Technical Assistant or Laboratory Technician (m/f/d) (9/2026)

Your area of responsibility Information on the working group/research project: For an exciting and diverse project within the framework of structural change in southern Saxony-Anhalt towards a bioeconomy, we are looking for committed and independent employees to support the scientists in our international research group. Your specific project deals with St. John's wort as a medicinal plant and supplier of active ingredients and enzymes. The Department of Natural Product and Drug Chemistry (Head: Prof. Dr. Ludger Wessjohann) deals with the isolation, characterization, and development of active ingredients. As a chemistry/biology laboratory technician/TA (m/f/d), you will support the Neuroactive Active Ingredients project group. In our aging society, interest in natural substances for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases is growing. Our goal is to identify relevant compounds from plants by combining bioactivity-guided isolation and metabolomic approaches. The focus is, among other things, on the well-known antidepressant St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) and related species. As part of a BMFTR-funded project on the topic "Digitally supported development of bioeconomic value creation from the medicinal plant St. John's wort (HyperSpace)", we will work together with cooperation partners from the region to investigate the properties of the plant genus and identify new active ingredients, varieties, enzymes, and functions. Further information on the Active Ingredients working group can be found at https://www.ipb-halle.de/forschung/natur-und-wirkstoffchemie/forschungsgruppen/wirkstoffe/ Your area of responsibility is diverse and varied:

• Sampling and extraction of plant material
• Sample preparation for metabolomic/phytochemical measurements
• Fractionation of extracts
• Isolation of pure substances (column chromatography, HPLC)
• Performance of biological assays
• Preparation of database entries/data management
• general laboratory organization

Your profile

• Degree as a CTA or laboratory technician (alternatively Bachelor in chemistry, biochemistry, food chemistry, pharmacy)
• Knowledge/experience in chromatographic separations
• Basic knowledge of mass spectrometry or NMR spectroscopy is desirable
• Communication and teamwork skills
• Willingness to work in an international team
• Independent and careful way of working
• English skills

We offer

• Modern working conditions: Comprehensive introduction to working techniques and a modern research environment with first-class equipment and up-to-date software
• Career promotion: Targeted further training and access to a specialized library with electronic resources and quiet workspaces
• Remuneration & security: Classification according to TV-L incl. annual special payment, pension scheme (VBL), health offers and discounted canteen
• Ideal working environment: Varied workplace in an international environment and leading scientific location
• Team spirit and leadership culture: Open culture that strengthens teamwork, enables a career network, and promotes your research skills.
• Work-Life-Balance: Flexible working models, home office and 30 days of vacation – for a balanced work-life balance

About us The Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB) is, as a member of the Leibniz Association, an extra-university research institution at the Weinberg Campus in Halle (Saale). As a foundation under public law, the IPB is subject to the supervision of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.

The IPB is an internationally renowned research institution and consists of four scientific departments and additional independent research groups (approx. 200 employees). Research at the IPB aims to understand the (bio)chemical foundations of the performance and resilience of plants under environmental conditions of climate change and to make plant ingredients usable, e.g., in medicine. The IPB offers excellent research conditions and a state-of-the-art infrastructure to investigate the chemical diversity, the biochemical interactions, and the biological functions of small natural product molecules in plants and fungi. The focus is on specialized metabolites, chemical mediators, and relevant molecular networks of functional gene and protein regulation (http://www.ipb-halle.de).

Dr. Katrin Franke Research Associate Telephone: 0345 55821380 Katrin.Franke@ipb-halle.de

Leibniz-Institut für Pflanzenbiochemie (IPB) Weinberg 3 06120 Halle (Saale)