W2 Professorship in Domestication Genomics

Institution: Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) and Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Göttingen, Department of Crop Sciences
Date of Announcement: 06.11.2025
Application Deadline: 14.12.2025

The Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Gatersleben and the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Crop Sciences, at the University of Göttingen invite applications for a permanent professorship with civil servant status (grade W2 NBesO) effective at the earliest possible date:

W2 Professorship in Domestication Genomics (f/m/d)

We are looking for a team-oriented and committed scientist of high international visibility in the field of domestication genomics, with a particular focus on crop plants. Future research should focus on the analysis of evolutionary processes in crop species using modern genomic methods, including population genetics, association mapping, and pangenome analysis.
Possible research topics may include:

clarifying the relationships between cultivated plants and their wild relatives,
identifying molecular signatures of geographical spread and climatic adaptation in plant genomes,
and the question of how a deeper understanding of evolutionary mechanisms can contribute to addressing future challenges in plant breeding.

The holder of the position will be based primarily at the IPK, where she/he will establish
and lead the working group “Evolution of Crop Species”.

Close collaboration with the IPK genebank is expressly desired. In particular, large sequence data sets from gene bank accessions shall be systematically used for research and further developed. In addition, the holder of the position is expected to actively participate in the advancement of utilisation concepts for plant genetic resources and to contribute to interdisciplinary research strategies at IPK and at the University of Göttingen.

We expect experience in the acquisition and realisation of research projects as well as an interest in interdisciplinary collaborative research projects funded by the DFG or comparable formats. The appointee will be a member of the Center for Integrated Breeding Research (CiBreed) at the University of Göttingen, which offers excellent opportunities to cooperate with various scientific partners and enterprises in the plant and animal breeding sector.

The holder of the position will be involved in teaching at the University of Göttingen with two teaching hours primarily in the research-oriented Master's programme “Integrated Plant and Animal Breeding”. The willingness and ability to teach courses of further qualification levels and also in German (potentially after a training period) are also expected.

Appointment requirements are stipulated by Article 25 of the Lower Saxony Higher Education Act in the most current version of that law. As a rule, junior professors and other members of the University of Göttingen can only be considered for a professorial appointment if after the completion of the doctoral thesis they have transferred to another university or worked for a minimum of two years in research elsewhere. The University of Göttingen is a Public Law Foundation and thereby entitled to award professorships. Details will be provided upon request.

Applications from abroad are explicitly welcome. The University of Göttingen strives to increase the proportion of women in areas where women are underrepresented and therefore explicitly invites qualified female scholars to apply. The University has committed itself to being a family-friendly institution and supports its employees in balancing work and family life. The University is particularly committed to the professional participation of disabled employees and therefore welcomes applications from persons with disabilities. In the case of equivalent qualifications, applications from disabled persons will be given preference. In order for the University to be able to protect the interests of the applicant, information about a disability or equal status should be included in the application.

Please send your application in English to the Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Prof. Dr. Achim Spiller, no later than December 14, 2025 via the Professorial Appointment Portal.

If you have further questions, please contact Prof. Dr. Stefan Scholten
(stefan.scholten@uni-goettingen.de) and Prof. Dr. Nicolaus von Wirén
(vonwiren@ipk-gatersleben.de).

The submission of the application constitutes consent under the data protection law and allows us to process your application data. For more details on the legal basis and data use, please refer to the information sheet on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Please note that only the German version of this job announcement is legally binding.