Heinz Wilkes studied chemistry at the University of Hamburg. During his Ph.D., he investigated the bacterial degradation of dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans, and other aromatic compounds. He was a Research Scientist in the Institute of Petroleum and Organic Geochemistry at the Research Centre Jülich and in the Organic Geochemistry Section at the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam. Since 2015, he is a Full Professor of Organic Geochemistry at Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg in the Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) where he is responsible for the B.Sc. program in Environmental Sciences.

From 2019 until 2025 he was a member of the board of directors of ICBM, serving as acting director from 2021 until 2023. His research has focused on molecular mechanisms of biogeochemical key reactions and metabolic pathways in microorganisms; the origin, fate, and transformation of hydrocarbons and petroleum in the environment and in the geosphere; and the reconstruction of past environments and climates using organic-geochemical proxy parameters. For many years he has been particularly interested in elucidating degradation pathways of hydrocarbons in anaerobic bacteria. He has published more than 140 articles in peer-reviewed journals and books. From 2015 until 2023, he was a Member of the Board of the European Association of Organic Geochemists, and from 2017 until 2025 he was a Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW).