Postdoctoral Fellow - Microbial Electrosynthesis at Aarhus University

Do you have a passion and vision for developing new platforms for scalable microbial electrosynthesis of CO2 to methane?

Come and be part of the team of Profs. Alfred Spormann at the NNF CO2 Research Center to unlock the power of science and technology!

Starting date and duration of employment

The position is fix termed for one year and is available from 1st of December 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Tasks

The postdoc will be part of the research groups of Drs. Alfred Spormann and Lars Angenent in a joint collaborative project. We are seeking highly talented and motivated staff scientists to

• conduct research on the microbial fitness, physiology, and metabolism in advanced microbial electrosynthesis reactors as well as on the performance of phylogenetically diverse methanogenic and acetogenic microorganisms (postdoc microbiology);
• develop and test up-scaled microbial electrosynthesis reactors involving advanced electrochemistry, reactor design, and scaling approaches (postdoc reactor design and scaling)

Qualifications/ About you

Qualified individuals should have a PhD in, preferentially anaerobic, microbial sciences, microbial electrochemistry, or related bioengineering disciplines with a focus on anaerobic metabolism, electromicrobiology, electrochemical reactor design, and operation.

About us

The Spormann lab, in close collaboration with Angenent lab and Dr. Bruce Logan, Penn State University, have been leading the field in microbial electrosynthesis for the past 10 years. Their laboratories at CORC, Aarhus University, have extensive expertise that includes, but is not limited to, basic electron transport between cells and a cathode, microbe-cathode interfaces, and the new design and prototyping of microbial electrosynthesis reactors.

What we offer

• Exciting, interdisciplinary research environment at the forefront of microbial electrosynthesis.
• Workday with daily contact with many different people in an international and creative research environment.
• A professional, but informal work environment.

Place of work and area of employment

The place of work is Gustav Wiedsvej 10, 8000 Aarhus C, and the area of employment is Aarhus University with affiliated departments and institutions.

Contact info

Applicants seeking further information are invited to contact Alfred Spormann, e-mail: aspormannkgarciaangelamayersbarton@ramirez-graham.dkmarshall.dkau.dk

Deadline for application and the recruitment process

The application deadline is 30th September 2025. 

Formalities and salary range

The employment is initially for one year, but with the possibility of extensions.

All interested candidates are encouraged to apply, regardless of their personal background. Aarhus University is a signatory of the Danish government’s charter regarding the appointment of more women in management. Both women and men are encouraged to apply. No one will have priority, and all applicants will be assessed in accordance with the requirement profile for the position.

Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,000 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 885 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk. 

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.

If you wish to add a referee after you have submitted your application, you must send this person’s details (name, job title, place of work, and email address) as well as the name of the position you have applied for to: nicole68HR.Nattechmsanchezjonathan32@au.dkbradford-ferrell.dksaunders.dkknight.dk

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 Taxation 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 Taxation 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.

At the Faculty of Natural Science at Aarhus University, we strive to support our scientific staff in their career development. We focus on competency development and career clarification and want to make your opportunities transparent. On our website, you can find information on all types of scientific positions, as well as the entry criteria we use when assessing candidates. You can also read more about how we can assist you in your career planning and development.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.

Aarhus University

Aarhus University is an academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 38,000 students (FTEs) and 8,300 employees, and has an annual revenues of EUR 935 million. Learn more at www.international.au.dk/