Researcher - Antimicrobial resistance

Would you like to join a leading research team at the forefront of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) studies, where your expertise in microbiology and bioinformatics will help shape the future of food safety?

This position offers a unique opportunity to investigate biocide resistance in Enterobacterales, combining cutting-edge genome sequencing, bioinformatics, and bacteriology in an international, multidisciplinary research environment.

Responsibilities and Duties

The successful candidate will join our research team and contribute to the EU/JPI-AMR project “BIORESIST" (Biocide Impact on Antimicrobial Resistance in Enterobacterales in One Health settings). This position offers a unique opportunity to study biocide and antimicrobial resistance dynamics in One Health settings, with a main focus on poultry production.

Key tasks include screening bacterial isolates for biocide resistance genes, analyzing their co-occurrence with AMR genes, and mapping their genomic location using long-read sequencing and plasmid analysis. The candidate will also conduct phenotypic resistance testing and investigate novel genetic markers when genotype and phenotype discrepancies arise. Additionally, the project explores biocide regulations, usage in poultry production, and stakeholder attitudes toward resistance and alternative solutions. The role involves laboratory work in bacteriology and broth microdilution assays, as well as bioinformatics tasks such as genome assembly, quality control, resistance gene identification, and plasmid characterization. 

The position is based in Ås, Norway, with occasional visits to partner institutions. The research fellow will report to the supervising senior researcher and project leader.

What we Offer

• A visible and meaningful position with opportunities for influence.
• A work environment characterized by high competence, professional challenges, and diversity.
• A flexible and inclusive workplace.
• Attractive agreements for loans and pension savings through the Norwegian Public. Service Pension Fund, with a 2% deduction from your salary for this contribution.
• A two-year temporary position as Researcher.

The position is remunerated according to the Norwegian government's salary scale and classified as 1109 Resarcher. The salary placement depends on qualifications. 

Essential Qualifications for This Role

Mandatory Requirements

• A university degree in microbiology, molecular biology, veterinary sciences, bioinformatics or a closely related field. 
• A PhD degree in microbiology, molecular biology, bioinformatics, or a field related to antimicrobial resistance (PhD degree preferably acquired within the past eight years).
• Skills and experience demonstrated by academic publications in peer reviewed journals.
• Comprehensive knowledge of bioinformatics analysis.
• A record of relevant laboratory work experience with main focus on microbiology. 
• International science level oral and written communication skills in English. 

Desired Qualifications

• Relevant competence in methods for bacteriological analysis, susceptibility testing, antimicrobial resistance gene and plasmid characterization is considered important.
• Experience with bacterial population genetics, molecular epidemiology and statistics is beneficial.

Candidate Requirements

• Strong ability to collaborate in a multidisciplinary team and develop links with external research networks.
• Being solution oriented, effective and able to work accurately and structured.
• Demonstrated capacity to work independently and with high degree of flexibility.
• Good communication and dissemination skills.

You must be able to identify with the Norwegian Veterinary Institute's values: forward-looking, academically ambitious, and collaborative.

Your motivation for the position and personal qualities will be emphasized, in addition to your academic qualifications. Applicants are encouraged to give a short summary of the motivation for the position, in the application.

How to Apply

You can apply for the position via Jobbnorge.no.

Your application must include:

• A cover letter
• A CV
• Diplomas and certificates
• Contact information for 2-3 references

The application, including all attachments, must be submitted through our recruitment system Jobbnorge. Click “Apply for this position" to proceed.

When applying, we ask you to retrieve your academic transcripts from Vitnemålsportalen.no if you are educated in Norway. If your results are not available there, please upload copies of your diplomas or transcripts. All documentation must be in Norwegian, alternatively in another Scandinavian language or in English.

The Norwegian Veterinary Institute is a public institution, and in accordance with the Public Access to Information Act, all applicants are included in a public applicant list after the application deadline. A request for exemption from the public applicant list may be granted in special cases. If your request for exemption is not approved, you will be contacted to consider whether you wish to maintain your application. If you choose to proceed as an applicant, your name will be made public. If not, you may withdraw your application.

For more information on how we process your personal data, please refer to our privacy policy.

An Inclusive Workplace and Diversity at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute

Inclusion and diversity are strengths. The Norwegian Veterinary Institute aims to achieve a balanced gender distribution and actively recruit individuals with an immigrant background.

We encourage you to indicate in the job portal if you have a disability, gaps in your CV, or an immigrant background. We guarantee that at least one qualified applicant from each of these groups will be invited for an interview. This information is also used for anonymized statistics, which all government institutions report in their annual reports.

We hope you will apply for this position!