Postdoctoral Research Associate - Microbial and Ecosystem Ecology

Requisition Id 12619 

Overview: 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest US Department of Energy science and energy laboratory, conducting basic and applied research to deliver transformative solutions to compelling problems in energy and security.

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate who will support the Integrative Microbiomics Group in the Biosciences Division, Biological and Environmental System Sciences Directorate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). In this role, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with a group of scientists to examine how variation in plant-fungal associations influences host stress tolerance and ecosystem carbon cycling.

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an extraordinary 80-year history of solving the nation’s biggest problems. We have a dedicated and creative staff of over 6,000 people! Our vision for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) is to cultivate an environment and practices that foster diversity in ideas and in the people across the organization, as well as to ensure ORNL is recognized as a workplace of choice. These elements are critical for enabling the execution of ORNL’s broader mission to accelerate scientific discoveries and their translation into energy, environment, and security solutions for the nation.

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Design, conduct, analyze, and interpret laboratory, greenhouse, and field-based experiments.
• Lead and contribute to the development of scientific manuscripts.
• Perform research utilizing a full range of state-of-the-art equipment/facilities for microbiology, molecular biology, ecosystem ecology, plant biology, and genomics in a professional environment with excellent technical support.

Basic Qualifications:

• Ph.D. degree in microbiology, ecology, molecular biology, or related fields completed in the last 5 years.
• Demonstrated expertise in both modern molecular ecology methods such as metagenome analyses, quantitative PCR, rRNA community sequence analyses, and ecosystem analyses for characterizing soil nutrient cycling
• Demonstrated record of expertise in informatics approaches for microbiome and metagenomic studies and a track record of primary contributions to peer-reviewed publications.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A successful history of interdisciplinary, integrative, and creative research in the discipline of ecosystem and microbial ecology
• Expertise in fungal culturing or a desire to learn fungal culture techniques
• Familiarity with software tools for next generation DNA sequence analysis of rRNA and metagenomic/metatranscriptomic microbial datasets.
• The ability to program and script in R or other languages to customize analyses is preferred.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Motivated self-starter with the ability to work independently and to participate creatively in collaborative teams across the laboratory 
• Ability to function well in a fast-paced research environment, set priorities to accomplish multiple tasks within deadlines, and adapt to ever changing needs

Special Requirements:

Applicants cannot have received their Ph.D. more than five years prior to the date of application and must complete all degree requirements before starting their appointment. The appointment length will be up to 24 months with the potential for extension. Initial appointments and extensions are subject to performance and availability of funding.

3 letters of references are required.

Please submit three letters of reference when applying to this position. You may upload these directly to your application or have them sent to recruiting@ornl.gov with the position title and number referenced in the subject line.

Instructions to upload documents to your candidate profile:

• Login to your account via jobs.ornl.gov
• View Profile
• Under the My Documents section, select Add a Document

Benefits at ORNL:  

ORNL offers competitive pay and benefits programs to attract and retain talented people. The laboratory offers many employee benefits, including medical and retirement plans and flexible work hours, to help you and your family live happy and healthy. Employee amenities such as on-site fitness, banking, and cafeteria facilities are also provided for convenience.

Other benefits include the following: Prescription Drug Plan, Dental Plan, Vision Plan, 401(k) Retirement Plan, Contributory Pension Plan, Life Insurance, Disability Benefits, Generous Vacation and Holidays, Parental Leave, Legal Insurance with Identity Theft Protection, Employee Assistance Plan, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Savings Accounts, Wellness Programs, Educational Assistance, Relocation Assistance, and Employee Discounts.

If you have difficulty using the online application system or need an accommodation to apply due to a disability, please email: ORNLRecruiting@ornl.gov or call 1.866.963.9545.

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This position will remain open for a minimum of 5 days after which it will close when a qualified candidate is identified and/or hired.

We accept Word (.doc, .docx), Adobe (unsecured .pdf), Rich Text Format (.rtf), and HTML (.htm, .html) up to 5MB in size. Resumes from third party vendors will not be accepted; these resumes will be deleted and the candidates submitted will not be considered for employment.

If you have trouble applying for a position, please email ORNLRecruiting@ornl.gov.

ORNL is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans, are encouraged to apply.  UT-Battelle is an E-Verify employer.