Are you interested in working with topics that have a high impact on society, such as sustainable food proteins, biomaterials, biofuels, and pharmaceuticals? Would you like to do impactful research in the cutting edge of biotechnology with superb colleagues who are top experts in their field? Do you want to build a science career and work in a versatile role at the interface of applied research and industry? VTT might be just the place for you. If you are an international talent searching for a new opportunity, read more about the benefits of living in Finland and VTT’s support for relocation here!

VTT is one of the leading applied research organisations in Europe. What unites us are curiosity, a passion for learning and a purpose: to solve the biggest challenges of our time and turn them into sustainable growth and well-being. Our cross-disciplinary community of over 2300 brilliant minds from 60 different nationalities is focused on creating impact through science-based innovation. Get to know us further by exploring VTT's tech & infra.

We are now looking for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join our Protein production team for a fixed-term three-year contract starting in January 2026! 

The Protein production team focuses on basic and applied research of filamentous fungi with academic and industry partners. Our primary cell factory, Trichoderma reesei, has been studied at VTT for over 40 years and is an exceptional protein production system. We develop various future technologies to produce sustainable food and material proteins, enzyme mixtures, and therapeutic proteins. These activities support VTT’s mission to build a novel food system and enable bioinspired production for sustainable materials and other products.

In this Postdoctoral Researcher position, you will have an essential role in digitalizing and automating fungal strain development. Adopting data-driven approaches built on machine learning tools and high-throughput experimental approaches into the synthetic biology Design-Build-Test-Learn process has dramatically accelerated the pace and predictability of cell factory design. Fast construction of high-quality cell factories with phenotypes of interest in an effective and reliable way calls for biofoundry-based solutions. Still, for non-model organisms biofoundry pipelines are yet under-developed. Automated pipelines can be designed to increase throughput, reducing technical variability and improving data quality.

VTT started a Postdoc programme in 2023 to develop new ways to support scientific excellence and to strengthen career paths from universities to VTT. We want to provide development opportunities for recent university PhDs in applied research and industry collaboration. As a Postdoctoral Researcher at VTT, you are able to make an impact on our customers and society. Our researchers work closely together with industry, often in interdisciplinary research groups. VTT has excellent research infrastructure and internal services to support your research work.

Your responsibilities as a Postdoctoral Researcher:

• Laboratory-based research to develop a pipeline for high-throughput creation and analysis of Trichoderma reesei protein production strains.
• Development of automated methods and their implementation (including AI based analysis and predictive design) to screen for high performing filamentous fungal strains.
• Designing, developing, and optimizing fungal (chassis) strains with enhanced properties relevant for protein production, such as increased secretion, reduced carbon catabolite repression, reduced proteolytic activity, etc.
• Designing standards and metrics for biofoundry operations that allow translating HT small-scale data to larger scale.
• Working as part of the Protein production team and contributing positively to an engaging and supportive work environment.
• Participating actively in dissemination with journal publications and contributing to writing proposals for public funding.
• Supervising or tutoring junior team members.

Who we are looking for:

• You have recently (max 5 years ago) gained your doctoral degree in biotechnology, microbiology/biochemistry, biochemical engineering, or a closely related field.
• You have experience in high-throughput methods, automation, and related programming languages.
• Experience in fungal biology, strain engineering, bioinformatics, or bioprocess engineering is considered an asset.
• You have excellent communication skills in English, both written and spoken.

As a person, we hope that you are:

• An open-minded and innovative person with a vision of longer-term research needs.
• Eager to work with new topics and methods, even out of your comfort zone to achieve the set ambitious goals.
• An excellent team player with a desire to support your colleagues.
• Able to interact with external academic and industrial networks as well as with internal partners in an interdisciplinary environment.
• Have strong communication, collaboration, presentation, dissemination, and networking skills.
• Able to work both independently and as a member of a team.
• An outside-the-box thinker with ability to continuously learn new skills.

With VTT, you’ll enjoy:

• Science with an impact. At VTT, we seek to solve large societal challenges and drive a sustainable future through applied research and innovation. With us, you’ll get to work on research projects that make a concrete, positive impact in the world. Read more about our strategy, the path of exponential hope, and our organisational culture as the builder of the world's most meaningful place to work. 
• Support for your postdoc research. During your postdoctoral term, we offer training in project management, scientific writing, communication, and commercialisation. You’ll have the opportunity collaborate with industry on projects, access our research infrastructure and internal support services, explore interdisciplinary research, and secure funding for your postdoc term. At VTT, you’ll enjoy flexibility and independence in your work, with a blend of academic research and engaging customer projects for an exciting career path. 
• Open culture of innovation. We have over 80 years of experience in science-based innovation, a strong international reputation and global networks. We work truly across disciplines, and house all the cutting-edge sciences from quantum computing to synthetic biology under one roof. At VTT, you’ll join a community of over 2200 multidisciplinary experts who foster a culture of trust, openness and sharing knowledge. Collaborating with amazing colleagues is a source of learning, inspiration, and fun. 
• Nordic work-life balance. Working in Finland, the happiest country in the world, enables a great quality of life. At VTT, we make our people’s well-being a strategic priority. On top of 6 weeks of paid holidays annually (after one year of work), our benefits include extended occupational healthcare, and a range well-being services, such as exercise and culture benefits and hobby clubs. Read more about the benefits of living in Finland and VTT’s support for relocation. 

Apply now and join our community of brilliant minds!

Please send your CV and application with your salary request via our recruitment system as soon as possible but at the latest by 31 August 2025. We will process applications as they come in and fill the position as soon as we find the right candidate. A security clearance procedure will be conducted during the recruitment process.

Interested and want to know more?

For further information, please contact Research Team Leader Antti Aalto, antti.aalto@vtt.fi, +358 50 338 5127.

We look forward to hearing from you!

This postdoc position is part of Postdoctoral Programme for Research Institutes. The Programme has been granted 40 million euros in funding based on the Finnish government's multi-annual research and development (R&D) funding plan. This funding enables recruitment of 85 PhD-level experts to 12 Finnish government research institutes between 2025 and 2028. The aim of the Programme is to strengthen RDI competence in areas important to society and business. Postdoctoral researcher will conduct goal-oriented high-level research at the interface between the academic community, industry and administration. The Programme supports postdoctoral researcher’s networking and mobility between sectors.