27 Jan 2026
Job Information
- Organisation/Company
French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAE)- Department
1208 IATE- Research Field
Physics- Researcher Profile
Recognised Researcher (R2)- Application Deadline
5 Mar 2026 - 23:59 (UTC)- Country
France- Type of Contract
Permanent- Job Status
Full-time- Hours Per Week
35- Offer Starting Date
1 Sep 2026- Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?
Not funded by a EU programme- Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?
No
Offer Description
You will join the IATE joint research unit (Engineering of Agropolymers and Emerging Technologies) and contribute to improving knowledge on plant products to increase their performance in terms of both food and non-food use by developing intentionally integrative, cross-disciplinary approaches.
You will carry out your activity within the ePOP team comprising 8 permanent staff, 2 research directors and 1 INRAE research ??engineer and 5 research professors, with complementary skills in food science, biochemistry and microbiology, process engineering and applied maths, materials science, and organic chemistry. You will work in close collaboration with other IATE joint research unit teams and other national, European, and international partners.
The activities around the ecodesign of packaging are developed within the framework of multidisciplinary collaborative projects, in particular at European level (coordination of 4 European projects over the past 10 years). You will benefit from this powerful dynamic and will join a network of active collaborators. You will benefit from the material resources available at IATE, as well as local, national, and European platforms.
You will notably contribute to answering the following scientific questions:
1. Understand and predict the links between the structure of thermoplastic polymer-based materials, studied on different scales, and their function during production, use, and post-use cycles to quantify their benefits of use versus their environmental impacts.
2. You will integrate this knowledge about the materials into a global ecodesign strategy for food packaging materials with the related models and decision-making tools that are one of the major historic originalities of the host unit.
Your activities will be part of a targeted effort on the ecodesign of (bio)polymer-based materials intended to replace petrochemical-based plastics used in the food and/or agricultural sector. You will contribute to enhancing the scientific bases of the concept of circularity of these materials. You will develop elements of understanding and prediction of their ability to cope with the demands and constraints of the different stages in their life cycle: production (e.g. thermomechanical processes), use (e.g. food preservation, suitability for food contact), reuse, recycling (material, polymer or monomers), energy recovery (e.g. anaerobic digestion) right through to the ultimate biodegradation and closure of the biogeochemical cycles guaranteeing the long-term stability of our ecosystem.
The work will be conducted on materials made from biopolymers (e.g. microbial biopolyesters, cutin, cellulose) whose formulation and structure can be adapted as required. The physico-chemical conditions: temperature, humidity, gas atmospheres, encountered during the various cycles of use and post-use will be compared with the evolution dynamics of the polymers, native or in mixtures (isotropic and anisotropic compounds), their structure (amorphous, crystalline, interphase), and their functional properties, in particular interactions with their environment and transfer of matter.
A cross-disciplinary analytical framework of the stages of use (food contact) and reuse (washing), as well as mechanical (decontamination), biological (anaerobic digestion), and biogeochemical recycling (degradation in the natural environment) will be developed.
The new knowledge will be used to feed modelling, decision-making (ontology-guided integration of data and knowledge), and ecodesign tools for materials to replace conventional plastics used in the agricultural and food sectors. Recommendations regarding multi-scale production, formulation, and structuring will enable us to propose materials that meet the targeted objectives of functionality and durability.
Where to apply
- Website
- https://jobs.inrae.fr/en/open-competitions/open-competions-research-scientists-…
Requirements
- Research Field
- Physics
- Education Level
- PhD or equivalent
Additional Information
- Website for additional job details
https://jobs.inrae.fr/en/open-competitions/open-competions-research-scientists-…
Work Location(s)
- Number of offers available
- 1
- Company/Institute
- French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (INRAE)
- Country
- France
- City
- MONTPELLIER
- Postal Code
- 34060
- Geofield
Contact
- City
MONTPELLIER- Website
https://jobs.inrae.fr/en/open-competitions/open-competions-research-scientists-crcn- Postal Code
34060
helene.coussy@umontpellier.fr
STATUS: EXPIRED
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