Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation

Child Safety

CSIRO is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our activities and programs. View our Child Safe Policy.

The Opportunity

• Do you have a PhD in algal or plant science, microbiology, and/or biochemistry?
• Exciting and impactful research opportunity in algae carbon-based bioproducts.
• Join CSIRO’s Carbon Lock Future Science Platform initiative!

CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships provide opportunities to scientists and engineers who have completed their doctorate and have less than three years of relevant postdoctoral work experience. These fellowships aim to develop the next generation of future leaders of the innovation system.

Nationally and internationally, reaching net-zero emissions and beyond will require new methods of permanently removing significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere that are fast, scalable, and responsible. CarbonLock, CSIRO’s Permanent Carbon Locking Future Science Platform (FSP) will address this challenge by driving radical innovation at the nexus of biology, chemistry and engineering in negative emissions technology and their integration to permanently remove atmospheric carbon dioxide in novel and unconventional ways.

The CERC Fellow will work within a multidisciplinary team as part of the CarbonLock FSP, with a focus on algae-based solutions. Algae are natural consumers of carbon dioxide and have a diverse and complex biosynthetic capacity to convert this carbon dioxide into many potential bioproducts: a process that will require enhancement and acceleration for potential negative emissions outcomes to be fully realised.  The CERC Fellow will use a combination of culturing, metabolic and genetic approaches to investigate possible routes to accelerated algal conversion of carbon dioxide to bioproducts, taking advantage of leading-edge ‘omics analyses to inform effective and sustainable manipulation strategies.

Your duties will include:

•  
  • Contributing to a research project investigating algae carbon-based bioproducts via understanding of metabolic and molecular mechanisms of biosynthesis and by utilising state-of-the-art techniques in molecular biology, genomics and biotechnology.
  • Carrying out innovative, impactful research of strategic importance to CSIRO that will, where possible, lead to novel and important scientific outcomes.
  • Undertaking regular reviews of relevant literature and patents.
  • Communicating results through regular team meetings and FSP presentations.
  • Recognising and harnessing opportunities for innovation and the generation of new theoretical perspectives, and progress opportunities for the further development or creation of new lines of research.

Location: Hobart, Tasmania

Salary: AU$92k - AU$101k plus up to 15.4% superannuation

Tenure: Specified term of 3 years

Reference: 93326

To be considered you will need:

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as algal or plant science, microbiology, and/or biochemistry, with a strong background in biotechnology and molecular biology. Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (or full-time equivalent) of postdoctoral research experience.
• Demonstrated experience in the use of molecular biology methodologies to problems in algal, plant or microbial metabolite or bioproduct biosynthesis.
• Evidence of experience in biosynthetic pathway elucidation and/or manipulation using approaches including gene expression analysis, mutagenesis and RNAi techniques, and/or genome editing technologies (e.g., CRISPR-Cas).
• Evidence of experience with algae, plant or microbial growth facilities, including algae/microbial culturing or plant propagation and maintenance.

For full details about this role please view the Position Description

Eligibility

Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

Flexible Working Arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. 

Diversity and Inclusion

We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish. 

About CSIRO

At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact. 

CSIRO is committed to values-based leadership to inspire performance and unlock the potential of our people.

CSIRO is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our activities and programs, whether we are undertaking research, engaging with the public or nurturing future scientists in person or online. Source – CSIRO Child Safe policy 2023

Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to Apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

Applications Close

01 September 2023, 11:00pm AEDT