The Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg, Germany offers a Postdoctoral Position in Bioinformatics in the Department of  Chromatin Regulation (Head: Dr. Asifa Akhtar). The position is available for an initial two-year appointment with the possibility of extension.

The MPI in Freiburg is an international research institute at the cross-roads of Southern Germany, Switzerland and France. The working language is English. State-of-the-art infrastructure and service units, including transgenesis, mass spectrometry, proteomics, flow cytometry, fly and imaging facilities are available.

Our Institute investigates the molecular basis of the immune response and other topics of the developmental biology, such as the origin and differentiation of the immune cells as well as the development of vertebrate embryo. Another main focus of the Institute is Epigenetics. This area deals with inheritable traits, which are not caused by changes in the DNA sequence.

Your tasks:

The research focus of the Akhtar department includes mechanisms underlying chromatin and epigenetic regulation. The lab uses fly and mouse models employing multidisciplinary approaches such as genetics, biochemistry, functional genomics, single cell analyses as well as cell biology and structural biology. Main interests of the lab include mechanisms of dosage compensation, 3D genome organization (chromosome conformation), roles of non-coding RNAs in gene regulation and epigenetic regulation of cell fate decisions in mammals.

We are looking for an ambitious, highly-motivated, science-driven and experienced scientist to join our team to unravel the molecular mechanisms that regulate gene expression.

Your qualifications:

Applicants should have an academic degree plus PhD or equivalent doctoral degree with at least 3 years of proven research experience in bioinformatics and analyses of genomewide epigenomics data (such as ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, bisulfite sequencing and/or HiC). Proficiency in programming in ‘R and/or Python, UNIX/shell scripts as well as the ability to build new tailored pipelines are prerequisites for this position. Prior experience with single-cell sequencing data analysis or evolutionary bioinformatics analysis would also be highly beneficial. Experience in integration of genomewide data with proteomics or metabolomics data would be a distinct advantage. Candidates must have a strong publication record. Furthermore, the ability to work in a team, good communication skills and experience in the supervision of graduate students are assets.

We offer:

Salary will be based on previous experience according to TVöD guidelines.

Handicapped applicants with equal qualifications will be given preferential treatment. The Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in areas, where they are underrepresented, and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply. The Max Planck Society strives for gender and diversity equality. We welcome applications from all backgrounds. A childcare facility is directly attached to the Institute.

Application deadline:

Have we sparked your interest? Please submit your complete application, including a statement of research interests and a CV via our online application portal until September 25^th 2019. At the same time, please ask three of your referees to send recommendation letters to schmidl@ie-freiburg.mpg.de.