dortmund

Jobs in

dortmund

in the area of planning & geography jobs

How Dortmund is convincing as a place to work and live.

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dortmund
Federal state:
North Rhine Westphalia
Population:
600,000
Known for:
soccer, Westfalenpark, industry
Economy:
Logistics, IT, services
Quality of life:
Green, traditional, urban

Working and living in Dortmund

Working and living in Dortmund: Your career location for environment, planning and geodata

An overview of the city

Dortmund, the Westphalian metropolis with around 590,000 inhabitants in the heart of the Ruhr region, is a city undergoing successful structural change. Once characterized by coal and steel, Dortmund today presents itself as a dynamic city of technology, science and services with an impressive green transformation. The largest city in the Ruhr region combines industrial history with an innovative future and offers an exceptional quality of life. Dortmund as a place of work stands out with a diversified economy, excellent universities such as the renowned TU Dortmund and a unique combination of urban life and extensive green spaces. Living in Dortmund means affordable housing, cultural diversity, passion for soccer and a city that is proudly transforming its industrial past into a sustainable future. For professionals who want to combine a career in Dortmund with a high quality of life at moderate costs, the Westphalian metropolis is an excellent choice.

Labor market for environmental and planning occupations

Dortmund's job market offers excellent prospects for specialists in the environmental, planning and geodata sectors. As a city undergoing successful structural change, the focus is on topics such as sustainable urban development, land recycling and ecological transformation. Stadtplanung Dortmund is working on pioneering projects ranging from the development of former industrial sites to the revitalization of brownfields to climate-friendly district development. In particular, cooperation with the Emschergenossenschaft on the Emscher conversion generational project and preparation for the International Garden Exhibition (IGA) 2027 create a wide range of career opportunities for landscape planners and environmental engineers.

GIS Jobs Dortmund benefit from the city's modern geodata infrastructure: The Dortmund Geoportal with its comprehensive 3D city model and innovative GIS specialist applications is a pioneer in the Ruhr region. Environmental planners Dortmund find a wide range of tasks in a city that is actively turning its industrial past into a sustainable future — from the restoration of the Emscher and its tributaries to conversion projects and the development of green infrastructure. Geodata jobs in Dortmund are created in administration, at utility companies such as DEW21 and in the expanding GIS economy.

Surveyors in Dortmund are in high demand as urban redevelopment, infrastructure projects and digitization are constantly progressing. Umwelttechnik Dortmund is benefiting from the transformation to a sustainable city with a focus on renewable energy, heating planning and climate-friendly mobility. Vacancies in Spatial Planning Dortmund are particularly attractive, as TU Dortmund, with its unique Department of Spatial Planning — the only independent Department of Spatial Planning in Germany — creates a direct link between science and practice. Geoinformatics Dortmund is excellently connected by TU Dortmund and the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics. The city thus offers a unique environment for skilled workers who want to contribute to the sustainable transformation of a former industrial metropolis.

Quality of life and infrastructure

Working in Dortmund means living in a city with excellent value for money. The cost of living is significantly lower than in other major cities, while at the same time offering good income prospects. Living in Dortmund is affordable: From urban districts such as Kreuzviertel and Nordstadt to family-friendly districts such as Aplerbeck and Hörde to green suburbs such as Brünninghausen and Syburg, the city offers a wide range of accommodation options. The housing market is relaxed compared to other major cities, and new construction projects and renovated old buildings are constantly expanding the range of offers.

The transport connections are excellent: As a central transport hub in the Ruhr area, Dortmund connects all important German cities via ICE, long-distance rail and motorway. Dortmund Airport offers connections to European destinations, and Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn airports can be reached within a short time. The city and regional rail network is well developed, and the S-Bahn connects Dortmund with the entire Ruhr area. Dortmund's work-life balance benefits enormously from the green side of the city: With over 50 percent green and forest areas, Dortmund is one of the greenest cities in Germany. The Westfalenpark, the Rombergpark Botanic Gardens, the Phoenix Lake and the Dortmund-Ems Canal offer a wide range of recreational opportunities.

Dortmund has a lot to offer culturally: The German Football Museum, the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra, Dortmund Theatre, first-class museums and a lively creative scene shape the city. The industrial culture with mines, blast furnaces and coking plants can be experienced as tourists and gives Dortmund a unique character. BVB (Borussia Dortmund) with its legendary Yellow Wall creates a special sense of belonging. For families, Dortmund offers good schools, childcare and countless leisure opportunities. The city is young, dynamic and affordable — ideal for young professionals and families.

career prospects

Dortmund's job opportunities for environmental, planning and geospatial professionals are excellent and benefit from TU Dortmund's scientific excellence. The Faculty of Spatial Planning at TU Dortmund is the only independent spatial planning department in Germany and has the highest international reputation. It offers excellent degree programs and research in spatial planning, urban planning, transport planning and environmental planning. The close integration between university, city administration and planning practice creates ideal conditions for Dortmund's environmental engineering career and scientific careers.

