In Cermaq we work each day to ensure fish welfare and health in all our operations. Many of our landbased facilities are Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS), which reduce water use and improve environmental control. However, in RAS there is also potential for rapid pathogen transmission between fish tanks and fish groups.

To address the biosecurity issues Cermaq and partners have initiated RASafe, a four-year research project https://www.fhf.no/prosjekter/prosjektbasen/910960/.

The main goal is to increase the knowledge of biosecurity strategies in large-scale postsmolt facilities with RAS and how these affect microbiota, water quality and the fish. A key position is a four-year industry-PhD (Nærings-PhD) who will do their degree based on the results. The PhD-student will be hired at Cermaq Group and be enrolled in the PhD-program in Biosciences at Nord University.

What’s the job all about?

The position is for four years and is divided into scientific work for the PhD, 75% of working time and the remaining 25% for other activities in RASafe and Cermaq.

The science

• Participate in detailed planning of the experiments, and manage field samplings at the RAS facility Cermaq Norway Veines at Sørøya, Finnmark.
• Analyze samples at Veines and at the project partners in Oslo, Bergen, and Bodø. The analytical program will cover water quality, real-time PCR screening, 16S rRNA gene sequencing for bacterial community profiling, histology, and fish welfare indicators.
• Analyze the data, interpret the results and prepare and submit papers to peer-reviewed scientific journals.
• Enroll in the PhD-program in Biosciences at Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord University, and complete qualifications for the PhD-degree. The position will align with the Nærings-PhD program at the Research Council of Norway https://www.forskningsradet.no/finansiering/hva/narings-phd/

The project

• Facilitate efficient collaboration between the RASafe project partners
• Participate in external communication activities and present research results at conferences, seminars, and in social media
• Help organize RASafe physical and online meetings
• Participate in other projects in the Landbased Innovation & Development team

The team & everyday work

Does this project energize you?

If so, as our Industry-PhD you will be a part of the Landbased Innovation & Development Team led by Bendik Fyhn Terjesen. You will also join the highly qualified RASafe project team with partners from other salmon producers, fish health providers and academia. The Landbased team is based in Cermaq Group offices in Oslo. However, it is also possible to work out of other Cermaq locations; Veines at Sørøya, Alta, Steigen, Bodø and Bergen. At Nord University you will be assigned a PhD supervisor and have access to offices and labs.

You will mainly manage your own working day based on your responsibilities, tasks, deliveries, and appointments. Frequent and regular travelling is required for field sampling at Veines, to project partner locations in Norway, to courses at Nord university in Bodø, and occasionally abroad for conferences.

Required qualifications

Earning a doctoral degree demands commitment, perseverance and hard work. You must have strong internal drive and curiosity about fish biology, microbiome, RAS technology, and their interactions. In addition, the following qualifications are required:

• Documented experience in field investigations and sampling of Atlantic salmon in a biosecurity, RAS or water quality related field
• Education as fish health biologist, veterinarian, or MSc within microbiology, fish physiology or aquaculture
• Experience in at least one of the analyses above, and a willingness to learn others
• It is advantageous if you have a quantitative approach to research, documented knowledge of experimental design and statistical tests
• Be able to fulfill requirements for enrollment in the PhD program at Nord University https://www.nord.no/en/research/doctoral-degrees
• Fluent Norwegian and English is a demand

Do you thrive on science as well as our fish?

If the answer is yes, then we encourage you to send us your CV and application (preferably in Norwegian)! Here are key points that reflect our priorities and what we would like to know about you.

• Briefly describe your motivation for wanting to start a scientific journey to a PhD
• Include short examples of your experiences from field-sampling of Atlantic salmon and of laboratory methods
• Share one experience from a research project where you collaborated to achieve a common goal? What were your contributions to the team?

Some practical information

The recruitment process: We will review applications and get in touch with relevant candidates on an ongoing basis. The first step will be a short introduction where we get to know each other, and you get more information about the process moving on.

Startup: What matters most is ensuring this opportunity aligns with your motivation and that we see that there is a foundation for a productive collaboration. Therefore, we are relatively flexible when it comes to the start date. Having said that, we must admit that we would like the right candidate to join us as soon as possible.

What’s next?

We hope the information provided has been helpful in your application process. If you have any further questions, feel free to get in touch! You can find contact information in the ad.

Otherwise, just hit “apply”.