PhD Candidate in Environmental Analytical Chemistry

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At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

About the job

The Department of Chemistry at NTNU has a vacancy for a PhD Candidate position in environmental analytical chemistry, focusing on non-target analysis and suspect screening workflows. For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree. 

Chemical pollution is recognized as a key drivers of biodiversity loss. Protection of the environment and human health from the impacts of pollution is key in securing a resilient society. Due to the high number and enormous complexity of chemicals of potential concern, advances in high-resolution analytical techniques are urgently needed. The bottleneck for such analysis remains time-consuming data analysis processes, that can only be tackled by a combination of robust workflows with advanced data analysis tools.

Funded by NTNU, the PhD project will tackle this challenge by developing multiple non-target analytical workflows aimed at detecting persistent and/or toxic pollutants present in complex environmental samples and/or discharges. A key component of the project will be the development of data analysis workflows that tackle big data sets and enables both detection and prioritization of detected compounds through modelling of their environmental and toxicological properties. 

The candidate will be part of the Environmental and Analytical Chemistry Group (Environmental and Analytical Chemistry - Department of Chemistry - NTNU) at the Department of Chemistry. The candidate's main supervisor will be Associate Professor Lisbet Sørensen. 

Your immediate leader is the Head of the Department of Chemistry. 

Duties of the position

• Development and comparison of non-target analysis methods (GC-HRMS, LC-HRMS) focusing on data assessment workflows.
• Application of developed methods in the context of pollutant prioritization, focusing on identification of ‘novel’ persistent and/or toxic pollutants in complex mixtures.
• Supervision of master students and contribution to scientific dissemination and discussions within the research group.
• Publishing in peer-reviewed journals.
• Presentation of scientific work at conferences.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in analytical chemistry, or similar. 
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• Master's students are encouraged to apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented by the starting date of the position. 
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty of natural sciences' doctoral program (https://www.ntnu.edu/nv/phd).
• Proficiency in oral and written English. 

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Phd candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant 

Preferred selection criteria

• Hands-on experience with method development and chemical analysis using high-resolution organic analytical techniques (LC-HRMS, GC-HRMS).
• Background or experience from environmental sciences.
• Experience with non-target analysis data assessment tools.
• Knowledge of cheminformatic tools, such as multivariate analysis, in silico modelling.
• Proficiency in applied data programming languages, e.g., R, Python, Matlab.
• In the case of equal qualifications, applicants with a Scandinavian language might be preferred due to teaching duties.

Personal characteristics

• Strongly motivated to advance both own skills-set and the field of science.
• Analytical and creative problem-solving skills.
• Motivated to embrace challenges, enthusiastic, and result-oriented.
• Proven initiative and ability to work independently, while being a team-player motivated by advancing others.

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
employee benefits

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 532 200 per annum before tax. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years with a possible extension of 1 year for teaching duties.

The tentative start date for this position is August 2025, with potential adjustments for an earlier or later commencement depending on situational requirements.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Chemistry (https://www.ntnu.edu/studies/phkj) within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period. 

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The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. 

After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include:

• CV and certificates 
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the master's thesis. If you recently have submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Name and contact information of three referees
• If you have publications or other relevant research work

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

General information

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality. 

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The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

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As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Lisbet Sørensen, email lisbet.sorensen@ntnu.no">20lisbet.sorensen@ntnu.no.%20If%20you%20have%20any%20questions%20about%20the%20recruitment%20process,%20please%20contact%20Marie%20Kristiansen,%20e-mail:%20marie.kristiansen@ntnu.no" rel="nofollow">lisbet.sorensen@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR-consultant Marie Kristiansen, e-mail: marie.kristiansen@ntnu.no

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.