Announcement for the opening of an international selection procedure for the hiring of

CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Center of Marine and Environmental Research - Uporto

Organisation/Company CIIMAR - Interdisciplinary Center of Marine and Environmental Research - Uporto Department N.A. Research Field Biological sciences » Biology Researcher Profile Other Profession Positions Bachelor Positions Application Deadline 6 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon) Country Portugal Type of Contract Not Applicable Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 40 Offer Starting Date 12 Oct 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Other EU programme Reference Number 2026_071_TS_UnderPressure Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

A competition is open for the attribution of 1 technician position in the framework of the project UnderPressure - Metal impacts on deep-sea microbial diversity and nitrogen cycling potential, with reference COMPETE2030-FEDER-00906200, funded by the FEDER (Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional) and the COMPETE 2030 (Innovation and Digital Transition Programme (COMPETE 2030, Portugal 2030) through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the MPr-2023-12 - SACCCT - IC&DT, according to the following conditions:

• 1. Scientific Area: Microbial Ecology / Biogeochemistry / Metagenomics
• 2. Admission requirements:
  • To be admitted to the competition, candidates must hold a Bachelor degree in the areas of Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences, or Bioinformatics. Candidates must master the English language. Applicants must also have excellent academic and professional credentials, a willingness to work in a team, and be highly motivated and oriented towards a research technician role.
• 3. Work plan:
  • The selected candidate will work for the project “Metal impacts on deep-sea microbial diversity and nitrogen cycling potential (UnderPressure)” and will participate in the bioinformatic analysis of metagenomes and metatranscriptomes generated by the project or available in public databases with the goal of identifying N cycling genes and their environmental drivers in deep-sea metagenomes and transcriptomes. The candidate will also be involved in collecting and processing samples for DNA and RNA sequencing as well as real-time and digital PCR.
• 4. Legislation and official rules:
  • Article 140, n. 2, g)) and Article 148, n. 4, of the Labor Code (Law 7/2009, of 12 February and respective updates.
• 5. Workplace:
  • The selected candidate will work under the supervision of the researcher Miguel Semedo from the Microbiome Ecology and Biogeochemistry group. The laboratory is located at the headquarters of CIIMAR, in the Cruise Terminal of the Port of Leixões, in Matosinhos, in the metropolitan area of Porto. The successful candidate will work in an international and multidisciplinary environment with a strong connection to the marine environment.
• 6. Duration of the contract:
  • An unfixed-term employment contract scheduled to start in January 2027, under the legal terms in force (Labor Code).
• 7. Monthly Salary:
  • Equated to the higher technical career, level 15: gross monthly salary 1446,51 €, food, holidays, and Christmas allowance apart.
• 8. Selection methods:
  • An overall assessment (valued from 1 to 10) of the candidates' merit will be made through the evaluation of their scientific and curricular track record, based on 3 strands and relevance for the planned project. The evaluation of the curriculum vitae will count 40% (CV), the motivation letter 20% (ML) and the scientific activity 40% (SA).
  • CV (40%): For the global evaluation of the CV, the academic qualifications, professional skills, and the scientific path will be evaluated and considered in the scope of the project.
  • ML (20%): Evaluation of the candidate's motivation and ability to perform innovative and rigorous research, based on the motivation letter describing the relevance of the scientific path to the position and personal career goals.
  • SA (40%): The scientific activity is evaluated, based on:
    1. Publications in peer-reviewed international journals in the working area of the project.
    2. Pre-print publications in the working area of the project.
    3. Oral and poster presentations in international and national conferences in the working area of the project.
    4. Previous research experience in bioinformatic analysis of microbial communities, namely through metabarcoding, metagenomics, and/or metatranscriptomics.
    5. Previous laboratory experience with molecular biology tools to detect and quantify N cycling genes in environmental samples (e.g. real-time qPCR, digital PCR).
    6. Participation in R&D projects and teams, services, or knowledge transfer processes.