Postdoctoral Fellow; BioDesign Group - Joint Genome Institute

Berkeley Lab's (LBNL) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) has an opening for a Postdoctoral Fellow to join the Bio Design Group!

In this exciting role, you will develop a high-throughput platform to discover and screen Critical minerals and materials (CMMs) transporters. This platform will enable functional screening of large transporter libraries across multiple metals, generating sequence-to-function datasets to advance transporter discovery and engineering for domestic CMM recovery. CMMs, including cobalt, nickel, rare earth elements, zinc, manganese, and copper, are essential for modern technologies and clean energy.

Microbes naturally extract and concentrate these metals using specialized membrane transporters, offering a promising strategy for CMM biorecovery. However, most candidate transporters remain uncharacterized, limiting their application. You will join a collaborative, multidisciplinary team with expertise in DNA synthesis, metal biology, high-throughput sequencing, and data science, while leading independent experimental design and execution.

The JGI is a global leader in genome science, helping shape the future of biological discovery through advanced genomic capabilities, expert support, and large-scale, AI-ready data resources. As a Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility supported by the Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program, JGI advances BER's mission to achieve a predictive understanding of complex biological, Earth, and environmental systems in support of the nation's energy and infrastructure security.

Through world-class capabilities in genome sequencing, synthesis, transcriptomics, metabolomics, natural products, and data science, JGI supports cutting-edge research on plants, fungi, algae, microorganisms, and microbiomes. JGI is headquartered in Berkeley, CA at Berkeley Lab's Integrative Genomics Building (IGB).

This position has an anticipated start date of October 1, 2026.

We're here for the same mission, to bring science solutions to the world. Join our team and YOU will play a supporting role in our goal to address global challenges! Have a high level of impact and work for an organization associated with 17 Nobel Prizes!

We invest in our employees by offering a total rewards package you can count on:

• Exceptional health benefits.
• Generous paid time off, sick time off, and holidays.
• A culture where you'll belong - we are invested in our teams!

• Collaborate with project team members to design, develop, and validate a high-throughput sequencing-based platform for screening metal transporters.
• Apply the platform to large-scale transporter discovery by performing gene mining, constructing and screening transporter libraries, engineering microbial hosts, and analyzing pooled sequencing data to identify transporter function.
• Interpret and present research findings at group meetings and project team discussions.
• Maintain accurate laboratory records and manage project resources, including vectors, strains, and digital datasets.
• Organize results for publications and presentations shared with JGI staff, collaborators, and the broader scientific community.
• Communicate research progress and contribute effectively within a multidisciplinary team.
• Disseminate findings through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at national conferences.

• A recent Ph.D. (within the last 1-2 years) in Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Synthetic Biology or a related field.
• Demonstrated hands‑on experience in bacterial genetics, molecular cloning, plasmid design, and strain engineering.
• Working knowledge of bioinformatics principles and sequencing analysis.
• Strong organizational skills including experience maintaining detailed and accurate records of results and analyzed data.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills including experience presenting at group meetings and conferences, and publishing research findings.
• Demonstrated interpersonal communication skills including experience conducting independent, data‑driven research and collaborating with an interdisciplinary research team.

• Experience with gene circuits or metal biology.
• Documented knowledge of high throughput method design and/or barcode-based screening.

• Appointment Type: This is a full time, exempt from overtime pay (monthly paid), 2 year (benefits eligible), Postdoctoral Fellow appointment with the possibility of renewal based upon satisfactory job performance, continuing availability of funds, and ongoing operational needs. You must have less than 3 years of paid postdoctoral experience. This position is represented by a union for collective bargaining purposes.
• Salary Range: The salary range for this position is $5,929 - $7,108 monthly / $71,148 - $85,296 annually and is expected to start at $5,929 monthly / $71,148 annually or above. Postdoctoral positions are paid on a step schedule per union contract and salaries are…