IT Manager (m/f/d)

The Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, with approximately 300 employees and many domestic and international visitors, is seeking a

Head of IT (m/f/d)

Your Responsibilities—What You Can Expect from Us

You will shape the digital infrastructure of our research institute and play a key role in ensuring that our researchers can work under optimal technological conditions.

If you enjoy ensuring the smooth operation of our IT infrastructure and taking responsibility for it, if you want to work strategically and conceptually while also rolling up your sleeves with a hands-on approach, you are exactly the right person for this age-related succession.

Responsibilities:

• Technical and managerial leadership of the IT department with strategic and operational responsibility.
• Operation and further development of the IT infrastructure: storage (several PB), backup/archiving (LTO), network (WAN/LAN/WLAN/SAN), HPC/bioinformatics, communications (email, telephony, collaboration), IAM (AD, LDAP, SSO, MFA), PKI, virtualization (VMware/Proxmox), end devices (500+ clients, Linux/Windows/Mac), media technology.
• Development and implementation of IT concepts & projects in coordination with research groups and external service providers, with responsibility for the budget (including MPG grant application procedures).
• IT Security & Compliance: Updating the IT security strategy, data protection, energy efficiency (until the data center renovation).
• Advising researchers on HPC, data management, AI integration, and specialized software.
• Representing the institute’s IT department externally and in MPG committees

Your Profile—What We’re Looking For

• A college or university degree in a field related to IT or the natural sciences, or a comparable qualification, or comprehensive IT technical skills and experience.
• Several years of professional and leadership experience, ideally in an academic setting.
• Technical expertise in networks, servers, storage, virtualization, IAM, and operating systems.
• Project experience in IT services, data center planning, security, and compliance.
• Expertise in IT security, data protection, and compliance
• German (at least near-native level) and English proficiency (technical language skills)
• Service-oriented, strong communication skills, a strong sense of responsibility, ability to work under pressure, and team spirit.

Your Prospects—What We Offer

• A permanent, full-time position (39 hours/week). We offer compensation in accordance with the TVöD (Federal Government) collective bargaining agreement, commensurate with your qualifications and the responsibilities assigned to you.
• Flexible working hours, remote work options, and modern ICT technologies.
• An international research environment with creative freedom and opportunities for professional development.
• Work location: Beutenberg Campus, Jena—a hub for science with a high quality of life.

The Max Planck Society is one of Europe’s leading research organizations and conducts basic research in the natural sciences, life sciences, and humanities. The Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena investigates how organisms communicate with one another via chemical signals. We analyze ecological interactions using molecular, chemical, and neurobiological methods. At the institute, organic chemists, biochemists, ecologists, entomologists, behavioral scientists, insect geneticists, and physiologists work together to unravel the complexity of chemical communication in nature.

The Max Planck Society and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology are strongly committed to equal opportunity, diversity, and gender equality. We actively promote work-life balance and have set a goal of employing more people with severe disabilities as well as groups that are underrepresented in science and, in particular, in our respective fields of activity. We therefore strongly encourage you to apply and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.

Website: www.ice.mpg.de

Application Deadline

Have we piqued your interest?

If so, please submit your complete application materials (cover letter, resume, relevant certificates) in a single PDF document by November 15, 2026, via our application portal .

Contact for questions : bewerbung@ice.mpg.de