Summary
The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to join the ERC FLORA project, focusing on food system solutions and quantitative sustainability modeling. This role involves identifying priority targets for food system interventions, evaluating solutions to improve environmental and human health outcomes, and minimizing trade-offs. The successful candidate will contribute to a multidisciplinary framework combining environmental and health impact assessment, food-system and biophysical modeling, economic modeling, and multi-objective optimization.
Designation
Postdoctoral Researcher
Research Area
- Food System Solutions
- Quantitative Sustainability Modeling
- Environmental Sciences
- Environmental or Agricultural Economics
- Agronomy
- Systems Modeling
- Continental Surface and Interfaces
Location
Laboratoire de géologie de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure, 75231 PARIS 05, France
Eligibility/Qualification
Academic Profile:
- PhD in Environmental Sciences, Environmental or Agricultural Economics, Agronomy, Systems Modeling, or related quantitative disciplines.
- Experience in interdisciplinary research around environmental and sustainability challenges is valued.
Technical Skills:
- Essential:
- Experience with quantitative research and programming languages (e.g., Python, C++, Matlab, R, etc.).
- Experience handling large datasets (e.g., high-resolution global maps, socio-economic, agricultural, and environmental datasets).
- Familiarity with reproducible research practices: data and code documentation and sharing (e.g., GitHub).
- Desirable (any combination valued):
- Expertise in economic modeling (e.g., bio-economic, partial/general equilibrium, econometric) OR biophysical / land-use modeling (e.g., crop models, material flow analysis, life cycle assessment) OR integrated assessment modeling at a global scale.
- Knowledge of optimization techniques (e.g., linear programming, multi-objective optimization) or network analysis.
- Broad understanding of food systems, agricultural production, planetary boundaries, or dietary transitions.
Soft Skills & Languages:
- Strong capability to work in an interdisciplinary environment and communicate across fields.
- Autonomy, analytical rigor, and collaborative mindset.
- English (fluent spoken and written) is required.
- Knowledge of French is welcome but not required.
Job Description
The postdoctoral researcher will target the third objective of the ERC FLORA project: identifying priority targets for food-system interventions and evaluating solutions that can improve multiple environmental and human health outcomes while limiting trade-offs. Key responsibilities include:
Missions:
- Identification of Priority Targets for Food System Interventions:
- Complement previous/ongoing work in FLORA on consumption-based sustainability metrics (covering impacts from agricultural use of nitrogen, water, and land) to include climate change and biodiversity loss metrics.
- Identify locations or practices in regional or global food systems that should be targeted to maximize environmental and health benefits.
- Testing and Evaluation of Sustainable Food System Solutions:
- Contribute to an interdisciplinary modeling framework linking food demand, agricultural production, land use, and environmental/health impacts.
- Design and evaluate transformation scenarios (e.g., dietary shifts, agricultural practices, trade adjustment, agricultural policy, food waste reduction).
- Apply quantitative optimization or scenario modeling tools to explore trade-offs and synergies across key sustainability dimensions (climate, water, biodiversity, human health).
- Inclusion of animal-based products and synergies with the PREF-Alim Framework:
- Use new global livestock data to update results from the circa-2000 period to reflect the circa-2020 period, comparing associated pressures against local sustainability limits.
- Support the integration of FLORA project indicators with the PREF-Alim trade model’s land-use module to gauge the impact of current French diets versus projected scenarios.
- Develop hypotheses and simulations to estimate changes in environmental pressures and associated indicators resulting from shifts in agricultural production driven by demand changes.
Activities:
- Research: Data analysis, scenario development, quantitative modeling (economic, biophysical, or integrated), and authoring peer-reviewed scientific publications.
- Presentation of research outcomes at national and international academic conferences.
- Active participation in project and team life, lab and departmental research seminars, and interdisciplinary collaborations.
Work Environment:
The successful candidate will join the research team of the ERC FLORA project directed by Carole DALIN at the Department of Geosciences of the École normale supérieure (ENS – PSL) in central Paris. The researcher will interact with colleagues across geosciences, climate sciences, and environmental policy networks at ENS, as well as national and international partner institutes. Access to high-performance computing resources and rich data infrastructure is provided.
About the Project: The ERC-funded FLORA project (“Sustainable and healthy food solutions: system dynamics and trade-offs”) aims to build multi-dimensional quantitative frameworks to evaluate food system transformations. More information can be found at: https://www.geosciences.ens.fr/en/flora
Compensation and Benefits:
- Between €3,080 and €4,541 gross monthly, depending on experience.
- 44 days of annual leave and RTT.
- Flexible remote work arrangements according to standard CNRS/ENS policy.
- Dedicated research budget for travel, conferences, computer equipment, and open-access publishing.
- Full CNRS social benefits (health insurance, retirement, subsidized public transport, meal subsidies).
- 75% coverage of transport costs and a sustainable mobility package of up to €300.
How to Apply
Applications should include:
- Contact details for 2 academic references.
- A detailed CV.
- A cover letter (2 pages max) outlining how your research interests and experience fit the position, and briefly describing a potential research study (including research question and methods) you would like to lead within this post.
Last Date for Apply
22 October 2026, 23:59 (CET)
Apply Link
https://emploi.cnrs.fr/Offres/CDD/UMR8538-CORKOW-001/Default.aspx?lang=EN
