  X-ray absorption near-edge and grazing incidence X-ray fluorescence
spectroscopy are employed to investigate the electronic structure of
ZnFe$_{2}$O$_{4}$ thin films. The spectroscopy techniques are used to determine
the non-equilibrium cation site occupancy as a function of depth and oxygen
pressure during deposition and its effects on the magnetic properties. It is
found that low deposition pressures below 10$^{-3}$ mbar cause iron
superoccupation of tetrahedral sites without Zn$^{2+}$ inversion, resulting in
an ordered magnetic phase with high room temperature magnetic moment.
