A three-year fellowship program is now recruiting STEM researchers who want to build the technologies that power modern life sciences. Applications for the ARISE2 postdoctoral initiative close 30 September 2026.
Europe has poured significant funding into research infrastructure, the specialized facilities and equipment that underpin scientific breakthroughs. Yet those investments only pay off when skilled professionals know how to operate, maintain, and improve these complex systems. That expertise gap prompted the EU-backed ARISE2 project to design a fellowship specifically for scientists who want to work at the intersection of technology development and research services.
Fellows receive a three-year contract with a salary, along with structured training built around three pillars: research, infrastructure competencies, and career development. Each fellow designs their own project to create or refine a technology. Supervision comes from a primary advisor at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, plus an external scientific co-supervisor and an academic mentor.
Mobility plays a central role. Participants complete secondments lasting two to six months at partner organizations, shorter job shadowing visits to study operational workflows, and interdisciplinary placements across EMBL facilities. A dedicated curriculum covers data management using FAIR principles, budgeting, service delivery, technology transfer, and communications, including a weeklong school during the second year.
The selection process unfolds quickly. Interviews run 25 to 27 November 2026, and accepted fellows begin work on 1 January 2027, with a four-month flexibility window. Candidates must hold a doctoral degree in a STEM field, though they need not come from a life sciences background.
Meanwhile, EMBL Heidelberg will host an ARISE2 Partnership Event on 16 October 2026. The gathering showcases technologies from fellows and partner organizations across imaging, optical engineering, structural biology, mechanical engineering, computational science, and biotechnology. Registration is open now.
The fellowship program concludes in December 2029. Its goal: prepare a new generation of research infrastructure scientists to drive innovation in human and planetary health.
