Junior research scientist in biochemistry

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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 develop your research within the Plant Wall and Parietal Polymers (PVPP) team of the Biopolymers Interactions Assemblies (BIA) unit. The BIA unit (160 staff, 98 permanent) generates knowledge on biopolymers, their assemblies within plants, their transformations, and their functionalities in food or non-food applications.
The PVPP team (30 staff, 14 permanent) aims to understand (i) the biological and physico-chemical mechanisms that drive the parietal assemblies in plants, (ii) the roles of the cell wall and its diversity in the properties and qualities of use of plant products. The laboratory is well known and recognised internationally for its skills in the variability and quality of plant resources in relation to the cell wall. You will benefit from the extensive expertise of a scientific collective specialising in the plant cell wall and strongly involved in academic and private national and international networks.
Plant biomass comprises primarily plant cell walls. From this renewable resource, our research aims to produce, through sustainable pathways, bioproducts and materials to replace fossil-based resources. The properties of use of cell walls are linked to their biopolymer composition, the presence of small molecules whose role is poorly understood, as well as the interactions between all these components to form the parietal network.
You will work on these species of low molar mass, whether they are neutral or ionic, organic (e.g. mono-, oligo-saccharides) and inorganic (salts), and have an osmotic, reactive or structural effect. You will seek to elucidate how they contribute to the properties of the parietal network and the interactions they establish with polymers (polysaccharides, lignin, cutin, proteins) in relation to the availability and mobility of water.
You will study the effect of the nature and concentration of different soluble species on the mobility of biopolymers, as well as the properties or accessibility of the parietal network to understand their impact on cell walls, and ultimately drive their transformation. This research will help you understand and optimise biomass behaviour during fractionation or processing, and propose pertinent conversion pathways in the context of a bioeconomy (extraction by selective solubilisation, saccharification, etc.).
To elucidate the role of small molecules in the parietal network, the various potential experimental strategies will involve (i) the identification, quantification, and location of these low molar mass molecules, (ii) the measurement of interactions between these molecules and the parietal polymers, whether of covalent, ionic, hydrophobic, sterical nature, for example, (iii) the study of the mobility of water and polymers in the presence of these molecules in controlled assemblies, single cell walls or tissues, (iv) the measurement of different properties of the tissues.
In the longer term, the data obtained at the interface between the various disciplines implicated will enable you to understand the effect of these small molecules on the degradability of the cell walls, the extractability of the compounds of interest, the activity of endogenous enzymes or enzymes used in processing methods, or even the functionalisation of parietal polymers.
Within the team and the BIA unit, you will have at your disposal high-performance equipment dedicated to the characterisation of cell walls, the state of water, and the structure of the polymers and their interactions. You will also have access to structural biology platforms (BIBS, APEX) and the beamlines of the synchrotron SOLEIL. You will benefit from national and international collaborations in place within the team on the different aspects of your theme. Initially, the implementation of your research will be supported by current projects in progress led by senior researchers within the team (such as ANR, PEPR, FSOV, Horizon Europe). You will then develop your own network of collaborations and apply for support within the institute, as well as from national and international sources.

Training and skills

Competition open to candidates with a PhD (or equivalent). 
A PhD or equivalent in analytical and structural biochemistry/physicochemistry/science of polymers, colloids and macromolecules is highly recommended.
Knowledge/experience in the field of polymers and their interactions in the context of plant tissues would be appreciated. 
The successful candidate will have the ability to develop their research topic in collaboration with the host team and independently.
Candidates should have a good command of English, 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).

Your future role explained in video

 

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 Guide for applicants 2026 pdf - 1.41 MB
2. I write down the profile number CR26-TRANSFORM-1
3. I apply GO