Postdoctoral Researcher - Plant Molecular Biologist in Nitrogen Fixation - PBI

About EIT

Join us  the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), we’re on a mission to translate scientific discovery into real‑world impact. We bring together visionary scientists, technologists, engineers, researchers, educators and innovators to tackle humanity’s greatest challenges in four transformative areas:

• Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology
• Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture
• Climate Change & Managing CO₂
• Artificial Intelligence & Robotics

Headed by Professor Steve Kelly, the Plant Biology Institute is a key part of the Ellison Institute of Technology Oxford. The institute aims to develop impactful and commercially sustainable solutions for improving global food production and planetary health through pioneering plant science research.

The institute will unite world‑class researchers focused on expanding the frontiers of plant science. Our research is aimed at enhancing our ability to feed the planet while simultaneously improving the climate ecosystem outcomes of food production. By embedding cutting‑edge plant science research within an organisation focused on solving global challenges at scale, we aim to accelerate the timeline from discovery to global impact.

• Improved plant productivity, both indoors and outside
• Reduced reliance on inputs including water, fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides
• Novel decarbonised plant‑based production platforms for food and medicines
• Advanced technologies that speed up discovery and deployment in plants

Postdoctoral Researcher in Plant Molecular Biology – you will contribute to the ‘Biological Nitrogen Fixation’ program, engineering biological nitrogen fixation into widely grown crop plants to improve yields and reduce global reliance on synthetic fertilisers.

The Postdoctoral Researcher will play a key role in designing and conducting experiments aligned with stage‑gated milestones in our plant engineering program. The main responsibilities of the successful candidate will be to optimise the expression, subcellular targeting, sub‑assembly and higher‑order‑assembly of complex enzymatic systems in plant cells using transient and stable plant transformation approaches. Successful delivery of these research objectives will require expertise in advanced microscopy techniques and imaging, plant histology, and a strong foundation in molecular biology and plant genetic engineering.

Insights generated from this work will directly inform and accelerate our synthetic biology strategy to enable the introduction of novel metabolic capabilities into high‑performance crop varieties.

The ideal candidate will have expertise in molecular biology and advanced microscopy techniques applied to plant tissues. This role offers a unique opportunity to conduct high‑impact research at the forefront of plant science while collaborating across multidisciplinary teams to drive innovation from lab to global impact.

The postdoctoral researcher will be expected to contribute to publications and IP generation and play an active role in translating research into real‑world and commercial solutions aligned with EIT’s mission of humane technological advancement. This is an exciting opportunity to develop as a scientific leader in a dynamic, well‑supported, and purpose‑driven environment.

• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams to incorporate cutting‑edge research techniques into experiments
• Present scientific work at seminars within the lab and at external meetings, contributing to laboratory‑wide discussions on developments within the field
• Assist in mentoring graduate students and other members of the research group where appropriate
• Collaborate with experts on AI, automation, and generative biology across the EIT ecosystem
• Draft scientific papers and contribute to preparation of publications
• Assist in translating scientific results into commercial opportunities consistent with EIT humane endeavours
• Recognise and act on opportunities for the creation of IP and cooperate in patent protection and impact delivery

• Completed PhD in a relevant discipline
• St…