Junior research scientist in microbial flow dynamics

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INRAE presentation

INRAE, the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment, is a public research organization bringing together 12,000 employees across 272 units in 18 centers across France. As the world’s leading institute specializing in agriculture, food, and the environment, INRAE plays a key role in supporting the necessary transitions to address global challenges.

Faced with population growth, food security challenges, climate change, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss, INRAE is committed to developing scientific solutions and supporting the evolution of agricultural, food, and environmental practices.

INRAE is recruiting researchers by open competition and offering permanent position.

Work environment, missions and activities

You will work as a permanent researcher in the SQPOV (Safety and Quality of Plant Products) Joint Research Unit (https://www6.paca.inrae.fr/sqpov), which is co-run by INRAE's TRANSFORM & MICA departments. The research projects focus on processing and extraction of plant matrices in a context of food transition and sustainable food and aims to control the nutritional, organoleptic, and health aspects of food quality while taking into account the reduction of its environmental impact. The unit comprises 47 permanent staff from INRAE and Avignon University (22 researchers and lecturer-researchers, 12 engineers, 12 technicians/administrative staff) and hosts an average of fifteen doctoral and post-doctoral students. The unit is divided into three research teams (Green, Qualim and SporAlim) with a cutting-edge analytical platform. 

As a researcher, you will join the SporAlim team, which focuses on analysing the diversity of spore-forming bacteria and understanding their adaptation to biotic and abiotic factors encountered in the food production chain. Your research will be carried out in the context of plant production food safety, which is currently being challenged by the emergence of new food and agricultural production practices associated with climate change and energy transitions. The diversity/complexity of microbial flora, and in particular spore-forming bacteria, varies throughout the food production chain (from the environment to the final products) and according to the processing and preservation methods applied to food before consumption. Bacterial spores are highly resistant to the treatments applied in the food chain. 

To improve control of these bacteria, it is important to study the impact of food matrices and processes, which can either select spore-forming bacteria as the major/only microflora, or bring them into interaction with the endogenous flora in the raw material or processed food during moderate processing methods such as biopreservation processes. Understanding the evolution of microbial communities is essential for food preservation and the sustainability of food chains. Using metagenomics approaches, you will study the composition and dynamics of microbial populations at key stages in the processing of vegetable matrices, taking into account the cultivation conditions that can lead to the enrichment in spore-forming microflora, and the diversity of raw materials and processing procedures that can modulate the bacterial complexity during processing or distribution. The spatial and temporal variability of communities will be analysed and, for spore-forming flora, the niches and conditions leading to sporulation will be investigated, as they determine spore structure and properties. 

To carry out your studies, you will rely on the team's expertise in the ecology, genetics, and physiology of spore-forming bacteria and will interact with researchers from the Qualim team who study the impact of processing on the nutritional and organoleptic qualities of fruit and vegetable-based products. You will be required to supervise trainees and PhD students. You will have access to the Unit's shared analytical resources and the metagenomics approaches will be developed in collaboration (for example with researchers in microbial ecology from the MICA department, with CIRAD, and within the Holoflux metaprogramme - https://holoflux.hub.inrae.fr/). You will benefit from the financial and scientific framework of on-going projects. Progressively you will establish a sustainable line of research and contribute to the development of new projects within the context of national (e.g., ANR) and international (e.g., Horizon Europe) calls for projects. Finally, as a new researcher you will be eligible for financial aid from INRAE.

The research scientist position will require working in a restricted access zone (ZRR), which necessitates an access authorization request. You will be working in a restricted area and will be required to handle class 2 pathogenic bacteria.

Training and skills

Competition open to candidates with a PhD (or equivalent). A solid background in microbial ecology and analysis of complex communities is highly recommended along with skills in metagenomic approaches, bioinformatics and biostatistics data processing. Knowledge of food microflora and processes would be a useful attribute for this position. Candidates should have a good command of English (both written and spoken), and long-term international experience would also be desirable. Successful candidates who have not yet acquired this experience abroad will be required to do so after their probationary period (1st year).

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INRAE's life quality

By joining our teams, you benefit from:

- 30 days of annual leave + 15 days "Reduction of Working Time" (for a full time);
- parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
- skills development systems: training, career advise;
- social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
- holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- collective catering.

For international scientists: please visit your guide to facilitate your arrival and stay at INRAE. 

How to apply

1. I download the applicant guide Application guidelines CRCN 2025 pdf - 3.93 MB
2. I write down the profile number CR-2025-MICA-2
3. I apply GO