Postdoctoral in non-conventional yeast biotechnology for industrial side-streams valorization into bio-based plastics

DTU Bioengineering is excited to announce an open postdoc position, as part of the new established WAVE consortium for saline effluents valorization into high-value compounds using non-conventional yeasts. This project turns the critical characteristics of dairy wastewater into interesting features and avoids the necessity of whey separation and drying considering it as a valuable stream to be converted into carbon sources. Hence, this project will apply microbial-based bioprocesses towards dairy WAstewater reuse and conVErsion into new bioplastics (WAVE). For this, WAVE aims to obtain low-salinity clean water ready to use in landscaping and bioplastics to be applied in several sectors.

In the proposed WAVE technology, dairy wastewater containing whey will be used as feedstock to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in an anaerobic fermentation, then subsequently converted into single cell proteins (SCP) using the halophilic yeast Debaryomyces hansenii while reducing the salt content in the broth by engineering intake and compartmentalization cellular transport systems.

Responsibilities and qualifications
You will join the Yeast Biotechnology and Fermentation group, within the Synthetic Biology Section at DTU Bioengineering. Your role as postdoc will be to develop novel and robust D. hansenii strains by applying advanced CRISPR-based edition tools in combination with adaptive laboratory evolution in HT-microbioreactor systems, for production of SCP and reduction of the salt content in the industrial effluents. A central focus will be moreover to assess cell performance and the initial selection of a variety of promising candidates for follow up process upscale to pilot bioreactors.

The postdoc position includes contributing to the teaching of two courses: one theoretical and one experimental on Fermentation Technology at DTU. Teaching will align with your area of expertise. We further expect you to contribute to supervising student projects at the BSc and MSc levels.

As a formal qualification, you must hold a PhD degree (or equivalent) as well as academic qualifications equivalent to those required to hold postdoc positions.

You will be assessed against the responsibilities and qualifications related to the role stated above and the following general criteria:

• Research experience within fermentation technology in lab-scale bioreactors and HT-microfermentation devices (e.g. BioLector, ChiBio, etc) and liquid handling robots/automated colony pickers (ROTOR, QPix, HAMILTON).
• Proven previous experience within microbial molecular biology and physiology with a strong focus in non-conventional yeast, including multi-omics analyses (RNAseq, proteomics, metabolomics).
• International impact and experience
• Collaboration, and interdisciplinary skills
• Good communication skills

We offer
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and terms of employment
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union.

The period of employment is 2 years, starting from 1st September 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here.

Further information 
Further information may be obtained from Associate Professor José Luis Martínez Ruiz (jlmr@dtu.dk)

You can read more about DTU Bioengineering at www.bioengineering.dtu.dk

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark.

Application procedure 
Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 30 June 2026 (23:59 Danish time).

Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link “Apply now”, fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file. The file must include:

• Application (cover letter)
• CV
• Academic Diplomas (MSc/PhD – in English)
• List of publications
• 2 reference contacts

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply. As DTU works with research in critical technology, which is subject to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.