Postdoc in Plant-microbiome interactions - DTU Bioengineering

Postdoc in Plant-microbiome interactions  This postdoc is part of the Lab2Field consortium led by Dr. Tanvi Taparia, which is hosted at the Section for Microbial & Chemical Ecology, DTU Bioengineering. 

Responsibilities and qualifications
Your overall focus will be to advance our understanding of the ecological principles that govern the success of microbial bioinoculant consortia. Under the Lab2Field project, you will create a knowledge framework for the successful field application of microbial biostimulants and biopesticides. You will work closely with colleagues at DTU Bioengineering, farmers, industry partners, and regulatory bodies. You will contribute to generating knowledge that links insights from laboratory experiments with Synthetic Communities to field-level agronomic performance of multi-strain bioinoculants.

Your primary tasks will be to:

• Design and refine complex synthetic communities (SynComs) to simulate diverse soil microbial environments 
• Investigate bioinoculant colonization under varying soil, host & microbial factors  
• Track bioinoculant populations & community dynamics of the resident microbiome 
• Use multi-variate analysis to integrate microbiome & plant data to find ecological drivers of bioinoculant success 
• Contribute to supervision of PhD/MSc/BSc students and support project activities 
• Communicate across sectors with farmers, regulatory bodies, stakeholders & industry

You must bring hands-on experience in at least 3 of these 6 areas: 

• Designing and working with complex synthetic communities (100+ bacterial strains)
• Microbiome data analyses in R or Python (amplicon, genomics, metagenomics)
• Studying microbial colonization in plant microcosms or greenhouse trials
• Investigating mode-of-action for biostimulants or biofungicide candidates
• Strong knowledge of the regulatory landscape for microbial bioinoculants 
• Experience with setting up, coordinating and sampling from large-scale field trials

As a formal qualification, you must hold a PhD degree in microbiology, microbial ecology, biotechnology, environmental engineering or agriculture.   

Assessment
The assessment of the applicants will be carried out by Assistant Professor Tanvi Taparia and Professor Lars Jelbak.

We offer
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility. 

Salary and terms of employment 
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union.

The period of employment is 3 years. This is a full-time position with a starting date of 1^st August 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter. 

You can read more about career paths at DTU here.

Further information 
For questions & further information you may contact Tanvi Taparia (tanta@dtu.dk) at DTU Bioengineering. 

You can read more about the Department at https://www.bioengineering.dtu.dk/. 

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark.

Application procedure 
Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 29 May 2026 (23:59 Danish time). 

Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply now", fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file. The file must include:

• Application (cover letter) describing your motivation for applying and how your background supports your ability to work on this project
• CV
• Academic Diplomas (MSc, PhD – in English)
• List of publications 
• One page write-up on your scientific approach to investigate the biological constraints faced by microbial inoculants in field settings
• Contact details of at least one reference that DTU may reach out to

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply. As DTU works with research in critical technology, which is subject to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.

DTU – For the benefit of society since 1829
DTU is one of Europe's leading elite technical universities. Through research and education at an international top level, we create solutions to the major societal challenges of our time and help secure Europe's global leadership in sustainable technological development. Since Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU almost 200 years ago, our mission has remained the same: We develop and create value through the natural and technical sciences for the benefit of society. DTU has 13,800 students, 1,600 PhD students, and 6,500 employees. We work in an international environment and have an inclusive, stimulating, and informal work culture. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland and collaborates with the best universities around the world.