Job Description

Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation

Role highlights

• Advance research that will help safeguard the Australian cotton industry
• Join CSIRO’s Agroecology Team within Agriculture & Food
• Work within a highly collaborative, multidisciplinary research environment

About CSIRO

As Australia's national science agency, CSIRO is solving the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. Many of our iconic innovations were once considered impossible until someone, just like you, joined us and took on the challenge.

Visit CSIRO.au for more information.

The opportunity

CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Fellowshipsprovide opportunities to scientists and engineers who have completed their doctorate and have less than three years relevant research experience. These Fellowships aim to develop the next generation of future leaders of the innovation system.

Join CSIRO and help secure the future of Australia’s cotton industry. In this CERC Fellowship, you’ll lead research into the genetic drivers of Bt resistance in Helicoverpa spp, developing new tools and frameworks to understand pest population dynamics across farming landscapes.

As part of our Agroecology Team, you’ll work with a multidisciplinary group of entomologists, geneticists, ecologists and industry partners—supported by world-class laboratories, high-performance computing and specialist insect rearing facilities. You’ll also engage directly with growers and industry stakeholders, with opportunities for domestic travel and national collaboration with regionally dispersed teams.

Your high-level duties will include:

• Designing and delivering research of strategic importance to CSIRO, generating significant scientific outcomes.
• Conducting genomic workflow activities including sample collection, DNA preparation, long-read sequencing and development of bioinformatic analysis pipelines.
• Undertaking innovative research to identify resistance alleles and contribute to theoretical advancement in resistance management.
• Recording, managing and analysing data using established data science methodologies (FAIR, coding workflows, version control).
• Preparing publications, reports and conference presentations, and contributing to proposal development.
• Working collaboratively across a distributed research team, while progressing independent research activities under broad supervision.
• Pursuing professional development in research capability, project management, communication and engagement skills.
• Upholding CSIRO Values, Code of Conduct, safety standards and diversity principles.

Role particulars

Location and office arrangements: Canberra - Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country, ACT

Salary: AU$103k – AU$113k per annum (pro rata for part-time), plus 15.4% superannuation

Tenure & work schedule:Full time, Specified Term of 3 years

Reference: 101642

As the successful candidate, you will bring:

Essential criteria

1. A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD). The doctorate must be in a relevant discipline area, such as genetics or genomics or bioinformatics with demonstrated experience or a strong interest in insects. Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (full-time equivalent) of relevant research experience.
2. A sound understanding of genetics and genomics methods, especially DNA extractions, library preparation and sequencing of DNA in non-model organisms.
3. Applied experience in the analysis of genomic data (bioinformatics), including reference based and reference-free pipelines, and relevant coding languages (e.g. bash, R, Python), and a sound understanding of FAIR data principles, data management and version control.
4. High level written and oral communication skills with the ability to represent the research team effectively internally and externally, including the presentation of research outcomes at national and international conferences.
5. A sound history of publication in peer reviewed journals and/or authorship of scientific papers, reports, grant applications or patents.
6. A record of science innovation and creativity, including the ability & willingness to incorporate novel ideas and approaches into scientific investigations.

For full details about this role, and other criteria, please review the

Not sure if you meet all the criteria?

While it is CSIRO policy that the successful candidate must meet all the essential criteria, there are many ways to demonstrate this. Don’t let the list discourage you. If you are unsure about applying, please reach out to the contact person in the Position Description.

Setting you up for success

We are committed to providing a recruitment process that is fair, equitable and accessible to everyone. We recognise that it may be helpful for us to adjust our process to make it equitable for your individual situation. Please contact careers.online@csiro.auand let us know how we can support you.

Life at CSIRO and flexible work arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. We can discuss flexible work arrangements with you during the recruitment process. CSIRO also offers a range of leave entitlements, benefits and career development opportunities. To find out more, visit Careers at CSIRO

Inclusion and belonging

Solving Australia's greatest challenges takes a diversity of minds and lived experiences. We know diverse teams are more effective and deliver more innovative outcomes. As an equal employment opportunity organisation, we are committed to creating diverse and inclusive teams where people feel they belong. We recognise true diversity encompasses all ages, abilities, cultures, faiths, levels of education, genders, sexualities, diversity of thought and much more. We focus on hiring people who share our values of People First, Further Together, Making it Real and Trusted.

CSIRO holds Gold Status for the Australian Workplace Equality Index for LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and a Science in Australia Gender Equity Bronze Award.

Eligibility

Applications for this position are open to Australian Citizens, New Zealand Citizens, Australian Permanent Residents, and Australian Temporary Residents with a valid working visa for the duration of the specified term.

Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

Child safety

CSIRO is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our activities and programs. View our Child Safe Policy

How to apply

Please apply online and submit a cover letter (maximum 2 pages) and CV that demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the essential requirements of this role.

Applications close

26 January 2026, 11:00pm AEDT