Postdoctoral Researcher - Plant Biochemist in Nitrogen Fixation - PBI

Overview

Join us at EIT: At the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT), we are on a mission to translate scientific discovery into real-world impact. We bring together 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
• Artificial Intelligence & Robotics
• Climate Change & Managing CO₂

This is ambitious work—work that demands curiosity, courage, and a relentless drive to make a difference. At EIT, you join a community built on excellence, innovation, tenacity, trust, and collaboration, where bold ideas become real-world breakthroughs. Explore more .org.

The Plant Biology Institute, headed by Professor Steve Kelly, is a key part of the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) Oxford. The institute aims to develop impactful and commercially sustainable solutions for improving global food production and planetary health through pioneering plant science research. It will unite world-class researchers focused on expanding the frontiers of plant science. Our research aims to feed the planet while improving climate and ecosystem outcomes of food production.

We embed cutting-edge plant science within an organization solving global challenges at scale to accelerate discovery to global impact.

Areas of exploration include:

• 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

Researchers will have access to state-of-the-art laboratory and plant growth facilities and opportunities to collaborate with experts at the forefront of research on AI, automation, and generative biology across the EIT ecosystem. They will also work with global leaders in market development, commercialisation, and impact creation. The Plant Biology Institute has long-term substantial funding to support its vision.

The Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) is seeking a highly motivated and skilled Postdoctoral Researcher in Plant Biochemistry to join its pioneering Plant Biology Institute and contribute to the “Biological Nitrogen Fixation” program. This initiative seeks to engineer biological nitrogen fixation into widely grown crop plants to improve yields and reduce global reliance on synthetic fertilisers. The ultimate goal is to deliver transformative environmental, economic, and public health benefits by supporting the transition to scalable and regenerative agricultural systems.

The Postdoctoral Researcher will design and conduct experiments aligned with stage-gated milestones in our plant engineering program. Main responsibilities include optimizing folding, stability, assembly, and functional activity of complex enzymatic systems in plant cells using transient and stable plant transformation approaches. The role requires expertise in in silico protein analysis and structural modelling, mass spectrometry-based proteomic analyses (e.g., LC-MS, LC-MS/MS), nitrogen fixation assays (e.g., acetylene reduction), and a strong foundation in plant molecular biology and biochemistry.

Insights will inform our synthetic biology strategy to enable novel metabolic capabilities in high-performance crop varieties.

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in biological nitrogen fixation and plant biochemistry. 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 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 opportunity to develop as a scientific leader in a dynamic, well-supported environment.

• Collaborate with cross-functional…