Postdoctoral Researcher for research within the field of anaerobic digestion and in situ biomethanation

Are you interested in working in the nexus between energy and agriculture, using your skills in bio-, chemical- or process engineering?  Would you be excited to work in an interdisciplinary team to perform research at both lab- and pilot-scale, making an impact on both science and technology?

Then the Biological and Chemical Engineering department at Aarhus University invites you to apply for a 2-year position.

Expected start date and duration of employment

This is five 2-year positions from September 1, 2024, or as soon as possible thereafter.

Job description

The project will be part of a large EU funded project: Value4Farm, where we integrate green protein production, photovoltaics and production of renewable biomethane. This integration will ensure a value chain that valorizes carbon and energy to different process streams in the agricultural setting, ensuring both more efficient management and utilization of carbon and energy.

We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher that are motivated by research at both lab- and pilot-scale.  For this we envision a person that is trained as a scientist or engineer within the fields of biotechnology, chemical engineering, environmental engineering, applied microbiology or the ones alike.

Your profile

Qualified candidates would ideally have a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) in anaerobic microbiology, biotechnology, bioengineering, process engineering, chemical engineering, environmental engineering, or related fields.

The project uniquely includes experimental activities at both laboratory- and pilot-scale. The ideal candidate therefore has expertize or hands-on experience with different aspects related to this:

- Anaerobic digestion and the associated microbial processes

- Experimental work with bioreactors (lab- or pilot-scale)

- Experience with energy and mass balances

- Analytical techniques for gasses and liquids

You will be associated with the Danish demo site of the  Value4Farm project https://value4farm.eu/, working with researchers within both engineering and agriculture. The project includes 14 international partners from different European countries. The successful candidate is therefore expected to closely interact with collaboration partners. Very good English language skills are thus a prerequisite.

You will be working in the research group “Microbial Conversion Technologies” as part of the Dept. of Biological & Chemical Engineering. As a group member you will be expected to be a team player, where you contribute to student co-supervision, teaching and day-to-day work of the group.

Who we are

Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering (www.bce.au.dk)

In the Microbial Conversion Technologies research group in Aarhus, we focus on the use of microorganisms for solving some of the great societal, environmental and technical challenges that we as a society has to deal with.

Our main focus is Power-to-X and CO2 conversion using renewable electricity from wind turbines or solar cells to fuels and chemicals like biomethane, combining biology and chemistry.

What we offer

• an excellent research infrastructure, laboratories, and access to shared equipment
• an exciting interdisciplinary environment with many national, international, and industrial collaborators
• a research climate encouraging lively, open, and critical discussion within and across different fields of research
• a work environment with close working relationships, networking, and social activities
• a workplace characterized by professionalism, equality, and a healthy work-life balance
• to make a high impact on solving climate change

Place of work and area of employment

The place of work Gustav Wieds Vej 10D, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark and the area of employment is Aarhus University, Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering. The candidates will also work at Aarhus University’s Viborg campus where the pilot plant will be housed. The candidate will work with several researchers at AU including Prof. Morten Ambye-Jensen and Prof. Uffe Jørgensen.

Contact information

For further information, please contact: Prof. Michael VW Kofoed. mvkbce.au.dk.

Deadline

Applications must be received no later than June 1st, 2024.

Application procedure

Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the appointment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. All applicants will be notified whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee, and each applicant is given the opportunity to comment on the part of the assessment that concerns him/her self. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.

Letter of reference

If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.

Formalities and salary range

Technical Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners. Read more here. Please find more information about entering and working in Denmark here.

Aarhus University also offers a Junior Researcher Development Programme targeted at career development for postdocs at AU. You can read more about it here.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.

Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/