Doctoral Researcher in Metabolomics

Job advertisement

Vacancy ID: 187/2026

Closing date: 2026-07-31

The Friedrich Schiller University Jena is a dynamic and innovation-driven university centrally located in Germany. With a broad range of disciplines, it shapes the future through excellent research and teaching. Its scientific excellence is reflected in the profile areas Light – Life – Liberty, which provide pioneering insights and sustainable solutions for the society of tomorrow. Through close collaborations with leading research institutions, innovative companies, and renowned cultural organizations, it advances interdisciplinary developments. With around 17,000 students and approximately 10,000 employees, it defines Jena as a vibrant, internationally connected city of science and innovation.

The Bioorganic Analytics group at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena seeks to fill the position of a

Doctoral Researcher in Metabolomics

commencing on 01 October 2026. We offer a part-time position (65%, 26 hours per week), with a fixed-term employment until 30 June 2030.

The DFG-funded Collaborative Research Centre 1768 “VirusREvolution: Decoding tools for virus research” is a highly ambitious research centre at Friedrich Schiller University with the joint goal to develop novel tools for virus discovery, characterisation, regulation, interaction, and visualisation ( ). Its integrated research training group is educating doctoral researchers in a structured, interdisciplinary training program and invites applications for doctoral and postdoctoral researcher positions in various fields of research.

In this doctoral project 'Chemical mediators of viral infection', you will develop an experimental platform for untargeted metabolomics that allows to monitor the changes in metabolism induced by viral infections. You will work in close collaboration with chemoinformaticians and biologists on diverse infection systems and identify metabolites that are functional in viral infection and indicative for infection processes.

Your responsibilities:

Research in analytical chemistry with a focus on metabolomics. You will closely interact with Chemoinformaticians and evaluate your data with their novel computational approaches. You will also have the opportunity to plan and conduct experiments with biologists to verify the functional roles of the compounds you identified

Participation in the Collaborative Research Centre VirusREvolution and close collaboration with the tandem project partners

Engage in regular discussions with other group and project members

Collaborate with BSc and MSc students working in associated projects

Publish papers and present your work at national and international scientific meetings

Your profile:

A highly motivated candidate with a Master of Science or equivalent degree in chemistry, chemical biology, biochemistry, medicinal chemistry, or related disciplines

Experience in analytical chemistry

Strong analytical thinking and problem-solving

Ability to work independently and in a collaborative team

Willingness to interact with biologists and researchers from other disciplines who are involved in the CRC

Communication skills in English are required, both written and spoken

We offer:

Embedding in a cross-disciplinary, experienced research group and a large, ambitious research consortium

Work in a brand-new research building with top-quality instruments

Affiliation to an Integrated Research Training Group, offering close support and a comprehensive education p