Other institutes at TU Dortmund, such as the Institute for Environmental Research and the Faculty of Biological and Chemical Engineering, complement the offer. This density of universities creates a dynamic environment with access to research projects, doctoral programs and scientific networks. Job offers for spatial planning Dortmund will continue to increase as the city pursues ambitious goals in urban redevelopment, climate adaptation and sustainable mobility. As a major project, IGA 2027 creates additional career opportunities in landscape architecture and open space planning.

Professional associations, networks and close cooperation between TU Dortmund and practice offer excellent opportunities for professional exchange. The Ruhr metropolitan region with its countless municipalities, planning offices and supply companies is significantly expanding the labor market. Dortmund is therefore not only an attractive and affordable place to work for qualified specialists, but also a city in which the successful structural change from an industrial city to a city of knowledge and sustainability can be actively shaped.

Top employers in Dortmund

Leading employer for environmental, planning and geospatial jobs in Dortmund

Dortmund offers a diverse employer landscape for specialists in the environmental, planning and geodata sectors. The Westphalian metropolis combines modern city administration, innovative Dortmund companies, water industry associations and the renowned TU Dortmund to form an attractive career ecosystem. The concentration of employer Dortmund in the areas of structural change, sustainable urban development and geodata as well as the strong demand for environmental jobs Dortmund and GIS companies Dortmund make the city an ideal location for specialists in these industries.

Public employers and authorities

City of Dortmund — City Planning and Building Regulations Office
The City Planning and Building Regulations Office of the City of Dortmund is shaping the future of a city undergoing successful structural change. The challenges are manifold: transformation of former industrial areas, development of new residential areas, climate-friendly urban development and preparation for the International Garden Exhibition (IGA) 2027. City planners, spatial planners, traffic planners, architects and urban developers are working on projects that serve as models for post-industrial urban development. Dortmund Jobs City Council offers the opportunity to participate in the transformation of a former industrial metropolis into the green, livable city of the future.

City of Dortmund — Surveying and Cadastral Office
The Surveying and Cadastral Office of the City of Dortmund is responsible for real estate cadastre, surveying, valuation and geoinformation. The Office operates the innovative Geoportal Dortmund with one of the most comprehensive 3D city models in Germany, which comprises over 200,000 officially proven buildings. Surveyors, geodesists, geoinformatics specialists, GIS developers and cartographers work here on digitizing geospatial city information, digital twins and innovative geodata applications. The Dortmund Surveying Office is a pioneer in providing open geodata (Open Data) and modern GIS technology and offers secure career opportunities with pioneering projects.

City of Dortmund — Environment Agency
The Dortmund Environment Agency promotes the ecological and sustainable development of the city. It is responsible for environmental protection, climate protection, pollution control, soil protection and water protection. The authority is working on implementing climate goals, developing strategies for heat planning in cooperation with DEW21 and is responsible for nature reserves and ecological urban development. Environmental planners, environmental engineers, biologists, landscape ecologists, climate protection managers and immission control experts work on a wide range of tasks here, from licensing practice to monitoring and strategic environmental planning. The Dortmund Environment Agency is actively shaping the transformation to a climate-neutral city.

Arnsberg District Government — Dortmund branch
The district government of Arnsberg is responsible as a middle authority for the entire administrative district of Arnsberg and has a branch office in Dortmund. The authority is responsible for regional planning, environmental protection, water management, transport and infrastructure. Here, spatial planners, environmental engineers, hydraulic engineers and administrative lawyers process approval procedures and planning approvals for one of Germany's most important economic regions. The district government offers secure career prospects in the public sector with demanding tasks.

Emschergenossenschaft/Lippeverband (EGLV)
The Emschergenossenschaft is the oldest and largest water management association in Germany and is responsible for the catchment area of the Emscher and its tributaries. With the Emscher conversion generational project — the restoration of the former sewer into a near-natural river system — the cooperative is implementing one of the largest infrastructure and environmental projects in Europe. Hydraulic engineers, environmental engineers, hydrologists, aquatic ecologists, landscape planners and biologists work on restoration projects, flood protection, wastewater treatment and sustainable water management. The Emschergenossenschaft, headquartered in Essen, is an internationally recognized employer for water management with projects in Dortmund and the entire region. Cooperation with the City of Dortmund on IGA 2027 creates additional career opportunities.

private companies

gruenplan — Office for Environmental Planning and Landscape Architecture
gruenplan is an established Dortmund planning office with a focus on environmental planning, landscape planning and open space planning. The office prepares environmental impact studies, landscape conservation accompanying plans, species protection reports, green planning plans and provides ecological support for infrastructure and urban development projects. Landscape architects, landscape planners, biologists, environmental planners and environmental experts Dortmund work on a wide range of projects from municipal green planning and compensation concepts to major transport and construction projects. The office combines ecological expertise with creative open space design.

