Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops
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Postdoctoral Researcher in Metabarcoding Data Curation and Bioinformatics Leibniz Institute for Horticultural Sciences in Germany
Degree Level
Postdoc
Field of study
Computer Science
Funding
Available
Deadline
Nov 22, 2026
Country
Germany
University
Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops
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About this position
The Leibniz Institute for Horticultural Sciences (IGZ) in Großbeeren, Germany, is offering a fixed-term postdoctoral position in the research group Plant-Microbe Systems within the DFG-funded collaborative project Multi-level Corpus for Microbial Ecology (MuCoME).
The position focuses on metabarcoding data curation and bioinformatics, with particular emphasis on building an AI-ready microbial ecology data corpus. The successful candidate will help expand the Microbial Community Database (MiCoDa) into a much larger resource for microbial metabarcoding research, aiming to reach at least 200,000 samples. The work includes extracting and harmonising unstructured metadata from publications, curating and harmonising 16S rRNA metabarcoding sequence data, and improving public access through MiCoDa, GBIF, and ENA.
Key tasks include compiling a reference dataset of 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding mock community data from INSDC databases and structured literature searches, examining how technical choices affect the comparability of archived datasets, automating curation and harmonisation workflows, supervising a student assistant, writing scientific papers, presenting findings at conferences, and supporting communication with the European Nucleotide Archive.
The position is based at IGZ, a research institute focused on plant sciences with applications in horticulture and plant diversity. The post is part of a consortium involving partners at IOW in Warnemünde and Hochschule Wismar, and is linked to NFDI4Biodiversity and NFDI4Microbiota. The contract is for two years starting 1 February 2027, with salary according to TV-L up to pay scale 13 at 80% of regular working hours. The job is part-time and based in Grossbeeren, Germany.
Applicants must hold a completed PhD or equivalent in bioinformatics or a related natural science field. Desired experience includes 16S rRNA metabarcoding analysis, use of public sequence archives such as ENA/INSDC, statistical analysis, HPC environments, and programming in R and/or Python. Fluent English is required, and German language skills are an advantage. The institute values collaborative, interdisciplinary working and encourages applicants who are flexible, positive, and able to take initiative.
Applications should be submitted by e-mail as a PDF including a motivation letter, CV, academic certificates, contact details of two references, and an earliest possible starting date. The deadline is 22 November 2026.
Funding details
Available
What's required
A completed PhD or equivalent in bioinformatics or a related natural science field is required. Applicants should have experience in the bioinformatic analysis of 16S rRNA metabarcoding data, especially with public sequence archives such as ENA/INSDC, and experience with statistical analyses ideally including mixed-effects models. High-performance computing experience is required, as are programming skills in R and/or Python; experience with workflow management is desirable. Fluent English is required, and knowledge of German is an advantage. The institute also seeks an open, flexible, positive person who can work in an interdisciplinary, international team and take initiative.
How to apply
Prepare a complete application including a motivation letter, CV, academic certificates, contact details of two references, and your earliest possible starting date. Send the documents as a PDF by e-mail to [email protected]. The application deadline is 22 November 2026.
Make your next move.
Prepare your application
Review drafts and confirm requirements with the university.
Make your next move.
Prepare your application
Review drafts and confirm requirements with the university.