Job offer 02/26

The Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH, Braunschweig, Germany offers the position of a

Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/d)
(Microbial Ecology and Microbiome Diversity)

The appointment will be for three years with a salary level according to TV-L E 13, depending on personal qualification and professional experience. The position is offered as full time (39,8 hours per week) and is not appropriate for part-time work. The starting date is as soon as possible.

The position is based in the Microbial Ecology and Diversity research group and focuses on the analysis and experimental investigation of microbial communities across soil and human gut ecosystems. The successful candidate will work at the interface of microbial community ecology, cultivation-based microbiome research, and microbial resource management. The work comprises the analysis of temporal dynamics of bacterial and archaeal communities, large-scale sampling and quantitative molecular analyses, as well as the cultivation and characterization of bacterial strains, the assembly of defined synthetic communities, and the development and implementation of efficient workflows for bulk deposition of microbiome-derived strains into public culture collections, including standardized quality control and documentation.

The position is funded through two interconnected projects within the DFG Priority Programmes Biodiversity Exploratories (SPP 1374, project 8) and Illuminating gene functions in the human gut microbiome (SPP 2474, project Z01).

Your tasks:

• Assistance in the organization and execution of large-scale soil sampling campaigns
• Quantification of bacteria and archaea by qPCR and determination of growth status at community level
• Cultivation and characterization of bacterial strains
• Analysis of large-scale datasets on bacterial and archaeal communities to investigate their temporal dynamics
• Assembly of defined synthetic microbial communities
• Development and optimization of workflows for the efficient bulk deposition of bacterial strains into the DSMZ culture collection
• Project management, documentation, reporting, and publication of research results
• Close collaboration with academic project partners and DSMZ curators

Your qualification and skills:

• PhD university degree in microbiology, ecology, or a related discipline
• Strong experimental background in microbiology and molecular biology
• Solid understanding of microbial ecology, particularly microbial community structure and environmental adaptation
• Experience in handling large datasets is an advantage
• Experience with bioinformatic methods applied to genomics and/or metagenomics is advantageous
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in interdisciplinary research environments

What we offer:

• A full-time position with a gross salary according to E13 TV-L (100%)
• A three-year contract in accordance with WissZeitVG §2
• State-of-the-art molecular biology laboratories at the Science Campus Braunschweig-Süd
• Integration into a highly collaborative research environment with access to large-scale research infrastructures and an extensive scientific network

The Leibniz Institute DSMZ ( www.dsmz.de ) is an internationally-renowned biological resource center, research infrastructure, and service provider for academia and industry with one of the most diverse microbial collections worldwide. It is funded by the State of Lower Saxony and the German Federal government and is a member of the Leibniz Association. The institute is equipped with state-of-the art instruments for microbiological, chemical, and molecular work including an own next-generation sequencing, metabolomics, and bioinformatics core facility. The DSMZ strives to increase the proportion of female scientists and encourage female candidates specifically to apply. Disabled applicants with identical technical and personal qualification will be preferentially selected. In the case of degrees obtained abroad, proof of equivalence with a German degree must be enclosed. For further information, please refer to the website of the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB).

The DSMZ is an equal opportunity employer, supports balanced work-life career development, and holds the certificate of the audit berufundfamilie®.

For further information please contact Prof. Dr. Yvonne Mast ( yvonne.mast(at)dsmz.de ) or Dr. Selma Vieira ( selma.vieira(at)dsmz.de ).

Please send your complete application documents including a CV, motivation letter, summary of master/PhD thesis, copies of certificates, publication list, two representative publications, and contact details of two academic referees in a single PDF file with reference number 02/26 to bewerbung(at)dsmz.de .

Applications are welcome in German or English.

Application deadline is February 28th, 2026, but we may continue to review applications until the position is filled.