Postdoctoral Positions

For post-graduates who recently completed or have submitted their Ph.D. thesis and would like to join our group, we would be pleased to help you with your fellowship application. For postdoctoral fellowships, please refer to the following fundings: Swiss Postdoctoral Fellowships SPF(Spark), Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships. Please be aware of the deadlines for submitting your applications and contact Prof. Dmitry Katayev in advance.

Ph.D. Positions

Driven by the search for greener, more sustainable synthetic methodologies, mechanochemistry has emerged as a transformative approach and has attracted increasing interest from the synthetic community in recent years. It was recognized by IUPAC in 2019 as one of the top ten emerging sustainable chemistry technologies. This PhD project offers an exceptional opportunity to develop cutting-edge expertise at the interface of photocatalysis, mechanochemistry, and reaction engineering. The successful candidate will design mechanistically novel C–H functionalization strategies. By uniting technological innovation in photo-mechanochemical platforms with advanced catalytic radical concepts, the project establishes a new research direction at the forefront of sustainable, step-economic, and environmentally benign catalysis. These concepts will be applied to both simple organic feedstocks and structurally complex, pharmaceutical-relevant molecules, as well as to industrially important intermediates, providing broad exposure from fundamental reaction design to real-world applications in collaboration with industry partners. The work promises high scientific visibility, strong translational potential, and long-term impact, while offering comprehensive training across fundamental chemistry & methodology development.

The Katayev group offers a highly supportive, motivating, friendly, and collaborative research environment with state-of-the-art research infrastructure (brand-new labs) both within the group and at the department, located in the heart of Switzerland.

We are looking for highly motivated candidates with a background in organic chemistry and a genuine interest in reaction design, catalysis, radical chemistry, and mechanochemistry. Prior experience in photochemistry or mechanochemistry is advantageous, but not obligatory. Successful candidates should be curious, creative, and eager to work in an interdisciplinary environment that combines fundamental discovery with applied research. Strong communication skills and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively are essential. The candidate should hold a master’s degree in chemistry or a related field.

If you are interested in this position, you are welcome to send your application directly to dmitry.katayev@unibe.ch. It should include a motivation letter, CV, a short summary of previous research work (2 pages max, including chemical details), and contact information for 2 referees as a single PDF file. Applications with missing information will not be considered.

Deadline for the application: 20 January 2026. The earliest starting date is April 1st, 2026. The duration of the PhD program is 4 years.