The University of Vienna is a community of over 10,000 individuals, including approximately 7,500 academic staff members, who passionately pursue answers to the profound questions that shape our future. They represent individuals driven by curiosity and a relentless pursuit of excellence. With us, they find the space to try things out and unfold their potential. Are you inspired by their passion and determination? We are currently seeking a/an

University assistant predoctoral 

50 Faculty of Life Sciences  

Job vacancy starting: 08/01/2025 (MM-DD-YYYY) | Working hours:  30.00  | Classification CBA: §48 VwGr. B1 Grundstufe (praedoc) 

Limited contract until: 

Job ID: 3848

Explore and teach at the University of Vienna, where more than 7,500 academics thrive on curiosity in continuous exploration and help us better understand our world. Does this sound like you? Then join our accomplished team! A PhD position is available in the gorup of Prof. Dr. Konrad at the University of Vienna, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry starting in August 2025. We are looking for a candidate with expertice in medicinal chemistry/ synthetic organic chemistry with a passion for drug discovery to join our young an enthusiastic team. The project involves the design and synthesis of covalent chemical probes and drug candidates. The foundation for the development of these molecular tools are the establishment of tailored reactive elements ("warheads" or "chemotypes"). To generate drug candidates, scaffold modifications will be performed as part of structure-activity relationship studies. The key targets within our group are antioxidant proteins involved in the induction of ferroptosis in therapy-resistant and metastatic states of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. The key enabling technologies of the laboratory are a (chemo)proteomics analyses platform to study protein targets, off-target engagement as well as mechanisms-of-action for smal molecules and a semi-automated high-throughput experimentation (HTE) platform to perform chemical reactions at an accelerated pace. A successful applicant will spend the first 3 months of the PhD project at the LMU Munich for training purposes. 

Your personal sphere of influence:

• Experience in synthetic organic/ medicinal chemistry and a passion for drug discovery
• A deep interest and an enthusiasm for scientific work
• A critical and analytical mind
• Ability to work respnsibly, reliably, diligently and independently perform experiments
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team within the group and with external collaborators
• A passion for training colleagues and students in the laboratory
• Experience in the most commonly employed techniques in the laboratory (see "Your future tasks" section)
• Programming skills in python and R with experience in statistical data analysis are an advantage

Your future tasks:

The most commonly used techniques for the project are chemical synthesis as well as the analysis of the produced compounds and their reactivity. To perform chemical syntheses, we expect experience with standard inert-atmosphere techniques such as Schlenk line and glovebox set-ups. For compound analysis, NMR, HRMS, HPLC, LC-MS and UV-vis are frequently used techniques. The reactivity of chemical probes will be determined through reaction kinetics measurements. We encourage students to apply who have experience with most of these methods and are exited to expand their skilset with the approaches that they are not yet familiar with. Programming skills in python and R with experience in statistical data analysis are a strong bonus. 

About us: 

We are a young and enthusiastic team that is focused on developing new treatments against drug resistant and metastatic states of lung cancers by working at the interface of medicinal chemistry, chemical methodology development, cancer chemical biology and (chemo)proteomics. The project is strongly connected to the key goal of the group to study phenotypic plasticity with regard to cancer progression, hydrogen peroxide signaling and ferroptosis. The group is currently transitioning from the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) Munich to the University of Vienna. For more information, visit : https://konrad.cup.uni-muenchen.de/

This is part of your personality:

You have a completed Master´s degree (or equivalent) with a focus in:

• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Drug Development
• Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Chemical Biology

What we offer:

Work-life balance: Our employees enjoy flexible working hours and can partially work remotely. 

Inspiring working atmosphere: You are a part of an international academic team in a healthy and fair working environment.

Good public transport connections: Your workplace is easily accessible by public transport.

Internal further training & Coaching: Opportunity to deepen your skills on an ongoing basis. There are over 600 courses to choose from – free of charge.

Duration of contract: The duration of the contract for employment is 4 years. Initially limited to 1.5 years, the employment relationship is automatically extended to 4 years if the employer does not submit a declaration of non-renewals within the first 12 months.

Fair salary: The basic salary of EUR 3,714,80 (on a full-time basis) increases if we can credit professional experience.

Equal opportunities for all: We welcome every additional/new personality to the team!

It is that easy to apply:

• With your scientific curriculum vitae / letter of intent
• With your summary of research interests / ideas for a prospective doctoral project proposal (max. X p.)
• Master Degree  /  Diploma
• Via our  job portal/ Apply now -  button

If you have any questions, please contact:

David Benjamin Konrad  

david.benjamin.konrad@univie.ac.at

We look forward to new personalities in our team! 
The University of Vienna has an anti-discriminatory employment policy and attaches great importance to equal opportunities, the advancement of women and diversity. We lay special emphasis on increasing the number of women in senior and in academic positions among the academic and general university staff and therefore expressly encourage qualified women to apply. Given equal qualifications, preference will be given to female candidates.

University of Vienna. Space for personalities. Since 1365.

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​Application deadline: 05/23/2025 (MM-DD-YYYY)