Research Projects Officer

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

The Opportunity

• Contribute to research and technology as part of the Disease Mitigation Technologies group
• Supportive, rewarding, inclusive and truly flexible environment.
• Join CSIRO – Australia’s National Science and Innovation Agency!

CSIRO’s Health and Biosecurity Business Unit is dedicated to conducting scientific research that develops products and services to address the complexity and interdependencies of human, animal and environmental health and biosecurity challenges to provide benefits to Australia and the world.
As the Research Projects Officer, you will be operating across two teams in the Disease Mitigation Technologies (DMT) group; ‘Genome Engineering’ and ‘Immunomics’. The DMT group is part of the Biosecurity research program in CSIRO’s Health and Biosecurity business unit, and therefore contributes to ‘Secure Australia and Region’, ‘Food Security and Quality’, and ‘Resilient and Valuable Environment’ CSIRO Challenges, with impacts on ‘Biosecurity’, ‘Sustainable Farm Systems’ and ‘Healthy Ecosystems and Biodiversity’
As part of the Genome Engineering team, which is a multidisciplinary team that works in poultry and aquaculture species, you will contribute to the production of genome engineered poultry. As part of the Immunomics team responsibilities, you will contribute to the research and development of RNA based vaccines and immunological tools for Transboundary Animal Diseases such as bluetongue, lumpy skin disease, African Swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease.
Your duties will include:

• Under general direction, contribute to research and technology through the development of original and adapted experimental methods.
• Undertake a wide variety of tasks, including tasks with a high degree of specialisation.
• Show initiative to seek new approaches to meet experimental or technological needs when encountering new problems where methods are not defined.
• Participate in the identification and definition of research and/or technological problems with colleagues.
• Address problems promptly and in a constructive manner.
• Participate in planning projects and accept responsibility for scheduling and completion of major parts of the project, including evaluation of options, experimental design, data collection and analysis.
• Make significant contributions to the interpretation and communication of research or technological results and may collaborate on drafting presentations to, and/or detailed written reports for, clients and the scientific and technology community.
• Other duties as directed

Location: Geelong, VIC

Salary:  AU$87k to AU$98k pa + up to 15.4% super

Tenure:  3 year specified term

Reference:  88343

To be considered you will need:

• A Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree or equivalent relevant work experience in Biological Sciences or a related discipline.
• Evidence of technical and experimental experience in microbiology and molecular biology related laboratory skills.
• Evidence of technical and experimental experience in tissue culture, PCR, bacterial culture, bacterial cloning.
• Demonstrated ability to address underlying issues of complex and ill-defined problems in a timely and technically sound manner.
• Experience working both independently and co-operatively as a member of a larger project team, with a demonstrated ability to form and maintain effective and respectful relationships with a range of colleagues and collaborators.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to document results and communicate effectively with colleagues and other stakeholders.

Desirable

• Research experience with chicken embryos or other livestock species
• Demonstrated experience with gene editing techniques.
• Experience in working with infectious viruses in a PC3 laboratory environment.
• Knowledge of regulations related to working with genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
• Demonstrated ability to work within a diverse and multidisciplinary team.

For full details about this role please review the Position Description

Eligibility

Applications for this position are open to Australian/New Zealand Citizens and Australian Permanent Residents only. Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

To enter a CSIRO site, CSIRO will require you to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 (or show a valid medical exemption from vaccination). If you are unable to meet this requirement, then you must return a negative result on a Rapid Antigen Test (within 48 hours prior to attending site) and wear a face mask whilst on the CSIRO site. These requirements apply if you are attending a CSIRO site as part of a recruitment process.

Flexible Working Arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. 

Diversity and Inclusion

We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish. 

About CSIRO

At CSIRO Australia’s national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact. 

Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to Apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

Applications Close

18 November 2022, 11:00pm AEDT