Paid PhD Research Assistant at the University of Vienna: Sea-Surface Microbes and Atlantic Carbon Cycling

Paid PhD Research Assistant at the University of Vienna: Sea-Surface Microbes and Atlantic Carbon Cycling

Which bacteria are active at the ocean-atmosphere interface, and how do their activity and ecological traits vary with season and across the Atlantic? VERA is a marine microbial biogeochemistry doctorate in Thomas Reinthaler's group, advertised as University of Vienna Job ID 6362. The saved employer deadline is 20 November 2026, with an appropriate Master's to be completed by employment and English as the laboratory language. Its distinguishing feature is a defined combination of seasonal coastal work, an Atlantic research cruise and activity-based microbial ecology within VDSEE. Two important qualifications accompany the funding description: doctoral training is additional to the 30 contracted weekly hours, and the header's end date does not match the stated 3.5-year duration.

University, field and doctoral training

The University of Vienna is a comprehensive research university, distinct from Vienna's veterinary and medical universities. Its QS 2027 overall position is joint 140, versus 152 in 2026. This provides broad institutional context rather than a marine-microbiology ranking. The actual disciplinary home is the Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology in the Faculty of Life Sciences, with access promised to microbial-ecology facilities and the Life Science Compute Cluster.

The vacancy names the Vienna Doctoral School of Ecology and Evolution, VDSEE. The school's guidance requires admission to a University of Vienna doctoral programme, an eligible supervisor's project and a signed code of good practice. Employment alone does not complete enrolment. The retained training guidance distinguishes biology/molecular-biology PhD routes requiring 30 ECTS from other science routes with different credits and degree titles. Confirm the actual study code rather than importing the environmental-science requirement.

There is a substantial supervision structure: a public project presentation, a doctoral thesis agreement, annual progress reports and a Thesis Advisory Committee meeting within the first twelve months and annually afterwards. The specific presentation guidance recommends completion within three to six months, while the general starting page says within the first year; obtain the applicable schedule. The exposé is limited to ten pages excluding references and documents resources, risks and supervision. The job targets three thesis papers; the school says publication expectations are set in the agreement, so this is a project objective rather than an unconditional university-wide graduation rule.

Supervisor and recent research

Reinthaler's university-hosted biography identifies him as Senior Scientist and leader of Marine Microbial Biogeochemistry, not professor. His record combines long-term ship work, coastal surface-layer research and deeper-ocean carbon cycling. The fieldwork log includes recent North Atlantic and North Sea campaigns, substantiating relevant experience without guaranteeing the new student's sailing schedule. Formal first-supervisor status, complementary supervisors and day-to-day support should be established in the agreement.

Three coauthored studies explain the research logic; prior publications do not guarantee the new project's outcomes.

Bibi et al. (2025): Surface-layer change during bloom succession

The Biogeosciences paper follows sea-surface microlayer and underlying-water biogeochemistry through a controlled bloom succession. Its analysis connects organic-matter dynamics with changing microbial communities. Its discussion explicitly limits generalisation: the short controlled study lacks natural wind, wave and food-web variability, so field validation and seasonal coverage are necessary. This directly motivates the proposed seasonal coastal and ocean-transect comparison.

Zhao et al. (2024): Protein profiles and ecological interpretation

The Nature Communications paper examines protein profiles across size fractions and ocean depths to infer ecological interactions and organic-matter processing. Its value for the doctorate is the connection between community identity, expressed function and ecological interpretation. Protein-profile evidence is semi-quantitative and depends on reference coverage; it does not by itself establish a causal carbon flux or make deep-ocean observations identical to surface-layer ecology.

Heitger et al. (2026): Particle association versus bulk activity

The Limnology and Oceanography paper compares particle-associated and bulk microbial contributions in the North Atlantic. Relatively few particle-associated cells make disproportionate contributions to measured activity. The discussion acknowledges pressure-related bias and conversion-factor uncertainty, and cautions against interpreting shared depth trends as ecological causation. Its research lesson is that abundance and activity are different quantities. Reinthaler is a coauthor, not automatically the lead investigator of every paper.

Research work, feasibility and future relevance

VERA concerns bacteria active at the sea-surface microlayer, the ocean-atmosphere interface, and their variation through seasons and across an Atlantic transect. The call combines single-cell activity observations and imaging with metagenomic and metatranscriptomic datasets, with about 85% laboratory/field work and 15% bioinformatics. The call names SAR11 and Roseobacteraceae as examples of key taxa, leaving the target taxa open. The work combines environmental observations, laboratory research and an ocean cruise to link ecological function with environmental context; bioinformatics is a smaller part of the advertised workload.

Practical commitments are unusually explicit: northern-German sampling with GEOMAR partners approximately three days monthly during the first year, beginning February 2027, and RV METEOR's tropical/subtropical Atlantic cruise in February/March 2028. Partners include Oldenburg and GEOMAR Kiel. Travel is a research responsibility rather than a guaranteed discretionary exchange. Clarify sea-going training, travel accommodation, insurance, field support and alternatives if weather or vessel scheduling changes.

