Temporary position OT-27646
Study engineer in acoustic pest detection
45290 Nogent-sur-Vernisson (France)
INRAE presentation
The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) is a major player in research and innovation. It is a community of 12,000 people with 272 research, experimental research, and support units located in 18 regional centres throughout France. Internationally, INRAE is among the top research organisations in the agricultural and food sciences, plant and animal sciences, as well as in ecology and environmental science. It is the world’s leading research organisation specialising in agriculture, food and the environment. INRAE’s goal is to be a key player in the transitions necessary to address major global challenges. Faced with a growing world population, climate change, resource scarcity, and declining biodiversity, the Institute has a major role to play in building solutions and supporting the necessary acceleration of agricultural, food and environmental transitions.
Work environment, missions and activities
¡ You will be based at the INRAE EFNO (Forest Ecosystems Nogent) research unit in Nogent-sur-Vernisson. The unit comprises approximately 40 researchers, engineers and technicians. A large part of the research activities and expertise revolves around the functioning and sustainable management of temperate forests. The biodiversity axis, in particular, examines the pressures exerted on forest biodiversity in order to devise monitoring methods and sustainable management recommendations.
You will join the PIQPAG project about wood-boring pest insects in oak trees. One of the objectives is to minimise the introduction of damaged logs in log yards. Preliminary work has demonstrated the feasibility of acoustic emission (i.e., passive acoustic monitoring of sounds emitted by wood-boring insects inside oak logs). You will be supervised by Kevin Darras, researcher at the EFNO research unit, and you will collaborate with Aurélien Sallé (Université d’Orléans), Marianne Perrin (IUT Tarbes) et Loïc Brancheriau (CIRAD Montpellier).
¡ Specifically, you will be in charge of:
- Establishing the state of the art in the literature on this topic
- Designing a prototype of acoustic recorder with embedded AI based on existing microcontroller boards and acoustic sensors
- Training existing AI models for execution on the prototype
- Testing the prototype on live sentinel trees in forests
business trips in metropolitan France using INRAE vehicles – driving licence desired.
Training and skills
Required training : Master (for instance in metrology, acoustics, or electronics).
Expected knowledge : acoustics, machine learning, electronics
Appreciated experience : forestry and entomology
Skills sought : communication skills to work with people from diverse backgrounds, flexibility and learning skills to conduct field work and computer-based work efficiently
INRAE's life quality
By joining our teams, you benefit from (depending on the type of contract and its duration):
- up to 30 days of annual leave + 15 days "Reduction of Working Time" (for a full time);
- parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
- skills development systems: training, career advise;
- social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
- holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- collective catering.
How to apply
I send my CV and my motivation letter
All persons employed by or hosted at INRAE, a public research establishment, are subject to the Civil Service Code, particularly with regard to the obligation of neutrality and respect for the principle of secularism. In carrying out their functions, whether or not they are in contact with the public, they must not express their religious, philosophical or political convictions through their behaviour or by what they wear. > Find out more: fonction publique.gouv.fr website (in French)