutions, ideally Python)
• professional programming skills in at least one scripting language
• teamwork skills, reliability, and the ability to work independently
• have fun trying something new
• willingness to undertake further training
• very good English skills

Desirable:

• knowledge of German (minimum B2)
• knowledge of a higher-level programming language
• teaching experience
• experience in applying for research projects

We offer:

• a varied job at the interface of nature, technology, and digitalisation
• access to modern equipment (UAVs, laser scanners, XR glasses, computing clusters)
• opportunities for further qualification (PhD, habilitation)
• infrastructure of a university of excellence
• flexible working hours and mobile working within the framework of TUD's working agreements
• collaboration in an interdisciplinary team in the context of future-oriented research and technology development
• work-life balance
• opportunities for further training and development in the areas of UAVs, XR, AI
• annual bonus according to the collective agreement
• job ticket/Job-German ticket
• 30 vacation days per year (based on a 5-day workweek)
• healthcare and sports programs at TUD

TUD strives to employ more women in academia and research. We therefore expressly encourage women to apply. The University is a certified family-friendly university. We welcome applications from candidates with disabilities. If multiple candidates prove to be equally qualified, those with disabilities or with equivalent status pursuant to the German Social Code IX (SGB IX) will receive priority for employment.

Please submit your detailed application with the usual documents quoting the job id w25-184 by August 21, 2025 (stamped arrival date of the university central mail service or the time stamp on the email server of TUD applies) preferably via the TUD SecureMail Portal https://securemail.tu-dresden.de by sending it as a single pdf file to thomas.purfuerst@mailbox.tu-dresden.de or to: TU Dresden, Chair of Digitized forestry processes and systems, Prof. Dr. Thomas Purfürst, Helmholtsztr. 10, 01069 Dresden, Germany. Please submit copies only, as your application will not be returned to you. Expenses incurred in attending interviews cannot be reimbursed.

Reference to data protection: Your data protection rights, the purpose for which your data will be processed, as well as further information about data protection is available to you on the website: https://tu-dresden.de/karriere/datenschutzhinweis.