Research Engineer / Postdoctoral Researcher in Remote Sensing and Forest Phenotyping

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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

Context

INRAE’s Mediterranean Forest Ecology Research Unit (URFM) is recruiting a research engineer or postdoctoral fellow as part of the Franco-German PangenomeBeech project, funded by the ANR and the DFG.

This project aims to understand the genetic basis of the European beech’s (Fagus sylvatica) adaptation to climate change by combining large-scale genomics (pan-genome, pan-GWAS, pan-GEA) with high-throughput phenotyping, using drone-acquired imagery (RGB, multispectral).

More than 2,000 trees from approximately 50 European provenances are being monitored to characterize phenotypic traits, particularly phenology (budbreak and senescence).

 

Your work environment:

You will join the BioPopEvol team at INRAE’s Mediterranean Forest Ecology Research Unit (URFM), based in Avignon.

You will be supervised by Ivan Scotti, a research director at INRAE and the French coordinator of the PangenomeBeech project, and will work closely with a research engineer responsible for phenotypic data collection, as well as with other team members and the project’s German partners at the Thünen Institute.

You will interact regularly with researchers, engineers, doctoral students, and technicians involved in the ecology and genomics components of the project.

To learn more about URFM and its activities: URFM - INRAE

Your Responsibilities:

You will be responsible for:

- (1) Developing reproducible image processing workflows for RGB and multispectral images acquired by drone that can be used by other team members.

- (2) Interpret this drone-acquired data to characterize the main phenotypic traits of trees, particularly their phenology (budbreak, senescence) as well as their growth and reproduction.

- (3) Correlate and verify the accuracy of indices derived from imagery against field observations.

- (4) Develop a robust method for automatically or semi-automatically identifying and tracking individual tree crowns across different data acquisition campaigns, within a dense forest stand and using RTK-georeferenced data, to ensure the production of reliable time series.

- (5) Ensure the management, quality, and traceability of the produced datasets

- (6) Develop reproducible tools and pipelines that can be used by other team members

- (7) Contribute to the scientific dissemination of the work (publications, presentations, etc.)

Working Conditions:

- Position based in Avignon (84)

- Regular travel to Normandy during the budbreak (spring) and senescence (fall) campaigns

- Occasional travel to Germany and other experimental sites such as Mont Ventoux

- Participation in drone data collection may be considered depending on project needs. Training in drone piloting may be offered if necessary.

- Driver's license desired

Training and skills

Candidate profile:

Education:

Ph.D. or engineering degree in remote sensing, geomatics, or image processing. Specialization in forest remote sensing would be an asset.

Required skills:

- Proficiency in remote sensing methods applied to natural environments

- Proficiency in a scientific programming language, particularly Python

- Proficiency in GIS tools (QGIS or ArcGIS)

- Ability to design and evaluate new image processing approaches to address scientific problems

- Ability to develop and automate reproducible data processing workflows

- Ability to present work orally in English to international partners

Desirable experience:

- Experience processing data acquired by drones (RGB, multispectral, and possibly LiDAR)

- Experience in photogrammetry (orthomosaic production, 3D models)

- Knowledge of LiDAR data processing tools (R, Python, or specialized software)

- Experience in field data acquisition (RTK, drone campaigns, ground-based or mobile LiDAR, etc.)

Desired Qualities:

You demonstrate:

- Independence and organizational skills

- Scientific rigor

- The ability to work as part of a team in an interdisciplinary setting and to adapt your objectives as projects evolve

- Curiosity and interest in developing new methods

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