Project description
Due to rapid growth, Leiden University has an opening for an assistant professor in natural computing optimization to strengthen our team. Leiden is a large university in a small university town known for its friendly charm, close to the North Sea. LIACS, the institute of advanced computer science, has a culture of excellence through collaboration. We consciously support research and education through teamwork, collaboration, fun, and caring for each other. Through this position we aim to strengthen the research and education in our Natural Computing group. Areas of interest include Evolutionary and Swarm Computing, Efficient Global Optimization and Bayesian Optimization, Optimization for Expensive Objective Functions (including Hyperparameter Optimization), and Optimization relating to Quantum Computing. We strongly value original research and original ideas for your own research.

This position is offered with the opportunity for a joint-appointment with industry. The joint appointment program creates an extra opportunity for the candidate to work for part of their time directly for a company. If accepted by the candidate and the company, this will create multiple benefits for all parties. It allows the candidate to have greater impact for their research output via the company, which can bring research results to real-life. The candidate can experience industrial research and be adequately compensated. Moreover, the candidate is in a unique position to help build a close collaboration between the university and the company, fostering a collaborative environment and creating opportunities for joint PhD research programs.

Key responsibilities

• Conducting independent research in your field, establishing an own research group;
• Teaching suitable BSc and MSc courses and supervising BSc, MSc, and PhD students;
• Securing external funding for research;
• Contribution to organizational activities of the Institute.

• PhD degree in Computer Science;
• Several years of experience at the postdoctoral level in this field;
• Focus on results through collaboration;
• Strong publication record and experience in raising research funds;
• Proven track record in teaching;
• Energetic ‘out-of-the-box’ thinker with a clear view on a challenging research program;
• Team spirit/collaboration attitude strongly preferred.

We offer a 5 year term position, starting early 2020. Salary range for a full-time working week from €3,427.- to €4,691.- gross per month (pay scale 11, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities).

Leiden University offers an attractive benefits package with additional holiday (8%) and end-of-year bonuses (8.3%), training and career development and sabbatical leave. Our individual choices model gives you some freedom to assemble your own set of terms and conditions. Candidates from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a substantial tax break. For more information, see http://workingat.leiden.edu/

Leiden University requires teaching staff to obtain the University Teaching Qualification (UTQ). If the successful applicant does not already possess this qualification or its equivalent, he/she must be willing to obtain this Qualification within two years.

We support and understand the need for a work/life/family balance and consequent varying working hours and places. We believe that doing good science is fun and goes hand in hand with a friendly culture. In the Netherlands, a maternity allowance is standard for 16 weeks. Child care is available at and near the Bio Science Park.

Leiden University

The Leiden Faculty of Science is a world-class faculty where staff and students work together in a dynamic international environment. Our people are driven by curiosity to expand fundamental knowledge and to look beyond the borders of their own discipline.

The research carried out at the Faculty of Science is diverse, ranging from artificial intelligence, computer science, mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry and bio-pharmaceutical sciences to biology and environmental sciences. The faculty has grown strongly in recent years and now has more than 1,300 staff and almost 4,000 students. We are located at the heart of Leiden’s Bio Science Park, one of Europe’s biggest science parks, where university and business life come together. For more information, see http://www.science.leidenuniv.nl.

The Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) is the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Institute of the Faculty of Science of Leiden University. We offer courses at the Bachelor and Master of Science level in the core areas of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science, and also in the interdisciplinary areas of ICT in Business, Media Technology and Creative science, and Bioinformatics. According to an independent research visitation, we are one of the foremost artificial intelligence and computer science departments of the Netherlands. Our people and our focus on collaboration in a caring atmosphere are dear to us. We strive for excellence in a caring institute, where excellence, fun, and inclusiveness go hand in hand. We offer a clear and inviting career path to young and talented scientists with the ambition to grow. For more information about LIACS, see http://www.cs.leiden.edu

Leiden University is one of Europe's foremost research universities. Leiden is a lively and beautiful city with a central location in Europe, at only 17 minutes from Schiphol International Airport and 20 minutes from the beach. It is a very international city where almost everybody speaks English, candidates need not be afraid of the language barrier. Leiden is a typical historic university city, hosting the oldest university in the Netherlands (1575). The University permeates the local surroundings; University premises are scattered throughout the city, and the students who live and study in Leiden give the city its relaxed yet vibrant atmosphere. Today, with some 27,000 students, 5,500 staff, 16 Nobel prizes, more than 100 nationalities and a budget of more than 550 million Euros, it is one of the largest comprehensive universities in Europe. This prominent position gives our graduates a leading edge in applying for academic posts and for functions outside academia.