Skip to content
AI Assistant
Open full AI navigator →

Junior researcher & scientific staff roles

Not every research career starts with a PhD vacancy. Many institutes hire scientific staff to run trials, manage labs, analyse data, or support breeding and field programmes. This page maps those roles to our Jobs for Researchers catalog — with one worked example (LAMMC) and a French contrast so thresholds are not copied across countries.

Staff grades are not PhD vacancies

Titles such as junior researcher, scientific officer, or research technician usually mean an employed research role. They may require a Master’s — and sometimes a PhD — but the outcome is work on projects, not a doctoral diploma. On MarinePhD those openings belong in Jobs for Researchers, not Open PhD.

If the ad’s goal is a thesis and graduate-school enrolment, use Open PhD Positions or institute scholarship pages instead.

Common titles you will see

  • Research technician / research assistant — hands-on experimental or field support.
  • Scientific officer / junior researcher — project delivery with more independence.
  • Research engineer / data specialist — instrumentation, modelling, or digital agriculture.
  • Scientist / senior scientist — leadership of work packages (often after a PhD).

Example: LAMMC researcher ranks (Lithuania)

At the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry (LAMMC), public competitions use a published qualification ladder for agricultural sciences. Rank names (Lithuanian) run roughly:

  1. Junior researcher (jaunesnysis mokslo darbuotojas)
  2. Researcher
  3. Senior researcher
  4. Chief researcher

For the junior grade, the centre’s 2024 qualification PDF sets a minimum bar of a Master’s degree, at least one peer-reviewed paper, project participation, and outreach activity. Higher ranks add stricter publication (WoS Q1–Q2), project, and supervision expectations — for example the chief grade cites a high lifetime paper count plus PhD supervision.

Primary source: LAMMC qualification requirements PDF. Competitions: researcher competitions / attestation.

Do not copy these numeric thresholds onto German, French, or Dutch ads. Other countries use different grids (TV-L grades, CAO scales, concours dossiers).

Contrast: France permanent researcher competitions

At INRAE, CRCN (research scientist) recruitment is an open concours for a permanent research grade — typically requiring a PhD and a competition dossier. That path is a research job, not a postdoctoral fellowship, even though candidates are early-career.

See INRAE CRCN open competitions. CNRS uses similar external concours for CR/DR grades.

Frequently asked questions

Is a junior researcher the same as a PhD student?

Usually no. Junior researcher grades are employed scientific staff. A PhD path requires doctoral enrolment (or graduate-school admission) and ends in a thesis — even when the candidate is paid as staff.

What does LAMMC require for a junior researcher?

LAMMC’s 2024 qualification PDF for agricultural sciences sets a junior minimum of a Master’s, at least one peer-reviewed paper, project participation, and outreach. Higher ranks add stricter WoS and supervision criteria. Do not copy those numbers onto ads in other countries.

Is an INRAE CRCN competition a postdoc?

No. CRCN is a permanent research-scientist grade recruited via concours. Browse it under Jobs for Researchers, not Postdoctoral Fellowships.

Next step

Browse related catalogs

← Back to pillar All guides