S2AQUA - Laboratório Colaborativo, Associação para uma Aquacultura Sustentável e Inteligente (S2AQUAcoLAB) is calling for applications for a candidate (minimum level 4 - secondary education to support activities within the scope of the HatchWeLL project – Enhancing Marine HATCHeries productivity through better Nutrition, Robustness, and WELfare of Larvae,

No. 29114, Operation No. MPr-2026-4 (COMPETE2030-FEDER-04220200, ALGARVE-FEDER-04220200), supported by the EUROSTARS-3 program and co-financed by the European Union through the Algarve 2030 and COMPETE 2030 Operational Programs, under the Portugal 2030 framework.

1. Desired profile

1. Level 4 non-tertiary education (secondary education);
2. Experience and knowledge of aquaculture;
3. Experience in collecting biological samples from marine species, particularly sea bream;
4. Experience in molecular biology techniques, such as PCR and real-time PCR;
5. Experience in processing biological samples from fish for DNA and RNA extraction;
6. Experience in designing and analyzing the efficiency of primers for gene expression studies;
7. Experience in collecting and processing relative gene expression data;
8. Availability to work on holidays and weekends.

2. Tasks: 

The work program includes, in particular, the following activities:

1. Support for conducting in vivo experiments with fish, as well as collecting experimental data and processing data;
2. Assistance with laboratory-scale experiments, such as sampling;
3. Processing biological samples for DNA and RNA extraction;
4. Analysis of molecular biomarker expression;
5. Collaboration in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data;
6. Collaboration in the preparation of reports and scientific articles.

3. Other requirements:

1. Be highly motivated, demonstrate independence, and show the ability to propose new approaches;
2. Experience participating in and/or developing and carrying out research projects in national and international groups;
3. Ability to adapt and integrate to work as part of a team; 
4. Advanced level of English;
5. Autonomy and proactivity.

4. Remuneration

The gross monthly remuneration will be TRU 5 (934.99€) of the Single Remuneration Table.

5. Type and duration of the contract

The contract will be for an indefinite term, lasting approximately 12 months, and will begin at a date to be agreed upon later with the selected candidate.

6. Supervision and place where the activity will take place

The activities will be carried out under the supervision of Dr Iris Silva, a researcher at S2AQUAcoLAB. 

The activities will be carried out at the S2AQUAcoLAB facilities, based at Estação Piloto de Piscicultura de Olhão, Av. do Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, s/n, 8700-194 Olhão, Portugal.

7. Applications:

The competition is open between September, 24 and 23:59 on October 09, 2026. 

Only applications submitted directly and necessarily by email to geral@s2aquacolab.pt with reference to S2AQUAcoLAB/Ref_05/2026 will be accepted. 

Each candidate may submit only one application, failing which all applications submitted will be cancelled. 

The application must include the documents listed in section 7.1.

False declarations or acts of plagiarism are grounds for cancellation of the application, without prejudice to the adoption of other sanctioning measures.

The following may apply to this competition 

A. Nationals or citizens of other European Union member states;

B. Citizens of third countries;

To apply you must:

C. Be permanently and habitually resident in Portugal;

7.1 Admissibility Requirements for Applications

It is essential, otherwise the application will not be accepted:

D. A detailed curriculum vitae;

E. A letter of motivation;

F. Certificate of permanent residence, permanent residence permit or long-term resident status, if applicable;

G. Documents proving the required conditions, namely qualification certificates indicating the degree obtained and the final classification;

H. Copy of ID card (in case of placement - to be sent later).

8. Jury composition

The competition jury is made up of the following members:

President: Iris Silva, Researcher - S2AQUAcoLAB;

1st Member: Pedro Pousão Ferreira, President of the Board - S2AQUAcoLAB;

2nd Member: Elsa Cabrita, Member of the Board - S2AQUAcoLAB;

1st Member Alternate: Renata Gonçalves, Researcher - S2AQUAcoLAB;

2nd Member Alternate: Raquel Quintã, Researcher - S2AQUAcoLAB.

9. Selection methods and criteria

Applications considered admissible will be scored from zero (0 minimum classification) to twenty (20 maximum classification).

Admission to the competition: all candidates who fulfil the requirements set out in this notice will be admitted to the competition.

Assessment method: candidates will be assessed by curriculum evaluation (CA) (100%). An interview will only be held if the jury deems it necessary or in the event of a tie (E).

9.1 Curricular assessment (CA)

The curricular assessment (CA) will be expressed quantitatively from 0 to 20 values corresponding to the addition of the values obtained in the following objective criteria:

CA = (0,15 × A) + (0,85 × B)

in which:

A - Academic merit (0–20 points): Evaluation of the applicant’s academic record, taking into account the final grade on the requested academic transcript;

B –Professional Experience (0–20 points): Evaluation of the candidate’s prior experience based on the following criteria:

1. Experience in collecting biological samples from various marine species (0–5 points);
2. Experience in molecular biology techniques, such as PCR and real-time PCR (0–5 points);
3. Experience in processing biological samples from fish for DNA and RNA extraction (0–5 points);
4. Experience in collecting and analyzing relative gene expression data (0–3 points);
5. Experience in designing and analyzing primer efficiency for gene expression studies (0–2 points).

9.2 Interview

On the basis of the Curriculum Evaluation, the candidates will be ranked.

An interview will only be held if the jury deems it necessary or in the event of a tie.

The interview will take place in person or by videoconference, and will be graded on the following criteria:

a) Strong motivation, autonomy and ability to propose new approaches;

b) Experience participating in and/or developing and carrying out research projects in national and international groups related to the analysis of molecular biomarkers;

c) Adaptability and ability to work as part of a team; 

d) Advanced level of English;

e) Autonomy and proactivity.

These criteria will be graded from zero to twenty, with the interview total resulting from the sum of the criteria being divided by five (0 to 20 points).

9.3 Final ranking

The final ranking of each candidate will be decided by a simple majority of the members of the jury.

All candidates admitted to the competition will be ranked in order of the marks awarded by the selection board on the basis of the AC.

If it is necessary to carry out an E, the final classification (CF) will be obtained by the weighted sum of the curricular assessment (AC) - with a weight of 40 per cent - and the interview (E) - with a weight of 60 per cent.

CF = (0,4 × AC) + (0,6 × E)

The selection board will hold the necessary meetings to reach a final decision, documenting the procedures used in the minutes, as well as all the elements deemed relevant to the final decision. If there are no meritorious applications, the jury may decide not to award the application.

10. Communication of results

The results of the assessment will be published by email no later than 90 working days after the deadline for submitting the application.

Candidates have a period of 10 working days after the results have been announced to give their opinion, whether they want to or not, at a prior hearing of interested parties, under the terms of the Code of Administrative Procedure.

The final decision must be taken within 60 working days of the conclusion of the prior hearing of interested parties.

The provisions of the preceding paragraphs shall not apply where the decision-making process leads to the post being awarded to all candidates, in which case this process shall be equivalent to a final decision.

11. Homologation

Once the hearing of interested parties has been completed and the jury has assessed it, the jury's final decision will be proposed for homologation by the S2AQUAcoLAB Board.

12. S2AQUAcoLAB's non-discrimination and equal opportunities policy 

No candidate may be favoured, benefited, disadvantaged or deprived of any right or exempt from any claim on the grounds of descent, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, economic situation, origin, social economy, genetic inheritance, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnicity, territory of origin, language, religion, politics, ideology or trade union membership.

This notice was approved by the members of the jury on September 14, 2026.