Production systems is about transforming resources into useful products and service. It includes both the technical as the organizational aspects. Hence, the ambition of University of Twente, from ‘high tech’ to ‘human touch’, provides the excellent breeding ground to study production systems, as its concerns lie in making artefacts available in a useful, efficient and meaningful way to the individual, organizations, and society at large. In considering production systems as the transformers of scarce resources into most known man made products, production system design and research is at the core of the transition to Smart Industries. And in relation to that, at the UT all aspects including socio-technical, marketing, systems engineering, ITC, sensors and control are present.

The chair of Production Systems is one of the core pillars of the mechanical engineering and industrial design engineering programs at the University of Twente. As such, the chair is responsible for a variety of courses, projects and educational renewal initiatives. The design programs reflect the university’s multidisciplinary focus, its entrepreneurial character and also honour the potential of new technologies and smart designs for both industrial applications and for enriching people’s everyday experiences.

The research of the chair of Production Systems focuses on the understanding and improvement of production systems and the related design processes for such systems. In this, the development of design support tools and knowledge substantiates the application oriented approach. The chair has a foundation in applying design to advance the efficiency and effectiveness of production systems. A core thrust of the chair is to bring together factory physics and design knowledge, e.g. design methodologies, in order to synthesize new technologies and scientific insights in applications for production systems. The research of the chair of Production Systems involves design for smart production systems, ranging from synthesis approaches and tools, via the development of Smart Industry (Industry 4.0) and Lean manufacturing concepts to addressing more general production management oriented challenges. The manufacturing research involves the holistic consideration of products, production, and product lifecycles, based on sophisticated and groundbreaking modelling methods and information driven technologies for production environments.

The challenge
Teaching: As assistant professor you will contribute to Production System Courses in our Bachelor and Master program in Mechanical Engineering, and to the education/supervision in our program for Professional Doctorates in Engineering. Also, you will supervise BSc- and MSc-thesis projects. The total teaching load will be about 50%. If you are not yet formally qualified for teaching at universities, we offer a program and mentoring to obtain this qualification within 2 years (University Teaching Qualification, UTQ).

Research: We expect you to work as an independent researcher able to identify the academic questions in practical applications related to Production Systems, Smart Industries and the crossroads of design and engineering. You are able to bridge between academic research results and engineering practice and publish research results in high quality international refereed journals. You also have a positive attitude towards building networks and attracting external funding (national science foundation, EU, government and industry) for junior researchers (PhD and PDEng positions), of whom you will become the daily supervisor.

• You hold a PhD in a field relevant to the field of design and/or management of Production Systems;
• You have a track record in mechanical engineering and/or industrial engineering research with preferably strong publication record;
• You are a passionate academic and experienced teacher in higher education or striving to become so;
• You are able to build great relationships with colleagues and practice and operate at the crossroads of disciplines;
• You have good mentoring skills to supervise BSc, Msc, PDEng and PhD projects;
• Your communication skills are excellent;
• Industrial experience is a pre.

Are you up for the challenge to improve the world with your research as well as teaching on this state of the art technology?

Information and application
For further information, please contact Mrs. W. de Kogel-Polak MSc, e-mail: w.dekogel-polak@utwente.nl.

Interested candidates can upload their application, including a motivation letter, CV, a full publication list and two references by link below, before December 19th 2017 through the link below.

You will initially be employed for a period of 2 years, with the prospect of a permanent position after a positive evaluation. Salary and conditions are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement (CAO) of the Dutch Universities. Gross monthly salary is between € 3.111,- and € 4.757,- depending on your experience and qualifications. In addition, the University of Twente offers attractive employment conditions (for example 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% end-of-year bonus), excellent support for research and facilities for professional and personal development.

The University of Twente. We stand for life sciences and technology. High tech and human touch. Education and research that matter. New technology which leads change, innovation and progress in society. The University of Twente is the only campus university of the Netherlands; divided over five faculties we provide more than fifty educational programmes. We have a strong focus on personal development and talented researchers are given scope for carrying out groundbreaking research.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Because of our diversity values we do particularly support women to apply.

The Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET) is one of the five faculties of the University of Twente. ET combines Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Industrial Design Engineering. Our faculty has approximately 1800 bachelor and master students, 400 employees and 150 PhD candidates. The departments of the faculty cooperatively conduct the educational programmes and participate in interdisciplinary research projects, programmes and the research institutes: MIRA, CTIT, SBE and IGS.