Postdoc in Plant–Microbe Engineering & Microbiomes

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Berkeley (CA); On-site; USD 6,000 - 6,700; Full time

Job summary

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Emeryville invites a Postdoctoral Fellow to engineer rhizosphere-colonizing microbes and study plant-microbe interactions in engineered ecosystems. The role uses RB-TnSeq and sequencing data to uncover fitness determinants and stress responses.

Start date January 2027 with ample opportunities for publications and collaboration. The position emphasizes meticulous record-keeping, team collaboration, and contribution to proposals and reports within a

Qualifications

• Recent Ph.D. (within the last 1-2 years) in Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Plant Biology or related field.
• Experience in plant-microbe interactions, soils, rhizosphere, and plant-microbe systems.
• Experience with large-scale sequencing data analysis and bioinformatics tools (e.g., gene fitness profiling, PCA, heat maps).
• Experience with genetics tools (transposon mutagenesis, gene knockouts, plasmid construction).
• Experience with plant-associated rhizobacteria (e.g., Paraburkholderia).
• Experience with mesocosms or controlled plant growth facilities.
• Strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.

Responsibilities

• Engineer rhizosphere-colonizing microbes for monocultures and designed communities.
• Develop quantitative assays to assess microbial stress responses and nutrient availability.
• Investigate plant-microbe interactions under varying environmental conditions.
• Isolate microbes, biofilms, extracellular matrices, and microbial DNA from rhizosphere samples.
• Use functional genomics tools to identify genetic fitness determinants.
• Analyze high-throughput omics and sequencing data using statistics like PCA.
• Lead preparation and authorship of peer-reviewed publications.
• Maintain detailed, reproducible experimental records.

Skills

Microbiology

Plant biology

Bioinformatics

Sequencing data analysis

Transposon mutagenesis

Publications

Education

Ph.D. in Microbiology or related field

Tools

RB-TnSeq

Transposon mutagenesis

Job description

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Emeryville invites a Postdoctoral Fellow to engineer rhizosphere-colonizing microbes and study plant-microbe interactions in engineered ecosystems. The role uses RB-TnSeq and sequencing data to uncover fitness determinants and stress responses.

Start date January 2027 with ample opportunities for publications and collaboration. The position emphasizes meticulous record-keeping, team collaboration, and contribution to proposals and reports within a