The University of Koblenz is the youngest university in Germany – while also preserving a long-standing academic tradition. A multitude
of transdisciplinary research projects spanning several institutions concentrated on a com-pact campus favourably affects our univer-
sity routine. As the interdisciplinary university in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate with more than 9,400 students, we live the
knowledge – transformation – innovation triad in our four profile areas “Education”, “Computer Science”, “Culture and its Mediation”
as well as “Material and Environment”. We provide and conduct state-of-the-art teacher-training studies for all school types and main-
tain the transfer of our research results to civic society and regional businesses in a resilient and sustainable way. Join an aspiring
university community and aid in advancing our further growth!
A Ph.D. position in Plankton Ecology is available in the newly es-
tablished working group “Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis” led by
Prof. Dr. Kenneth Dumack. The part-time position (60%) is lim-
ited to three years, in accordance with the provisions of the Ger-
man Act on Temporary Scientific Contracts (Wissen-
schaftszeitrvetragsgesetz).
Teaching responsibilities are defined by the regulations of the
Rhineland-Palatinate Higher Education Teaching Obligation Or-
dinance (HLehrVO).
This advertised position provides access to cutting-edge molec-
ular, biochemical, and ecological tools to explore the diversity &
ecology of algae and heterotrophic protists. We welcome appli-
cants who are excited to link aquatic protistology, microbial
ecology and evolution. The candidate will work primarily in a
wet-lab setting, including methods such as environmental sam-
ple analyses, culturing & (fluorescence) microscopy, and will also
conduct dry-lab analyses of self-generated data with bioinfor-
matic and statistical tools commonly used in microbial ecology.
Methods include culturing eukaryotic microorganisms, simple
culture-based experiments to generate genomic & tran-
scriptomic data, which subsequently will be analysed from eco-
logical and evolutionary perspectives. The candidate will work
on microbial communities stemming from marine habitats,
from the Arctic to the Mediterranean Sea. Primary group of in-
terest is marine Cryomonadida (protists) - their ecology and un-
derlying evolutionary adaptations. More information about the
working group is available at www.kennethdumack.de.
Responsibilities:
Participation in research, teaching, and academic self-admin-
istration
Involvement in sampling and field excursions
Presentation of research results at scientific conferences and
in peer-reviewed journals
Qualifications:
A successfully completed university degree (except for a bach-
elor's degree) in biology or a related field
Preference will be given to candidates with solid experience
working with microbial eukaryotes (protists, including algae) or
plankton in general
Expertise in common ecological data analysis techniques such
as metabarcoding, NMDS, correlation analysis, s of advantage
Expertise in common evolutionary data analysis techniques
such as phylogenomics, (meta)genome assembly is of ad-
vantage
What we offer:
Integration into a research-active, well-networked environ-
ment with good infrastructure.
A stimulating and varied range of responsibilities within a col-
legial team that values open communication
Remuneration according to pay group 13 TV-L.
Usual social benefits in the general public sector according to
TV-L (annual special payment, pension scheme (VBL)).
Compatibility of family and work, flexible working hours
Varied sports program with health-promoting offers.
Extensive opportunities for further education and training.
The University of Koblenz welcomes applications from all age
groups, regardless of gender identity, disability, ethnic or cultural
background, religion, ideology or sexual orientation. We aim to
increase the proportion of women and are therefore particularly
interested in applications from women. In the event of under-
representation, women with equivalent aptitude and qualifica-
tions will be given preferential consideration. Severely handi-
capped persons will be given preferential consideration if their
professional and personal qualifications are otherwise equal.
For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Dumack (ken-
[email protected]).
Please, send your informative documents by 20.05.2026, quoting
the reference number 033/2026, exclusively by e-mail in one
PDF file to: [email protected].
Please, refrain from sending in application photos. At the end of
the procedure, the application documents will be destroyed in
compliance with data protection regulations.
www.uni-koblenz.de/karriere
We are seeking to fill the position of
Research associate with doctorate opportunity (m/f/d)
at the Institute for Integrated Natural Sciences,
Department of Biology, Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis Working Group
