AI engineer in ecology - NIOO-KNAW - Wageningen

The Department of Animal Ecology of the NIOO-KNAW is looking for an AI engineer in ecology (1.0 fte).

What you will do

The Animal Ecology Department has several ongoing data and software-related projects that already integrate AI, LLM, and machine learning approaches into our work. Many of these projects will benefit from the hands-on assistance of a specialist in an area where opportunities are rapidly outpacing in-house expertise. We are also generating large, diverse datasets, including image libraries, video collections, sensor streams, and experimental data, and modern AI-based pipelines for extracting ecological information from them have to be developed.

You will help researchers prototype ideas, build reproducible workflows, evaluate and implement emerging AI tools, and identify opportunities for careful automation. In this position, you will act as a shared catalyst for several ongoing projects, helping researchers develop practical, scalable solutions using machine learning, computer vision, LMM-assisted coding, and automated workflows. This will be done in interaction with the researchers and the research assistants of the Department of Animal Ecology, and in collaboration with the NIOO-wide developments in digital ecology and AI.

What you bring

• You obtained an MSc or PhD in ecology, bioinformatics, AI/ML, computer vision, computation ecology, data science, or scientific software engineering.
• You have experience with AI/ML and interest in biological or environmental data.
• Prior experience with image/video analysis, machine learning, sensor data processing, high-performance computing, and modern, open coding practices will be important assets to support ongoing projects.
• You are collaborative, open-minded, a problem solver, and flexible, willing to work on many diverse projects.
• You are fluent in English, both written and verbal; Dutch language skills are also an asset.

What we offer

We offer an attractive one-year full-time position in a vibrant research department with a strong track record in developing and using digital tools for research and data.

The starting date for the position is 1 July 2026.

Your workplace

You will be embedded in the Department of Animal Ecology at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). You will share an office with other project management personnel and research assistants, and join an active community of senior researchers, postdocs, PhDs, large-scale infrastructure coordinators, research assistants and internship students (MSc, HBO). The Department comprises seven research groups, primarily working on passerine birds and bats.

In the Department of Animal Ecology, we investigate the causes and consequences of variation in life-history traits, including the underlying physiological and genomic mechanisms, and where such variation arises in time and space.

About NIOO

The Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO) is a national research institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). NIOO performs leading ecological research on biodiversity, climate change and sustainable use of land and water, stimulates ecological research of the Netherlands and shares its ecological knowledge with society.