Doctoral Researcher (PhD student), Spatio-temporal dynamics of degrading palsa mires and their greenhouse gas fluxes across Fennoscandia (SPACEFEN)

We are inviting applications for a Doctoral Researcher (PhD student) position at the Department of Geographical and Historical Studies, located on the Joensuu Campus of the University of Eastern Finland. The position will begin on 1 April 2026. Read more below and submit your application no later than 15 February 2026.

Position and salary 

We are looking for a highly motivated, communicative, and skilled PhD Researcher to join the project Spatio-temporal dynamics of degrading palsa mires and their greenhouse gas fluxes across Fennoscandia (SPACEFEN), which is funded by the Research Council of Finland. 

“Spatio-temporal dynamics of degrading palsa mires and their greenhouse gas fluxes across Fennoscandia” (SPACEFEN) is a research consortium between UEF and the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI). SPACEFEN is a multi-disciplinary project focusing on palsas — permafrost landscape forms typical of the sporadic and discontinuous permafrost region — that are exposed to climate-induced thawing. The contribution of palsas to greenhouse gas (GHG) balances and climate feedback mechanisms remains uncertain due to complex biogeochemical interactions and degradation behaviour. The aim of SPACEFEN is to connect the life cycle phases of permafrost palsas with the spatio-temporal variations of their GHG emissions, and to predict future climate feedbacks.

The PhD Researcher will be based at the Department of Geographical and Historical Studies on the Joensuu campus of the University of Eastern Finland. The position will be filled for a fixed term of 3 years. The candidate will actively engage in funding acquisition with supervisors to ensure the full funding of their PhD.

The PhD candidate will work with a range of remote sensing products to study palsa permafrost dynamics with a strong focus on up- and downscaling between multiscale and multisource data and products (e.g., field – UAV – airborne – spaceborne) in relation to GHG emissions and predictions. The successful PhD applicant will work with multiple scale (from drones to satellite) remote sensing of palsa permafrost dynamics. The position entails both office work and field work.

We welcome candidates with a background in geography, ecology, environmental sciences, geoinformatics and computer science. The position will provide a unique opportunity to be part of a large, active international team and participate in project meetings over the course of the project. The Doctoral Researcher will also benefit from close collaboration with researchers at the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI).

Key tasks include:

• Collecting field data together with the SPACEFEN team
• Processing remote sensing and UAV data (and potentially conducting UAV flights)
• Carrying out data analysis incl. Machine and Deep Learning methods
• Collaborating and networking within a broad multidisciplinary consortium

The position may include digital palsa inventory and change detection applications, as well as the option to work in close collaboration with FMI on InSAR data to investigate the subsidence and upheave of palsas. Depending on the applicant’s background and interests, these tasks will be tailored accordingly. We encourage applications from candidates with an interest or experience in field work, particularly in Arctic and peatland ecosystems. A driver’s license and a drone license (or experience with drones) will be considered an advantage.

The full-time researcher position will be filled starting from 1 April 2026 for a fixed term of three years. A trial period will be applied to new members of the university staff. The Doctoral Researcher is physically based at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies on the Joensuu Campus. The PhD project will include multiple field work campaigns in Northern Finland and Norway.

The position is filled for a fixed term due to the requirements of the Doctoral School. The salary of the position is based on the salary system for the teaching and research staff of Finnish universities. The salary consists of a job-related salary element and a personal salary element. In this position, the job-related salary element is based on levels 2–4 of the job requirement level chart (EUR 2,281.48-2,844.66), and the personal salary element is 6–50% of the job-related salary element. In the position of a Doctoral Researcher, the salary is determined based on the stage of doctoral research and doctoral studies, as well as on personal performance.

Our requirements  

You must be eligible for doctoral education, i.e., hold a suitable higher university degree or have suitable foreign education qualifying for equivalent university studies in the country concerned, and have excellent English language skills (written and spoken).

The position can be filled by someone who is either planning to pursue or currently pursuing their first doctoral degree. Those selected for the position must then separately apply for the right to pursue postgraduate studies in the Doctoral Programme of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies at the University of Eastern Finland. The person to be appointed must have a valid right to pursue postgraduate studies at the UEF Department of Geographical and Historical Studies before starting the employment relationship.

When filling the position, consideration will be given to 

•  the applicant’s research ideas
•  earlier academic performance and research merits
•  international orientation
•  empirical experience in the field of research

What we can offer you  

•    An interesting position in an international, creative, participatory and engaging university community,
•   The opportunity for flexible multi-location work, 
•   The opportunity for international collaboration as part of a research team,
•   Staff benefits of the University of Eastern Finland, including comprehensive occupational health care, versatile staff training opportunities, affordable campus restaurant lunches and Sykettä sports services. 

Please read more in the Work at UEF section on our website.  

Enjoy your life in Finland! Known for its cleanliness, welfare know-how, modern technology and superb education system, Finland is an exotic and safe country to work in. Please visit the Life in Finland section on our website to learn more.    

How to apply  

Submit your application by using our electronic application form no later than 15 February 2026 by 24:00 (midnight) Finnish time (UTC+2).

For applicants who do not yet have the right to pursue doctoral studies at the University of Eastern Finland, the appointment to the Doctoral Researcher position will be conditional until they have been granted the right to pursue doctoral studies at the University of Eastern Finland.

Please note that the application is required to have the following appendices: 

•  A CV (Template for CV, TENK website).
• A list of publications (Instructions, Research Council of Finland, website).
• A motivation letter of 1-2 pages, including research ideas connected to the position.
• A copy of the degree certificate / diploma and a transcript of academic records proving the applicant’s eligibility to pursue postgraduate studies. The documents must be in Finnish or English. For translated documents, only a Diploma Supplement issued by the higher education institution in question and/or other official translations issued by the awarding higher education institution or an authorized translator are accepted.
• Copies of certificates of language proficiency, if not indicated in the academic degree certificates/diplomas.

Questions? 

For more information on the position, please contact the project leader Timo Kumpula (Timo.Kumpula@uef.fi) or Franziska Wolff (Franziska.Wolff@uef.fi).

For more information on employment at the Department of Geographical and Historical Studies, please contact the Head of the Department Pieter Dhondt, pieter.dhondt@uef.fi.

For further information relating to the application procedure, please contact HR-Specialist Airi Leppänen, airi.leppanen@uef.fi.

Väitöskirjatutkija

Haemme väitöskirjatutkijaa historia- ja maantieteiden laitokselle Joensuun kampukselle (SPACEFEN-hanke). Tehtävä sijoittuu yhteiskuntatieteiden ja kauppatieteiden tiedekuntaan ja se täytetään kolmen vuoden määräajaksi 1.4.2026-31.3.2029.  Tässä tehtävässä tehtäväkohtainen palkanosa on vaativuustasoluokittelussa tasolla 2–4 (2281,48 € - 2844,66 €). Lisäksi maksetaan henkilökohtaiseen suoriutumiseen perustuvaa palkanosaa, joka on 6–50 % tehtäväkohtaisesta palkanosasta. Tehtävässä edellytetään erinomaista englannin kielen taitoa.

Lue tarkemmat tiedot tehtävästä ja hakuohjeet yllä olevasta englanninkielisestä ilmoituksesta. Jätäthän hakemuksesi englanniksi. Hakuaika tehtävään päättyy 15.2.2026.