Research Associate (m/f/d) at the Faculty of Natural Sciences III, in the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) SNP2Prot 'Plant Proteoform Diversity'

Research Associate (m/f/d)

The Faculty of Natural Sciences III, in the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) SNP2Prot "Plant Proteoform Diversity", at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg is seeking a full-time Research Associate (m/f/d) as soon as possible for a fixed term currently limited until 30 June 2028.

Remuneration will be determined based on job duties and responsibilities and will be aligned with the fulfillment of listed personal requirements, up to pay grade __ under the TV-L (Tarifvertrag für den Öffentlichen Dienst der Länder – 'German Public Service Pay Agreement for the Federal States') or TV-Ärzte ('Public Service Pay Agreement for Physicians at University Hospitals').

Job Responsibilities

• Bioinformatics research within the framework of the SNP2Prot subproject D02 Development of SNPstar 2.0 and computational prediction of putative proteoform candidates with high functional proteoform variation.
• Development of a Plant Pangenome Browser for constructing, visualising, and analysing pangenomes of diploid and polyploid monocots and eudicots including Arabidopsis, barley, wheat, rice, maize, and tomato.
• Development of bioinformatics and machine learning approaches for:
  • computing, visualising, and analysing orthology relationships between genes, promoter regions, and intergenic regions within and between these pangenomes based on the conservation of protein sequences, gene structures, and their genomic context;
  • integrating, visualising, and analysing sequence and 3D-structure data for elucidating the effects of naturally occurring SNPs and ‘designer’ mutations in protein coding genes for predicting functionally modified proteoforms;
  • integrating, visualising, and analysing DAP-seq data, GHT-SELEX data, ChIP-seq data, RNA-seq data, other omics data, and 3D-structural data for elucidating the effects of non-coding SNPs in and near putative transcription factor binding sites.
• Presentation and publication of scientific data and methods

The opportunity to obtain your own academic qualification as part of a habilitation or doctorate is given.

Requirements

• An excellent MSc degree (or equivalent) in bioinformatics, computational biology, computer science, or a closely related discipline
• A strong interest in analysing, visualising, and elucidating the effect of natural variations and ‘designer’ mutations on a pangenome level
• PhD experience in bioinformatics and publication experience in bioinformatics are considered a strong plus
• Expertise in the analysis of sequence data with bioinformatics methods and machine learning is considered a plus
• Solid programming skills at least in Java and R, expertise in algorithm development, software development, and database design
• Excellent English language skills (active and passive, written and spoken)
• Highly motivated to work in this central bioinformatics position with its freedom and opportunity to collaborate closely with any of the research groups of the CRC and our international partners in Europe and North America

Bewerbungshinweise

Applications from disabled persons, including those of equal status (as certified by the Bundesagentur für Arbeit / Federal Employment Agency), will be given preferential consideration if they are equally suitable and qualified. Women are strongly encouraged to apply. Applications from individuals of all nationalities are explicitly welcome. Applicants with a degree that was not obtained at a German university must submit a Statement of Comparability for Foreign Higher Education Qualifications from the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) (https://www.kmk.org/zab/central-office-for-foreign-education) as proof of equivalence upon conclusion of the employment contract. You can find ways to apply for a financial grant for this under: https://www.anerkennung-in-deutschland.de/html/de/pro/anerkennungszuschuss.php#.

Please send your application, including Reg. No.: 5-8120/26-D with the required documents as a single PDF file until 06.09.2026 to Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Prof. Dr. Marcel Quint or by email to marcel.quint@landw.uni-halle.de.

In case of queries concerning the application process or project-related questions please contact the PIs of the project Prof. Dr. Marcel Quint (marcel.quint@landw.uni-halle.de, Tel.: +49 345 5522739) and Prof. Dr. Ivo Große (ivo.grosse@informatik.uni-halle.de, Tel.: +49 345 5524774).

This call for applications is subject to possible budgetary restrictions.

Application costs will not be reimbursed by Martin Luther University.