Soil Microbiologist - Microbiome & Nitrogen Innovation

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI); Philippines; On-site; PHP 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Retirement plan

Life & accident insurance

Allowances

Job summary

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, Philippines invites applications for a Soil Microbiologist to join an interdisciplinary team focused on nitrogen use efficiency and climate-smart rice production.

The role includes designing experiments, applying big data tools, and developing microbial databases to advance sustainable rice systems, with collaboration across IRRI and partner institutions. The position is based at IRRI Headquarters and open to international applicants.

Qualifications

• Strong background in soil microbiology, microbial ecology, or environmental microbiology.
• Strong understanding of nitrogen cycling and its relevance to soil fertility and sustainable agriculture.
• Experience in microbial characterization and evaluation.
• Experience with bioinformatics and data analysis tools for large metagenomic/microbial data (QIIME2, R, Python).
• Familiarity with machine learning/AI tools.
• Proven ability to design and execute lab and field experiments integrating microbiology and agronomy.
• Excellent scientific writing with peer-reviewed publications.
• Ability to collaborate across multidisciplinary, multicultural teams.

Responsibilities

• Design and conduct experiments to characterize beneficial nitrogen-fixing microbes under varying soil conditions.
• Apply big data analytical tools to study soil microbiome dynamics in rice systems.
• Collaborate with IRRI scientists to integrate microbiome insights with agronomy and breeding.
• Develop and maintain a microbial database linked with agronomic data for data-driven discovery.
• Manage research activities, deliver within budget and milestones.
• Contribute to proposals, reports, and dissemination of results.

Skills

Soil microbiology

Microbial ecology

Nitrogen cycling

Data analysis

Laboratory techniques

Education

PhD in related field

Postdoctoral experience

Tools

QIIME2

R

Python

Job description

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, Philippines invites applications for a Soil Microbiologist to join an interdisciplinary team focused on nitrogen use efficiency and climate-smart rice production.

The role includes designing experiments, applying big data tools, and developing microbial databases to advance sustainable rice systems, with collaboration across IRRI and partner institutions. The position is based at IRRI Headquarters and open to international applicants.