Every year at BRGM, we offer multiple job opportunities for engineers, researchers, project managers and technicians in the sector of geosciences and also for managers and employees in support functions.
Near-centimetre location of targets for photogrammetry measurements using drones Near-centimetre location of targets for photogrammetry measurements using drones

Near-centimetre location of targets for photogrammetry measurements using drones (Seine-Maritime, 2015).

© BRGM - Thomas Dewez

Careers in research and support for research

At BRGM, there are two categories of careers:

  • Careers in research, which require geological knowledge and an understanding of surface and subsurface processes based on observation and modelling, with the aim of meeting the challenges of global change. These are reserved for researchers, engineers and technicians.
  • Careers that support and assist research work, which encompass administrative and support functions.

Complementary activities

These two environments are closely connected within the BRGM teams, as support workers collaborate closely with researchers, engineers and technicians to carry out outstanding research for strategic projects.

In-line extraction and analysis of plant protection substances in water, Orléans In-line extraction and analysis of plant protection substances in water, Orléans

Become a researcher/engineer or technician at BRGM

At BRGM, researchers and engineers are involved in designing research projects, analysing and interpreting results, and sharing scientific information. Over 100 technicians also contribute to producing scientific output.

Careers in research

Examples of scientific themes addressed at BRGM

At BRGM, there are 10 major thematic areas encompassing several activities. Each thematic area relates to various careers with a range of specialities:

  • Development and administration of information systems
  • Architecture, maintenance, operation and security of IT infrastructure
  • Computing, 3D displays and virtual reality
  • Interoperability and web distribution
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Geological and geophysical knowledge acquisition
  • Digital geological maps
  • Subsurface data processing
  • French Geological Reference Platform
  • Geological information systems
  • 3D subsurface modelling
  • Applied geology for CO2 storage
  • Documentary collection for cartography
  • Identification of reserves
  • Controlling the impact of operations
  • Expert studies of abandoned mining sites
  • Knowledge of resources and markets
  • Tools for the exploitation of mineral resources
  • Development strategy
  • Geothermal heating networks
  • High-temperature geothermal energy
  • Next-generation geothermal systems
  • Geothermal heat pumps
  • Coordination of the professional geothermal energy sector
  • Information and communication for the development of geothermal energy
  • Geological storage
  • Storage in aquifers
  • Safety criteria
  • Reducing CO2 emissions
  • Predictive modelling
  • European integration for research and regulations
  • International cooperation
  • Operation of hydrosystems
  • Predictive models
  • 3D mapping of aquifers
  • Mapping for the national geochemical background
  • Knowledge of mechanisms relating to diffuse pollution
  • Management tools
  • Data banking and dissemination
  • Decision-support tools
  • Cross-border resource management
  • Operational management of hydraulic safety facilities
  • Operation/monitoring of prevention systems
  • Delegated project management for safety engineering
  • Management of intermediate technical mine archives
  • Management/dissemination of mine information
  • Mechanisms associated with geological hazards
  • Designing surveillance systems and predictive models
  • Mapping geological hazards and resulting risks
  • Developments for urban and coastal zones
  • Providing databases
  • Vulnerability assessments
  • Climate change
  • Safety analyses
  • Pollution impacts and risk assessments
  • Integrated waste management
  • Containment systems
  • Recycling/re-use processes
  • Depollution techniques
  • Inventory of abandoned mining sites
  • Environmental management of sites
  • Assistance for regulatory development
  • Third-party expert assessments of studies
  • Surveillance networks
  • Traceability and reliability of measurements
  • On-site and continuous measurements
  • Overall alert indicators
  • Reference laboratory
  • International recognition
Cretaceous flysch from Zumaïa (Spain) visited during a winter school organised under the Orogen project. Cretaceous flysch from Zumaïa (Spain) visited during a winter school organised under the Orogen project.

Cretaceous flysch from Zumaïa (Spain) visited during a winter school organised under the Orogen project. 

© BRGM – T. Baudin

What does our research work involve?

  • Designing research projects: helping advance theoretical knowledge in one’s area of research.
  • Producing scientific output: publishing journal articles, books and reports.
  • Analysing and interpreting results: promoting research by applying for patents and participating in conferences, symposiums and seminars.
  • Sharing scientific information: contributing to scientific outreach initiatives both internally, for all BRGM staff, and externally, through articles and conferences.
  • Transferring skills: supervising doctoral students, post-doctoral researchers, young researchers, work-study students and trainees, and teaching university courses.

Research careers: hydrogeologist, at the crossroads of geosciences and the environment

Video portrait of Delphine Allier, a BRGM hydrogeologist. Hydrogeology aims to better understand water, an essential resource for life. 

© Centre Sciences 

After a science high-school degree and preparatory classes, I entered an engineering school: ENTPE, National School of Public Works of the State. After that, I specialized in the environment. 

