Postdoctoral Research Associate

UE07 £37,099 to £44,263 per annum ( A revised salary range for this grade of  £39,347 to £46,974  is planned to take effect from Spring 2024).

Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences, School of Biological Sciences.             

Fixed Term Contract until 13^th February 2026 (with the possibility of extending for a further 4 months).

Full Time – 35 hours per week.

We are looking for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in algal synthetic biology to modify photosynthesis through engineering the algal chloroplast genome.

The Opportunity:

A Postdoctoral Research Associate position in algal engineering biology is available in the laboratory of Prof. Alistair McCormick at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh. We are seeking a highly motivated researcher to take a lead role in testing strategies for improving photosynthesis through a novel high-throughput engineering strategy to modify the chloroplast genome (the plastome) in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii . This is an Engineering Biology Mission Award project (BB/Y008162/1) funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and involves collaborations with the University College London, the University of Manchester and working with the Edinburgh Genome Foundry. The position is available for a fixed term of two years. For further information please contact Prof. Alistair McCormick (email:  ).

Your skills and attributes for success:

• PhD (or to be completed within 3 months) in an appropriate and relevant subject (Desirable).
• Track record of internationally competitive molecular biology research in plants/algae.
• Evidence of intellectual independence and creativity, and high level of organisation and high-quality record keeping.
• Good team-working, collaborative and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing with colleagues and collaborators.

Click here to view a copy of the full job description.

For informal enquiries please contact the hiring manager – Alistair McCormick  at  or the School of Biological Sciences Staffing / HR Team at .

As a valued member of our team you can expect: 

An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work. We give you support, nurture your talent and reward success. You will benefit from a competitive reward package and a wide range of staff benefits, which includes a generous holiday entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, staff discounts, family-friendly initiatives, flexible working and much more. Click to access our staff benefits page  (opens new browser tab)  for further information and use our reward calculator to find out the total value of pay and benefits provided.

The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality. 

If invited for interview you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work  webpages  (opens new browser tab) .

Key dates to note

The closing date for applications is 15th April 2024.

Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.