CSIR-CSMCRI Project Associate (Algal SAF) 2026

CSIR-CSMCRI Project Associate Recruitment 2026: Overview

CSIR - Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSIR-CSMCRI), Bhavnagar, is hiring one Project Associate – I for its CSIR Fast-Track Translational Research Project titled "Microalgal based Sustainable Aviation Fuel through Biorefinery Model", funded by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. The project works on turning microalgae into aviation-grade biofuel through a biorefinery approach — one of the newer clean-energy research tracks CSIR is funding. CSIR-CSMCRI is a premier national laboratory working on salt, marine chemicals and coastal bioresources, and this position sits within its algal biotechnology research. Candidates with a biotechnology, microbiology or biochemical engineering background who want hands-on research exposure in microalgal cultivation and biofuel processing can apply.

Service Conditions and Caveats

• Tenure: This is a purely temporary engagement, co-terminus with the project, for a period of one year.
• Engagement cap: Time spent as project staff across CSIR-CSMCRI or any other CSIR lab/institute, taken together, cannot exceed six years in total.
• No absorption claim: This engagement does not create any right or claim to extension or absorption in CSIR-CSMCRI.
• Provisional vacancy: The number of posts is provisional; the Director, CSIR-CSMCRI can cancel all or part of the advertised vacancy at any stage without giving a reason.
• Final decision: The Director's decision on eligibility, acceptance or rejection of applications, and the conduct of the selection process is final and binding — no individual correspondence will be entertained.

Application Submission Notes

There is no online portal for this post — it is an email-based application. Send your CV along with the required documents to sourishb.csmcri@csir.res.in before the last date. Your CV should mention your full name, postal address, e-mail address, contact number and MS Teams ID, since shortlisted candidates are interviewed online over Microsoft Teams and the interview details are shared by e-mail. Keep checking the CSIR-CSMCRI website regularly, since any addendum or corrigendum will be posted there and nowhere else.

• Run microalgal mass cultivation trials under the project's biorefinery model
• Optimize upstream cultivation conditions to improve biomass and lipid yield
• Extract oil from microalgal biomass at lab and pilot scale
• Support nutraceutical formulation work from algal biomass
• Develop and demonstrate scaled-up cultivation and extraction processes
• Maintain accurate records of experiments, yields and process parameters
• Assist the principal investigator with project documentation and reporting