PhD in Agricultural Sciences at Instituto Superior de Agronomia (Portugal)

Key details

• Host institution: Instituto Superior de Agronomia
• Location: Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Tapada da Ajuda, Lisboa, Portugal
• Application deadline: May 6, 2026

Funding

Other EU programme

How to apply

• Apply by email to [email protected] (subject line and attachments per the official instructions).
• Full vacancy text and updates: Euraxess listing.

About the position

The University of Lisbon, through its School of Agriculture (Instituto Superior de Agronomia – ISA/ULisboa), announces an international call to hire one doctoral researcher under Decree-Law No. 57/2016, dated August 29, as amended by Law No. 57/2017, dated July 19, and complementary legislation. This position is for scientific research activities in Forestry Engineering, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Computer Sciences, or related areas, under a fixed-term public employment contract.

The role supports the development of research within the Projeto 3D-FIRST – Enhanced Forest Inventory Metrics through Advanced Remote Sensing Technologies (project reference no. 2023.16642.ICDT/COMPETE2030-FEDER-00886500). The main objective is to develop algorithms and methods combining multi-source, remotely-sensed data streams for improved biomass, carbon-pool sequestration, multilayer fuel load, mapping key fuel variables, and fuel models through data fusion. These methods should be replicable for future monitoring with adequate temporal and spatial resolution in Portugal. The work also includes preparing reports and scientific articles.

Applicable Legislation

• Decree-Law No. 57/2016 of August 29, establishing the Legal Regime for Scientific Employment (RJEC), as amended by Law No. 57/2017 of July 19, and Regulatory Decree No. 11-A/2017 of December 29.
• General Law on Public Employment (LTFP), approved as an annex to Law No. 35/2014 of June 20, in its current version, and Ordinance No. 233/2022, which regulates recruitment procedures, published in the Diário da República, Series I, No. 175, of September 9.

This recruitment is exempt from certain authorizations under Article 16 of Decree-Law No. 57/2016, including government approvals and the Professional Valorization Scheme.

Selection Committee

• President: Juan Guerra Hernández, Assistant Investigator, ISA, University of Lisbon.
• Full member: Susana Miguel Barreiro, Assistant Professor, ISA, University of Lisbon.
• Full member: João Manuel das Neves Silva, Assistant Professor, ISA, University of Lisbon.
• Substitute member: Manuel Lameiras de Figueiredo Campagnolo, Associate Professor with Habilitation, ISA, University of Lisbon.
• Substitute member: Joana Amaral Paulo, Assistant Professor, ISA, University of Lisbon.

Workplace

The workplace is at the School of Agriculture, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal.

Remuneration

The gross monthly remuneration is as provided in point a) of paragraph 1 of Article 15 of Decree-Law No. 57/2016, as amended. The initial salary level is 33 of the Single Remuneration Table, approved by Ordinance No. 1553-C/2008 of December 31, corresponding to 2,408.11 €.

Contract Duration

The contract is a fixed-term public employment contract for three years, in accordance with Decree-Law No. 57/2016, as amended.

Job Description

The position involves the following tasks:

• Support the calculation of variables of interest for forest management from National Forest Inventory (NFI) plot level, and the generation of geospatial databases.
• Acquire mobile and drone-based LiDAR data for validation of wall-to-wall ALS-based-maps.
• Implement routines for processing ALS data and develop airborne LiDAR (ALS) ABA models for each forest type at the national level.
• Process multispectral imagery (Sentinel-2), SAR data (Sentinel-1, ALOS-PALSAR, and NISAR), and satellite LiDAR data (GEDI and ICESat-2), and generate time series.
• Apply deep learning (DL), machine learning (ML), geospatial foundation models (e.g., AlphaEarth, TESSERA), statistical inference (uncertainty quantification), and regression analysis to estimate forest variables using forest inventory data and auxiliary remote sensing data.
• Develop maps of forest management variables and their associated uncertainty based on model outputs at national scale.
• Run forest growth simulators using ALS-derived maps and field data as inputs.
• Prepare reports on intermediate project results.
• Prepare scientific articles related to the work developed.
• Provide support for the project’s administrative and bureaucratic management.

