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

• 3-year postdoctoral role for an early career researcher with a PhD in plant molecular biology, plant-microbe interactions, or synthetic biology.
• Contribute to research to support the grain industry within Australia and the world.
• Collaborate with world leading teams across CSIRO, Government and Industry. 

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.

The focus in this role will be to identify virulence genes in cereal rust fungi that allow them to overcome resistance traits bred into crop cultivars. This knowledge will be utilised to develop tools and techniques to enable rapid molecular diagnostic technologies for rust fungi to monitor pathogen populations in the field and forecast disease outbreaks.

The CERC Fellow will work across two high-performing groups within CSIRO’s Agriculture & Food unit; Pests & Diseases and Synthetic Traits.  The CERC Fellow will directly join the Pests and Diseases team which is globally recognised for delivering impact and advancing knowledge on rust disease resistance with the overall goal to prevent crop losses.  The CERC Fellow will also collaborate and engage with colleagues in the recently launched CSIRO Catalysing Australia’s Biosecurity Initiative.

Your duties will include:

• • Carry out innovative, impactful research of strategic importance to CSIRO that will, where possible, lead to novel and important scientific outcomes. This will include leveraging a molecular screening platform to rapidly pinpoint which genes are not only disease-causing, but also disease-preventing cereal rust fungi.
  • Undertake regular reviews of relevant literature and patents.
  • Communicate results internally through regular team meetings and group level presentations.
  • Share results externally through preparation and presentation of appropriate conference papers as agreed with your supervisor and through preparation of scientific manuscripts suitable for publication in quality journals and granting of patents.
  • Record, manage, and analyse data/information using relevant domain data science techniques.

Location:  Black Mountain, Canberra ACT

Salary:  AU$96,329 - AU$105,517 plus up to 15.4% superannuation

Tenure:  Specified term of 3 years

Reference:  96632

To be considered you will need:

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as plant molecular biology, plant-microbe interactions, or synthetic biology. Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (full-time equivalent) of postdoctoral research experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge and research experience in molecular plant-pathogen interactions. 
• Experience in applying molecular biology approaches and high throughput sequencing data generation and analysis. 
• 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.

For full details about this role please view the Position Description

Eligibility

Applications for this position are open to all candidates – Australian/New Zealand Citizens, Australian Permanent Residents, or international candidates (both offshore and onshore) who either hold, or be able to obtain, a valid working visa for the duration of the specified term.  Visa sponsorship and relocation assistance may be provided to the successful candidate if required.

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.

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

24 June 2024, 11:00pm AEST