Postdoctoral Researcher / Senior Scientist in the field of plant single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
The group of Björn Usadel at the institute IBG-4 at Forschungszentrum Jülich is a well-resourced, internationally leading lab for plant omics, data integration and biological data science within the Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS).
Our research is dedicated to enhancing health-promoting metabolites in plants and to understanding plant stress responses and adaptation. To this end, we combine genome and transcriptome analysis, metabolomics, phenotyping and AI to understand how plant cells, tissues and metabolic networks respond to stress, infection and domestication. Our work focuses on Solanales crops, tea and Camelina sativa.
We are looking for an ambitious plant biologist with single-cell and/or spatial omics expertise who wants to build a visible research profile at the interface of plant stress biology, metabolites, spatial omics and data integration. Depending on experience and career goals, the position can be shaped as a postdoctoral, senior scientist or independence-track role, with a long-term development perspective and strong support for competitive grant applications.
Possible projects include, but are not limited to, the spatial analysis of Cuscuta infection, the cellular basis of stress responses and specialized metabolism in Solanaceae, and the integration of spatial omics with pangenomics and metabolomics to identify regulatory mechanisms that can improve crop traits.
Recent publications:
van Rengs et al. Wild tomato genome assemblies reveal structural variants influencing gene regulation and stress responses. Nature Commun. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74784-5
Demesa-Arevalo et al. Imputation integrates single-cell and spatial gene expression data to resolve transcriptional networks in barley shoot meristem development. Nature Plants (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-02176-6
Holst et al. Helixer: ab initio prediction of primary eukaryotic gene models combining deep learning and a hidden Markov model. Nature Methods (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-025-02939-1
Gaccione et al. Graph-based pangenomes and pan-phenome provide a cornerstone for eggplant biology and breeding. Nature Commun. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64866-1
Your Job
- Develop and optimize single-cell / single-nucleus RNA sequencing in plants
- Co-develop spatial transcriptomics protocols and analyses with collaborators in CEPLAS
- Design and run experiments on plant stress responses, metabolic pathways or plant-plant interactions
- Publish and present your results
- Develop your own grant proposals, with support from the group and the institute
Your Profile
- Hands-on experimental experience working with plants
- Master and PhD in plant biology, molecular biology, genomics or a closely related field
- Experience with single-cell or single-nucleus RNA sequencing
- Experience with spatial platforms is a plus
- Experience with bioinformatics pipelines for omics data (e.g. Seurat, Scanpy)
- Strong analytical and organizational skills
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams
- Excellent written and spoken English (C1/C2 level according to the CEFR)
Plant experience is essential. Beyond that, if you meet most but not all of these points, we encourage you to apply.
Our Benefits for You
We work on highly topical, scientifically exciting questions and offer you the opportunity to actively shape a project. You can expect a wide range of opportunities:
- Excellent infrastructure: ONT Promethion and 10x instruments, access to dedicated high performance computing
- Strong network: embedding in the CEPLAS cluster of excellence and close ties to HHU Düsseldorf, in the middle of one of Europe's densest plant-science regions
- Meaningful tasks: A varied and central role in an international, interdisciplinary environment
- Vacation: 30 days of vacation plus additional days off (e.g. between Christmas and New Year’s)
- Flexibility: Flexible working time models, including options close to full-time, to tailor your working hours to your needs
- Knowledge & further training: Targeted, individual support for your professional development
- Successful start: Structured onboarding, Welcome Days, and a Welcome Guide to help you settle in quickly
- Fair remuneration: Depending on your qualifications and the tasks assigned, you will be classified in pay grade 13-14 of the TVöD-Bund (Collective Agreement for the Public Service). Information on the TVöD-Bund can be found on the BMI website
- Career Development: The position is initially limited to 2 years, with a clear perspective for extension up to 5–6 years, subject to mutual fit, scientific progress and the applicable fixed-term regulations. We actively support candidates aiming for scientific independence in developing their own research line and applying for major personal funding, such as a DFG Emmy Noether grant, ERC Starting Grant, Helmholtz Young Investigator Group or comparable schemes. Securing such funding can further strengthen the independence of the position and may allow the role, responsibilities and remuneration to be adapted accordingly.
- Additional benefits: A company pension scheme with employer contribution and an annual special payment under the collective agreement. In addition to the basic salary, there is an additional year-end bonus under the collective pay agreement amounting to 75%
- Fixed term: The position is initially limited to 2 years but can be extended up to 6 years
- Support for international employees: Our International Advisory Service makes it easier for international employees to get started
For questions please contact Björn Usadel b.usadel@fz-juelich.de
In addition to exciting tasks and a collegial working environment, we offer you much more: https://go.fzj.de/benefits
We welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds, e.g. in terms of age, gender, disability, sexual orientation / identity, and social, ethnic and religious origin. A diverse and inclusive working environment with equal opportunities in which everyone can realize their potential is important to us.
The following links provide further information on diversity and equal opportunities: https://go.fzj.de/equality and on specific support options for women: https://go.fzj.de/womens-job-journey
Index number: 2026T-0615
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