Admission Requirements

The competition is open to national, foreign, and stateless candidates holding a PhD in Forestry Engineering, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Computer Sciences, or related areas. It is also open to those with equivalence or recognition of the PhD degree under Decree-Law No. 66/2018, as amended by Decree-Law No. 86/2023, who possess a suitable scientific and professional curriculum. Presentation of the equivalence, recognition, or registration is mandatory for contract signature.

General admission requirements are those in Article 17 of the LTFP, with specific requirements as above.

Application Submission

Applications must be submitted electronically using the form available at https://www.isa.ulisboa.pt/sites/default/files/documents/document/default/form_inv_dl57.docx, addressed to the President of the School of Agriculture. Include the notice reference (8991/2026/2), full name, ID details, tax number, date and place of birth, profession, residence, and contact information (email and phone).

Indicate consent for email communications in the form.

Accompany the application with:

• A copy of the PhD certificate or diploma.
• The PhD thesis or equivalent documents.
• A detailed curriculum vitae, including research activities, professional experience, and community service, organized per evaluation criteria in points 15 and 17. Highlight most relevant works with digital copies.
• Other relevant documents for qualifications (if applicable).
• Any other documents considered relevant.

Send documents in PDF to [email protected] by the deadline: 10 working days after publication in the Diário da República, Public Employment Portal, and websites of the institution and FCT, I.P., in Portuguese and English. Physical submission is allowed if justified, by registered mail or in person at the School of Agriculture address.

Applications may be in Portuguese or English. Translations may be required if needed.

Admission and Exclusion

Candidates not complying with requirements will be excluded. False statements are punishable by law.

Evaluation and Selection

Approval on absolute merit requires a favorable vote from more than half the Jury, based on relevant track record and alignment with criteria.

Evaluation focuses on scientific and curricular background, emphasizing relevance, quality, and timeliness of production and research activities in the last five years (extendable for justified reasons).

Criteria (last five years):

Scientific Production (A1) – 40%

• Publications: quality, innovation, diversity, multidisciplinarity, international collaboration – 10%.
• Relevance of selected works – 20%.
• Research projects: scope, innovation, diversity – 5%.
• International recognition: awards, editorial roles, etc. – 5%.

Applied Research Activities (A2) – 60%

• Experience in SAR image processing (min. 5 years: Sentinel-1, ALOS-PALSAR, NISAR, including interferometry, polarimetry, tomography) – 10%.
• Experience in LiDAR data processing (min. 5 years: terrestrial, airborne, satellite) – 10%.
• Experience in calculating forest inventory variables, biomass, carbon stocks, fire behavior inputs – 10%.
• Experience in DL, ML, statistical inference, regression for forest variables – 10%.
• Experience in programming (Python, SNAP, C/C++, R) – 5%.
• Experience in forest modeling and simulators – 5%.
• Experience with satellite image time series and HPC algorithms – 5%.
• Unmanned aircraft (drone) pilot license – Category A2 – 5%.

An interview (in English) may be held for clarification, weighted at 10% if conducted.

Final score: A = 0.40(A1) + 0.60(A2); if interview, C = 0.90A + 0.10B. Ranking by successive voting; minimum 50% for approval.

Additional Information

Minutes available upon request. Final decision ratified by ISA President. Notifications via email. Hearing period: 10 working days; final decision within 90 days.

The competition may terminate before filling the position. ISA promotes equal opportunities and non-discrimination. Disabled candidates have priority in ties. Personal data handled per Law No. 58/2019 and GDPR.

Notice dated April 13, 2026 — The President of the School of Agriculture, Professor António Guerreiro de Brito, PhD.