Scientist position (m/f/d) "Seagrass Health and Disease"

GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel is a foundation under public law jointly financed by the Federal Republic of Germany (90%) and the State of Schleswig-Holstein (10%). It is one of the internationally leading institutions in the field of marine research.

Through our research and our commitment to the transfer of knowledge and technology, we contribute significantly to the preservation of the function and protection of the ocean for future generations.

The research unit Marine Evolutionary Ecology of the research division Marine Ecology (PI Prof. Thorsten Reusch) is offering a

Scientist position (m/f/d)

"Seagrass Health and Disease"

The employment is initially for three years, the desired starting date is 1st November 2024, a prolongation for another three years until 31st October 2030 is possible upon positive evaluation.

Job Description

The position is embedded into the Marine Evolutionary Ecology group led by Prof. Thorsten Reusch. The successful candidate will complement and strengthen important aspects of the highly successful research line on the evolutionary ecology of seagrass meadows. These future areas could include (but are not limited to) (i) the interactions between ocean warming and the plant microbiome, including the occurrence and virulence of pathogens (ii) studies on the unique resistance gene repertoire in seagrasses incl. implications for the endo- and epiphytic microbial community and for plant - disease coevolution (iii) assessing the functional role of structural genetic variation and gene presence /absence polymorphism (iv) establishment of functional genetic assays such as gene editing in reverse genetics approaches. The successful applicant is expected to be fluent in the application of genomic, transcriptomic or metabolomic methods along with their bioinformatical challenges. We welcome candidates from terrestrial or freshwater study systems on marine plant-based ecosystems. Acquisition of own third-party funding will be strongly supported. The working language in our group is English.

Qualification

Requirements for a successful application are:

• a doctoral degree in biology, life sciences, ecology, marine sciences or in a related subject
• a very good doctoral or PhD thesis
• experience with the ecological genomic methods portfolio
• fluency in the application of required bioinformatic tools and pipelines
• a track record of excellent scientific publications according to career stage
• proficiency in English

Desirable qualifications are:

• background in plant microbiome research
• knowledge on seagrass biology and disease ecology
• track record of acquisition of third-party funding
• prior postdoctoral experience
• experience in the (co)supervision of students

At a workplace, directly on the Kiel Fjord with many leisure and recreational opportunities, we offer you:

• Good conditions for work-life balance: We offer, among other things, the possibility of mobile working and individual working time arrangements, vacation courses for the children of our employees, and good support in finding a place in a daycare center at the Kiel site
• Support services for professional and personal life situations
• An exciting work environment with the opportunity to provide important impetus for the development of sustainable solutions
• Exciting topics in an international environment
• Work in the field of marine and climate research, a forward-looking area with social significance
• 30 vacation days + additional time off at Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve
• Company pension plan and capital-forming benefits

The full-time position (39 hrs/week) is available for a period of three years and will be extended three years upon successful evaluation after 2.5 yrs. The salary depends on qualification and could be up to the class 14 TVöD-Bund of the German tariff for public employees. The position can be split in principle. Flexible working time models are possible.

GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel seeks to increase the proportion of female scientists and explicitly encourages qualified female academics to apply.

GEOMAR is an equal opportunity employer and encourages scientists with disabilities to apply. Qualified disabled applicants will receive preference in the application process.

Please submit your application no later than 31^st August 2024 under the following link:

Online application

Along with a cover letter, a curriculum vitae and a list of publications please include a brief research perspective.

As soon as the selection procedure has finished, all your application data will be removed according to data protection regulation.

For further informal inquiries, regarding the position and research unit please contact Prof. Thorsten Reusch (treusch(at)geomar.de).

For any further formal question use the e-mail bewerbung(at)geomar.de. In doing so, please refer to the keyword “Seagrass_Health_Disease”.

Further information on GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel or on the Helmholtz Association can be found here www.geomar.de or www.helmholtz.de.

GEOMAR is committed to an objective and non-discriminatory personnel selection. Our job advertisement addresses all people. Hence please do not submit application photographs.