Ecologist as Postdoc (m/f/d)

Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/d)

(Microbial Ecology and Microbiome Diversity)

The Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH (LMG), Braunschweig, Germany, offers the position of a Postdoctoral Researcher (m/f/d) in the Microbial Ecology and Diversity research group. The appointment is for three years, full‑time (39.8 hours per week), starting as soon as possible, at a salary level according to TV‑L E 13, depending on personal qualification and professional experience.

The position 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, including analysis of temporal dynamics of bacterial and archaeal communities, large‑scale sampling and quantitative molecular analyses, cultivation and characterization of bacterial strains, assembly of defined synthetic communities, and development and implementation of efficient workflows for bulk deposition of microbiome‑derived strains into public culture collections.

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 the 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 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
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• 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 ( is an internationally‑renowned biological resource centre, 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 its 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 berufund familie®.