The goal of this position is to develop and apply population genetic approaches to single-cell, transcriptomic, and metagenomic datasets generated from natural microbial communities. Most protistan plankton cannot be cultured or isolated as individuals, so classical population genetic methods developed for organisms that can be sampled, genotyped, and tracked one at a time do not transfer directly to these systems. This position will build new analytical frameworks for extracting population-level signal from mixed-community sequence data, advancing our ability to study evolution and adaptation in the ocean’s most abundant and least understood organisms.
The ideal candidate will have a strong background in oceanography, microbial ecology, population genetics or molecular evolution, experience with high-throughput sequence data (single-cell genomics/transcriptomics and/or metagenomics), and proficiency in Python, R, and/or BASH. Direct experience with non-model or environmentally sampled organisms, workflow management systems (e.g., Snakemake, Nextflow), and high-performance computing is preferred but not required. The candidate will have the opportunity to help define new methods at the interface of population genetics and environmental multi-omics, and to collaborate with an interdisciplinary group of biologists and bioinformaticians.
Strong oral and written communication skills, preferably demonstrated through publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presentations, are also required. The initial appointment is one year. Renewal of the appointment is conditional on the Postdoctoral Scholar making satisfactory progress during the prior year and continuation of funding.
WHOI is situated in the village of Woods Hole, Massachusetts on Cape Cod, approximately 1.5 hours driving south of Boston. WHOI has approximately 1200 full-time employees and students engaged in oceanographic research and education. WHOI is co-located in Woods Hole with the University of Chicago Marine Biological Laboratory, NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center, USGS Coastal and Marine Science Center, and Woodwell Climate Research Center, driving a vibrant marine research community. WHOI has a top-rated postdoctoral program that supports a dynamic postdoctoral community with formal mentoring and career guidance programs. While the primary focus of the work will be in research, the Postdoctoral Scholar will have opportunities to participate in educational and outreach activities associated with the project.
Essential Functions & Duties
- Conduct independent and collaborative research developing and applying population genetic methods to single-cell genomic, transcriptomic, and metagenomic data.
- Analyze high-throughput sequence data from environmental samples, develop and troubleshoot bioinformatics pipelines, and manage, curate, and archive genetic/genomic data.
Required Experience & Education
- D. in biological oceanography, evolutionary biology, population genetics
Application deadline: August 15, 2026
