Postdoctoral position on seabed methane cycling at the Section for Microbiology at Aarhus University, Denmark

Registration website

Applications are invited for a 30-months postdoctoral scientist position to work on the project “Seabed methane cycling by reversible electron transfer between archaea and bacteria”. The start-up for the position is 1st January 2022, or earlier.


Job description
A new source of methane was recently discovered in a subsurface zone of the seabed, where the production and oxidation of methane occur concurrently. Preliminary work indicates that archaea and bacteria may here exchange electrons in the sediment through minerals that function as electrical conductors and capacitors. The working hypothesis is that the archaea are able to reverse the direction of their energy metabolism depending on whether they interact with electron accepting or electron donating bacteria. The specific objective is to unravel the processes using sensitive radiotracer experiments and to identify the microbial physiology of archaea involved in this cryptic methane cycling. The results will be of general importance for the understanding of methane biogeochemistry.

The project is a collaboration between the University of Southern Denmark and Aarhus University, funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark. The successful candidate will join an interdisciplinary team covering molecular microbiology, electromicrobiology, microbial physiology and biogeochemistry. We seek a highly motivated candidate with an academic background and documented experience in aquatic microbiology and microbial process studies.


Who we are
The successful candidate will be employed by the Department of Biology at Aarhus University (http://bio.au.dk/en) and work in the Section for Microbiology at this department. The section employs 9 professors with associated junior staff and hosts the Center for Electromicrobiology (CEM), with which the project is associated. Research at the section covers studies of microbial physiology, evolution, ecology, and biogeochemistry. It integrates basic and applied research, addressing the role, ecophysiology and evolution of microorganisms in natural, technical and clinical systems and in biotechnology (https://bio.au.dk/about-biology/sections/microbiology/). The section has very well-developed laboratories and a permanent supporting staff of highly skilled laboratory technicians.

Aarhus City
In Aarhus you have easy access to beautiful nature, an exciting culture and city life as well as a safe environment for children - a great place for the whole family. The city of Aarhus has everything you need within a surprisingly small area: exciting national and international jobs, delightful residential areas, a rich cultural life, and beautiful surrounding landscape of woods and coastline that make Aarhus a wonderful place to live and work. For further details on the city and the university please follow this link: https://international.au.dk/education.

The place of work is Department of Biology, Section for Microbiology, Ny Munkegade 116, 8000 Aarhus C.
  Qualifications must include:
- Relevant university education and PhD degree.
- Solid background in microbiology and biogeochemistry.
- Ability to work and collaborate in a group, to develop new ideas, and to write and communicate in English.

The deadline for applications is 1. October, 2021. Applicants seeking further information are invited to contact: Prof. Bo Barker Jørgensen ([email protected]), Assoc. prof. Hans Røy ([email protected]), or Assoc. prof. Kasper Urup Kjeldsen ([email protected]).


 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
Natural 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 Finance 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 Finance 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.