I've always wanted a job that allows me to interact with my environment and apply my beliefs, and water was my first attraction. I've started out by doing groundwater mapping. And as groundwater resources are invisible, they're quite difficult to map. You need to understand how they interact with man, whether there are relationships between groundwater and surface water, and how, when water is required for irrigation or drinking water, we will extract the groundwater, and whether there is enough to satisfy needs. Plus also, regarding quality, we ensure it's of a high level and well protected from different kinds of surface pollution. We know very little about aquifers and water tables in France and worldwide. So we still have many things to discover. Working in research is very satisfying, because we're the guarantors, in a way, of a science. Plus we pass this on to others. We take part in a lot of conferences and training sessions, so you get a real feeling that you're contributing to resource management. That's also very satisfying because it's a concrete contribution. One of the advantages in scientific research is that you're free to organize your time depending on your projects. Plus the work can be very varied. You can work in the office doing lots of mapping or doing modelling on a computer. You can also take part in international projects where you go out into the field. Or you can work with the laboratory technicians. So there's a wide variety of choices on offer. We also take part in putting together new projects. So if there's something we care about or good partnerships to be forged for a project, then we can decide to set up a project with teams we get on well with. So we have great freedom in choosing our projects and in managing our daily work.

More than 100 technicians working in our regional divisions and delegations and in Orléans

At BRGM, our scientific technicians occupy a variety of positions such as:

  • Archivist: they cover a set of skills enabling them to organise and monitor the selection, storage, destination and ultimate fate of the institution's documents. Archiving also involves identifying, keeping safe and maintaining available all the documents for which the institution has a responsibility with regard to third parties or its future activities, when a lack of such documents would pose a risk.
  • Chemist: they are tasked with designing, developing and implementing high-added-value analytical methodologies, contributing to laboratory methodologies for experimentation in the environment (soil, water) and conducting analyses for all BRGM departments.
  • Physical measurement technician: they are responsible for monitoring the operation of water management and gas measurement facilities, performing or monitoring the maintenance work such as repairs they require, and producing reports. All this is usually done with the help of specialist subcontractors in charge of the facilities.
  • Geomatics expert: on behalf of project managers, they are responsible for drawing up maps, plans and diagrams using digital tools (QGIS, AutoCAD) and populating and managing various geomatic, environmental and land databases. They are involved in the geo-referencing of the structures monitored through field surveys and help the surveillance team collect data.
  • Water and risk technician: they are in charge of studying and monitoring the main groundwater aquifers (piezometric levels, pollution, hydrogeological potential, boreholes), assessing the geothermal potential of the subsurface and helping prevent natural and anthropogenic risks.

The roles of our technicians

  • Participate in the development and adaptation of new techniques and methods.
  • Contribute to scientific surveys in different areas of activity.
  • Manage instrumentation and experimentation.
  • Analyse and process the data collected.
  • Take part in field campaigns.

Join BRGM as a researcher, engineer or technician

To become a researcher or engineer at BRGM, you need to have a Master's degree and/or PhD in one of the research areas listed above. You must at least have had a first experience in the same area for junior/beginner profiles or up to 20 years of experience for senior profiles with expertise in multiple areas.

To become a technician at BRGM, you need to have a two- to three-year higher education diploma.

See all BRGM's job offers
Interview of Jean-Louis Nedellec by France 24 on the environmental monitoring of the former Salsigne mining site, Aude Interview of Jean-Louis Nedellec by France 24 on the environmental monitoring of the former Salsigne mining site, Aude

Work to support research at BRGM

Support functions contribute to the operation of the institution, in particular by supporting its scientists.

Supporting staff at the service of research

At BRGM, the people who provide support to scientists perform the following functions:

  • Finance: All the activities that organise financing for BRGM and make this financing possible, in compliance with legal, financial, fiscal and ethical rules. Their aim of being able to predict future reality is reflected in the preparation and monitoring of budgets, as well as in investment simulations.  
  • (Public) procurement: A set of skills enabling products, services and supplies to be identified, selected and procured in accordance with the company's purchasing strategy and in compliance with the various applicable regulations.
  • Legal: A range of skills enabling advice to be provided in the fields of commercial, tax and customs law, business and company law, labour law, public procurement law, environmental and mining law, insurance law, and property and construction law, with the aim of safeguarding BRGM's activities, in terms of both drafting and negotiating contracts and managing disputes and litigation.
  • Human resource management: Human resource management encompasses all activities aiming to develop employees' skills to meet business needs and foster growth, as defined in the company's strategic policy, maintain the mobilisation and motivation of employees, involve managers in the coordination of teams, drive and steer the company's social policy, and guarantee compliance with obligations arising from social regulations in the areas of human resource management, hygiene, health, safety, and working conditions.
  • Information systems: A set of skills enabling BRGM's various entities to be provided with technical IT resources and support for their activities, with the aims of anticipating needs, ensuring the quality of services and optimising the budget.
  • Work environment: A set of activities that provide BRGM's various entities with the necessary support for the conduct of their activities: proposing, implementing and coordinating all the activities and work required for the proper functioning of all of BRGM's sites, with a view to working more efficiently, optimising costs and reducing the institution's environmental footprint.
  • Communication: Communication is a cross-cutting function that helps meet the communication needs of all BRGM stakeholders. The main mission of the communication function is to define and implement BRGM's communication strategy in order to boost the institution's reputation, enhance its image and disseminate information and knowledge in the area of geosciences to various internal and external audiences.
  • Secretariat: This is the first point of contact for employees and also for their external partners. It is an office-based role that consists in assisting other employees and staff members by dealing with their mail and telephone calls, drafting meeting reports, managing their schedule, formatting documents, filing records, organising travel, etc. It relieves some of their workload, particularly by helping organise their work, and is essential to the functioning of the team.

Join BRGM

To join a support function at BRGM, you need to have a two- to five-year higher education diploma.

See all BRGM's job offers