PhD contract in Agronomy and modelling

Universidad de Lleida; España; On-site; EUR 15,000 - 21,000; Full time

Job summary

Universidad de Lleida invites applications for a PhD position in the DoubleCrop project. The successful candidate will work on on-farm experiments in sequential double cropping, integrating soybean or fertigation with micro-filtered pig slurry, and will measure N-related gas losses.

They will also lead the parametrization and evaluation of the STICS model for double cropping systems, with a 4-year PhD contract at UdL and salary per Spanish laws.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Agricultural, Soil or Environmental Sciences or equivalent.
• Strong background in data collection and statistical analysis for life sciences.
• High command of English and good scientific writing skills.
• Driving license is required.

Responsibilities

• Develop on-farm field experiments for sequential double cropping with soybean or pig slurry.
• Measure reactive N gas losses including nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emission.
• Lead parametrization and evaluation of the STICS model for double cropping.

Skills

Data collection

Statistics

English proficiency

Scientific writing

Communication

Driving license

Mediterranean cropping

Education

Master’s Degree or equivalent

Job description

Organisation/Company Universidad de Lleida Department Oficina de Suport a la RDI Research Field Agricultural sciences » Agronomics Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Application Deadline 20 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Madrid) Country Spain Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Role profile: We are seeking a graduate or MSc with strong background in Agricultural, Soil and/or Environmental Sciences and robust interest in modelling to develop his/her PhD in the framework of the DoubleCrop project.

Duties and responsibilities: The PhD student will be in charge of (i) developing on-farm field experiments based on sequential double cropping systems integrating soybean or fertigation with micro-filtered pig slurry, (ii) measuring reactive N gas losses as nitrate leaching, nitrous oxide emission and ammonia volatilization and, (ii) leading the parametrization and evaluation of the STICS model for double cropping systems.

Terms: 4 years PhD contract at Universitat de Lleida (UdL) (Lleida, Spain) and salary according to Spanish laws. Candidate must apply to UdL’s predoctoral grants call.

About the lab: We work on the interface between agronomy, soil sciences and environmental sciences. For further info, please see: https://danielplazabonilla.eu/

About UdL and Lleida: The Universitat de Lleida (UdL) offers a high quality teaching with an old academic tradition of 700 years. It has been ranked among the top three universities in Spain to study Agronomic Engineering. The UdL is a small university, enabling human contact among the different members of the community. Lleida has a high quality of urban living, safe and pleasant. The city is surrounded by the Horta de Lleida a highly diverse agricultural area (19,000 ha) with predominance of orchards. Lleida province offers a great range of outdoor activities.

• Master´s Degree or equivalent (at least 300 ECTS).
• Knowledge on field crops agronomy, soil sciences and/or process-based modelling.
• Strong background in data collection and statistical analysis for life sciences.
• Driving license.
• High command of English.
• Strong communication and scientific writing skills.
• Expertise on Mediterranean cropping systems will be highly welcomed.