Research Assistant/associate

**Weitere Informationen**: The position is to be filled at the earliest possible date and offered for a fixed term up to 31.12.2026. The fixed-term employment is possible as it constitutes one of the fixed-term options of the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (German Act on Fixed-term Scientific Contracts). This is a part-time contract position. The standard weekly hours will be 25,89 hours. The salary is based on the German public service salary scale (TV-L). The position corresponds to a pay grade of EG 13 TV-L. **Unser Profil**: The Junior Professorship Computational Life Science supports research and teaching at the Department of Biology in the field of mathematical biology and computational modeling. A major aspect of our program is the investigation of the dynamics of photosynthesis in the context of environmental research, food security, bioenergetics, and plant-microbe interaction. The advertised position is integrated into the SFB 1535 MibiNet "Microbial Networks - from Organelles to Cosmos-Spanning Communities" and the associated Research Training Group "MibiNeⓍt". The CRC 1535 includes six cooperation partners, including RWTH Aachen, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Research Center Jülich, the University of Bielefeld, the University of Cologne and the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne. About project: In natural habitats, microorganisms usually co-exist in highly complex communities, undertaking distinct roles, depending on the population density, the environmental conditions and re-source availability. Yet, basic biochemical principles underlying these microbial consortia are still unknown. In a close collaboration with the experimental labs (Axmann and Schipper, HHU Düsseldorf) we will study the formation of a synthetic community of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis and two fungi, Ustilago maydis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Microorganisms co-existing within the same niche are regularly switching between their nutrient strategies, often leading to a costly production of nutrients available not only to them, but also to their neighbours. Further information: **Ihr Profil**: - You have a completed university degree (Master's or equivalent) in the field of mathematics, quantitative biology, physics, computer science or a comparable field - You have good programming skills, ideally in Python - You have a good command of written and spoken English - You are well organized, communicative and team-oriented - You have the ability to work independently - You are interested in working in an international, dynamic and young research group **Ihre Aufgaben**: In this project you will use computational modelling to increase our understanding of community dynamics and the role of key nutrients in its formation. We will expand on the assumption of the fundamental role of the competition for carbon in the assembly and stabilisation of the cross-kingdom community and investigate different carbon managing strategies between the consortia members, treating carbon either as a private or public good. You will conceptualize and build various mathematical models, based on population dynamics and evolutionary game theory, and learn how to integrate data from multiple sources. Iterative mathematical modelling will be tightly integrated with experimental approaches, hence genuine interest in the biological question is essential. **Über uns**: RWTH is a certified family-friendly University. We support our employees in maintaining a good work-life balance with a wide range of health, advising, and prevention services, for example university sports. Employees who are covered by collective bargaining agreements and civil servants have access to an extensive range of further training courses and the opportunity to purchase a job ticket. **Besoldung / Entgelt**: EG 13 TV-L null