A credible thesis could ask how community composition and activity differ between the surface interface and underlying water across environmental conditions. Separating seasonal patterns from location, weather and campaign differences would be central. This is an interpretation of the announced design, not a fixed dissertation already assigned. Ask which samples and analyses are shared with partners, who owns each work package, and whether sufficient independent material remains for three papers.

Career and Transferable Skills

Skills in environmental sampling, microscopy, statistics, reproducible data handling and ecological interpretation transfer to research and environmental assessment. The available sources establish relevance, not industry hiring volumes or placement rates.

Salary, contract, fees and living costs

The body advertises 3.5 years at 30 hours weekly, 75% employment, starting 1 February 2027. The header instead ends 1 July 2030, approximately one month short of 3.5 years. Keep this inconsistency explicit until HR confirms dates. More consequentially, the employer states that doctoral training and degree-related activities are additional to contracted hours: do not read 30 hours as the total weekly doctoral workload.

The job gives approximately €2,832 gross monthly, fourteen payments annually, at 2026 rates, and says the applicable 2027 rate will govern. The university's collective-agreement page confirms pro-rata treatment for part-time staff and 2027 changes. Net salary, prior-service recognition and exact contractual amounts require HR calculation. Neither full-time salary figures nor a generic FWF studentship tariff should replace this appointment's stated 75% salary.

The FWF catalogue corroborates VERA's project title, Reinthaler, University of Vienna and €336,738, but the saved record labels it Pending. The employer describes it as FWF-funded. This may reflect administrative timing; it does not prove a hiring cancellation or money already received. Ask whether recruitment and the full contract term are unconditional and whether award activation is complete.

University employee tuition remission is available regardless of citizenship, subject to conditions including at least 90 days of employment in the previous semester and no parallel study at another Austrian university. The Students' Union fee remains payable; new-hire timing should be checked rather than promising first-semester zero fees.

OeAD's 2026 student-cost guidance, based on the 2025 survey, gives about €1,300 monthly nationally, with dormitory-based accommodation €450–700 and a warning that Vienna costs more. WU's city guide gives roughly €1,200–1,600. These are student benchmarks rather than guaranteed employee housing or disposable-income calculations. Budget relocation, deposits and fieldwork-related cashflow separately.

Application evidence and priority questions

Applicants must complete a relevant Master's or equivalent by employment, in marine biology, microbiology, biological oceanography, biogeochemistry or a closely related field. The call requires experience in molecular or microbiological laboratory methods and fluorescence microscopy, bioinformatics skills such as R/Linux and motivation to develop them, excellent English, teamwork and willingness to travel. Certain specialist methods and sea experience are desirable rather than universal entry requirements.

Apply through the university portal with a 1–2 page motivation letter, a tabular CV limited to 3 pages, master's thesis and contact details for two referees. At the end of the letter, state whether generative AI or other AI-assisted tools were used and for what purpose; include a short non-use statement if none were used. Applicants remain responsible for truthful, accurate content. Do not substitute an email enquiry for submission. Contact thomas.reinthaler@univie.ac.at about research questions. Highest-priority clarifications are exact end date, workload beyond 30 hours, funding activation, doctoral study code, supervision and travel support. This is a well-defined paid research opportunity for applicants seeking substantial laboratory and sea-going ecology, with those contractual details resolved before acceptance.

Evidence and Sources

The saved deadline fields differ in precision: EURAXESS gives 20 November 2026 at 00:00 UTC, while the employer text gives the date only. Confirm the portal cutoff and time zone. The employer describes the role as FWF-funded, while the FWF project entry is marked Pending; its meaning and funding activation remain unconfirmed. Paper evidence scope: the Bibi et al. (2025) discussion section was consulted; the Heitger et al. (2026) analysis uses the publisher results and discussion sections, while a separate institutional copy was unavailable; the saved materials do not specify the reading scope for Zhao et al. (2024). Available bylines are incomplete, so missing author names and individual contributions cannot be inferred.

Retained sources

• University of Vienna vacancy 6362 VERA
• University of Vienna Reinthaler research profile
• Reinthaler university-hosted biography and research group
• Reinthaler fieldwork log
• Reinthaler university-hosted publication bibliography
• VDSEE doctoral school and current research community
• VDSEE formal requirements, credits, annual reports and TAC
• VDSEE starting your doctorate
• VDSEE public presentation and thesis agreement
• University of Vienna doctoral degree routes
• University of Vienna employee tuition remission
• University of Vienna 2026–27 salary and collective agreement
• Uniko university collective agreement 2026–27
• OeAD 2026 student living costs based on the 2025 survey
• WU Vienna student living-cost guide
• QS 2027 University of Vienna overall ranking
• Bibi et al. 2025 sea-surface microlayer mesocosm study
• Zhao et al. 2024 ocean metaproteomic ecological interactions
• Heitger et al. 2026 particle-associated microbial carbon degradation
• FWF VERA research-radar grant record
• University of Vienna Life Sciences study and career context