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 biogeochemistry, geo or soil microbiology, crop nutrition, environmental soil science, environmental or biosystems engineering?
• Contribute to research and solve challenges in the emerging field of enhanced rock weathering.
• Join the CarbonLock Future Science Platform team in this exciting 3-year postdoctoral opportunity! 

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.

Future Science Platforms (FSPs) represent an investment in science that underpins innovation and can help reinvent and create new industries for Australia.

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), aims to 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 project will involve the development of agricultural soil amendments based on mineral/rock materials which provide both improved carbon dioxide sequestration and soil fertility.  We are seeking a CERC Fellow who will undertake research to help address some of the challenges in the emerging field of enhanced rock weathering for CO2 sequestration and improved soil health/plant performance. The CERC Fellow will work with researchers from CSIRO’s Mineral Resources, and Agriculture & Food business units.

Your duties will include:

•  
• Scoping and analysing currently available information about enhanced rock weathering and/or agronomic rock dust products to understand their viability and potential to improve upon them through microbial enhancement.
• Identifying suitable mine waste materials, that meet criteria to function as agricultural nutrient supplements while meeting the goal to enhance carbon sequestration through laboratory trials.
• Identifying potential microbial communities and conduct laboratory experiments to accelerate these carbon sequestration processes with the potential to upscale to pilot plant scale.
• Undertaking regular reviews of relevant literature and patents.
• Performing biogeochemical and microbiological analysis of materials.

Location: Black Mountain (ACT), Brisbane (QLD) or Perth (WA)

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

Tenure: Specified term of 3 years

Reference: 93722

To be considered you will need:

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as biogeochemistry, geo or soil microbiology, crop nutrition, environmental soil science, environmental or biosystems engineering. Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (or full-time equivalent) of postdoctoral research experience.
• An understanding, knowledge, and experience in at least one of biogeochemistry, geo-biology, soil biology, carbon sequestration, and crop nutrition.
• High level written and oral communication skills with the ability to represent the research team effectively internally and externally, including the presentation of research outcomes at national and international conferences.
• A sound history of publication in peer reviewed journals and/or authorship of scientific papers, reports, grant applications or patents.
• A current Australian driver’s licence or the ability to obtain one.

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 which includes addressing both the essential AND desirable selection criteria outlined within the position description, and
• a CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

Applications Close

8 September 2023, 11:00pm AEST/AEDT