IGR Ingenieurgesellschaft Ruhrkohle mbH
IGR is a specialized engineering firm with expertise in contaminated sites exploration, soil protection, mining damage remediation and environmental assessments. In the Ruhr region with its mining history, IGR is an important partner for conversion projects, land recycling and remediation of contaminated sites. Environmental engineers, geologists, geotechnicians and environmental experts in Dortmund work on complex contaminated site problems and make it possible to reuse former industrial areas. The IGR is actively contributing to structural change in the Ruhr region.

Planungsbüro Richter-Richard — Freelance Landscape Architects
Richter-Richard is a renowned landscape architecture firm based in Dortmund, specializing in open space planning, garden monument conservation, city squares and park design. The office designs public spaces, parks, playgrounds and urban green spaces. Landscape architects, landscape planners and open space planners work to design livable public spaces and contribute to Dortmund's green transformation.

Fischer Teamplan — Engineering Office for Infrastructure and Environment
Fischer Teamplan is a large engineering firm with over 300 employees and nationwide branches, which is also active in Dortmund and the region. The company offers services in transport planning, water management, environmental planning and infrastructure planning. Traffic planners, civil engineers, hydraulic engineers, environmental engineers and landscape planners are working on integrated solutions for sustainable infrastructure. Fischer Teamplan combines technical excellence with environmental responsibility.

DEW21 — Dortmunder Energie- und Wasserversorgung GmbH
DEW21 is the municipal energy and water supplier to the city of Dortmund and an important player in the energy revolution in the region. The company offers electricity, gas, heat, water and electric mobility and is working on heating planning for Dortmund. Energy engineers, environmental engineers, urban planners and sustainability experts are shaping the climate-neutral energy supply of the future. DEW21 is an attractive employer at the interface of supply security and climate protection.

EFTAS Remote Sensing Technology Transfer GmbH — Project Office Dortmund
EFTAS is a leading German service provider for remote sensing, aerial image interpretation and digital photogrammetry, which also works on projects in Dortmund and the region. GIS specialists, geoinformatics specialists, remote sensing experts and photogrammetry engineers are working on innovative geo-IT projects. EFTAS is one of the top GIS service providers with cutting-edge technology.

Research and education

TU Dortmund — Faculty of Spatial Planning
The Faculty of Spatial Planning at TU Dortmund is the only independent spatial planning department in Germany and has the highest international reputation. The faculty offers degree programs and cutting-edge research in spatial planning, urban planning, transport planning, landscape planning, environmental planning and spatial development. Scientific staff, doctoral students and postdocs conduct research on topics such as sustainable urban development, mobility transition, climate adaptation, regional development and spatial justice. The close integration with planning practice, numerous cooperation projects with municipalities and the excellent reputation make the faculty the ideal location for Dortmund scientific positions in spatial planning. TU Dortmund Spatial Planning graduates are particularly in demand on the job market.

TU Dortmund — Faculty of Bio and Chemical Engineering
The Faculty of Biological and Chemical Engineering offers research and teaching in environmental technology, process engineering, bioprocess engineering and sustainable processes. Environmental engineers, process engineers, chemical engineers and biotechnologists conduct research on topics such as wastewater treatment, resource efficiency, circular economy and sustainable production. The faculty offers career opportunities at the interface of technology and environmental protection.

TU Dortmund — Department of Informatics — Chair of Geoinformatics
The Department of Geoinformatics at the Department of Computer Science researches spatial databases, GIS algorithms, geodata analysis and location-based services. Computer scientists, geoinformatics specialists and data scientists are working on innovative solutions for spatial data processing. Dortmund's research in the area of GIS combines computer science with geosciences and offers scientific career opportunities.

Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML
Fraunhofer IML in Dortmund is one of the leading logistics research institutes worldwide and also researches geodata analysis, location planning and GIS applications in logistics. Logistics researchers, geoinformatics specialists, computer scientists and engineers are working on innovative solutions for sustainable mobility and intelligent logistics systems. The institute offers applied research with direct practical relevance.

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