Field and Laboratory Technician (m/f/d)

Department of Environmental System Sciences The Professorship of Grassland Science offers an interesting, varied activity with a lot of design potential. Our group is a dynamic, very international working group at the Department of Environmental System Sciences of ETH Zurich. The research of our group includes, in addition to the greenhouse gas exchange between ecosystems and the atmosphere, mainly the ecophysiology of plants and the ecosystem services of agricultural ecosystems. The position is limited to 3 years and will be filled by December 2026 at the latest. The position is embedded in «PhenoMix: Multidimensional field phenotyping of crop mixtures», a project of ETH Zurich, the Swiss Data Science Centers and Agroscope. As part of PhenoMix, we are investigating mixtures of different pea and lentil varieties with wheat, oats and barley, which are grown on an experimental phenotyping platform and a neighboring field. In our work package, we collect the microclimate of the stand, plant characteristics and ecosystem services of pure cultures and mixtures. We use stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen and water to capture light, nitrogen and water use and determine the complementarity of mixtures during three vegetation periods. You will support the project team, in particular the two doctoral students in our group, in setting up, maintaining and caring for the field experiments. You will help with sampling in the field (plant and soil samples), with the investigation of nitrogen leaching and litter decomposition, as well as with microclimatic and ecophysiological measurements. In addition to field work, you will be responsible for preparing samples in the laboratory, in particular for mass spectrometric analysis. You will also help the two doctoral students with data collection, quality control and evaluation of the collected data. The position is limited to 3 years and will be filled as a full-time or part-time position (at least 60%) as of December 2026. You will be embedded in an international working group, surrounded by a dynamic university environment. You have completed training as a biology laboratory technician or in a similar field. You have professional experience with laboratory work, e.g. soil analysis or sample preparation for stable isotope analysis, as well as a flair for outdoor work. You are a team player and enjoy working in interdisciplinary teams. You have an interest in scientific questions. Good English skills are required for communication in the project team and in the working group. We look forward to your online application with the following documents: Motivation letter Curriculum vitae Certificates Contact details of two references Please submit your documents by September 1, 2026. Job interviews will be held from mid-September. The preferred start date is December 1, 2026 at the latest. Please apply exclusively through the online application portal. Applications by email and by post will not be considered. For more information about the Grassland Science group and PhenoMix, please visit the respective websites. For information, Prof. Dr. Nina Buchmann (nina.buchmann@usys.ethz.ch) is available (no application documents!).