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Postdoc Employee - Plant Transformation and Developmental Biology Dept. - Plant & Microbial Biology - MEPMB - Benjamin Blackman Lab

Position overview
Salary range: The UC academic salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and step at appointment. See the following table(s) for the current salary scale(s) for this position https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2025-26/represented-oct-2025-scales/t23.pdf. A reasonable estimate for this position is $69,073-$77,030.

Percent time: 100%

Anticipated start: Late 2025 - Early 2026

Position duration: 2 years with the possibility of extension based on performance and availability of funding.

Application Window
Open date: September 11, 2025

Next review date: Thursday, Sep 25, 2025 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

Postdoc Employee - Plant Transformation and Developmental Biology - Plant & Microbial Biology

The Plant & Microbial Biology Department at the University of California, Berkeley seeks applications for a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Blackman Lab, in the area of plant transformation and developmental biology. The aims of the position will be tailored to the expertise of the successful applicant and complement the Blackman Lab's broad interests in the genetic basis of adaptation and domestication, the evolution of plant development, and mechanisms of organism-environment interaction.

Applying tools from transcriptomics and plant biotechnology, the postdoc will contribute to current NSF-funded work in the lab that seeks to define gene regulatory programs that inhibit transformation and regeneration in sunflower. Specifically, they will take a comparative experimental approach to assess how regeneration-promoting experimental treatments with development regulators engender differential gene expression patterns in patterns in sunflower as compared to multiple related, readily transformable species in the Asteraceae. This information will then be leveraged to advance reagent design and delivery strategies for transformation and gene editing in sunflower.

Responsibilities:

The postdoc will work closely with the PI, Ben Williams (UC Berkeley), Ryan Nasti (USDA-ARS Western Regional Research Center), additional collaborators, and lab personnel to design and lead research on the development and evolution of recalcitrance to transformation in the common sunflower, Helianthus annuus. The position also involves preparing grant proposals and manuscripts, data management and dissemination, organization and content development for workshops with land managers, and mentoring graduate and undergraduate students. The ideal candidate will demonstrate the ability to integrate across biological disciplines, identify and troubleshoot promising new methodologies independently, and use the appointment to develop and pursue novel, exciting questions.

Qualifications
Basic qualifications (required at time of application)
PhD (or equivalent international degree) or enrolled in a PhD degree program (or equivalent international degree).

Additional qualifications (required at time of start)
Ph.D. (or equivalent international degree) required by the appointment start date. No more than three years of post-degree research experience by the start date.

Preferred qualifications

• Demonstrated expertise in plant tissue culture and molecular biology.


• Expertise in analysis of transcriptomic datasets, programming for bioinformatics, biostatistics, machine learning, plant or gene expression studies.


• Excellent writing and communication skills.

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.


• Cover Letter

Reference requirements

• 3 required (contact information only)

Apply link: https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05115

Help contact: bkblackman@berkeley.edu

About UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in our public mission of research, teaching, and service, consistent with UC Regents Policy 4400 and University of California Academic Personnel policy (APM 210 1-d). These values are embedded in our Principles of Community, which reflect our passion for critical inquiry, debate, discovery and innovation, and our deep commitment to contributing to a better world. Every member of the UC Berkeley community has a role in sustaining a safe, caring and humane environment in which these values can thrive.

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.

For more information, please refer to the University of California's Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment Policy and the University of California's Anti-Discrimination Policy.

In searches when letters of reference are required all letters will be treated as confidential per University of California policy and California state law. Please refer potential referees, including when letters are provided via a third party (i.e., dossier service or career center), to the UC Berkeley statement of confidentiality prior to submitting their letter.

As a University employee, you will be required to comply with all applicable University policies and/or collective bargaining agreements, as may be amended from time to time. Federal, state, or local government directives may impose additional requirements.

As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct.

• "Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment or discrimination, as defined by the employer.


• UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy


• UC Anti-Discrimination Policy


• APM - 035: Affirmative Action and Nondiscrimination in Employment

Job location
Berkeley, CA


To apply, visit https://aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05115