We are looking for a motivated PhD researcher to perform model-driven studies of perception and decision making. You will participate in the NWO NWA ORC project 'Brain and AI for safe navigation'. The goal of this project is to advance our understanding of how humans are able to act in complex and uncertain circumstances, and how such knowledge can be applied to smooth our interaction with emerging autonomous vehicles. The whole project encompasses a broad spectrum of academic, industrial and societal partners and includes a large group of researchers. The PhD project is focused on the role of sensory and motor signals related to self-motion in the processes of target selection, object avoidance, and response behaviour. Mentoring BSc and MSc students and teaching related tasks will also be part of your responsibilities. This education task may be up to 10% of your appointment. 

• You have an MSc in cognitive neuroscience, psychology, artificial intelligence, engineering or a related field.
• You have a proven affinity with experimental research in humans and/or mathematical modelling of behaviour.
• You have demonstrable experience with techniques for quantitative data analysis (e.g. Matlab or Python).
• You are highly motivated to conduct interdisciplinary empirical research.
• You have good collaborative and communication skills.

Fixed-term contract: you will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4 year contract).

• Employment for 1.0 FTE.
• The gross starting salary amounts to €2,434 per month based on a 38-hour working week, and will increase to €3,111 in the fourth year (salary scale P).
• You will be employed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4 year contract).
• You will receive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services. Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment  and help your family settle in Nijmegen.
• Working for us means getting extra days off. In case of full-time employment, you can choose between 29 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the legally allotted 20.

Additional employment conditions Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

Strategically located in Europe, Radboud University is one of the leading academic communities in the Netherlands. A place with a personal touch, where top-flight education and research take place on a beautiful green campus, in modern buildings with state-of-art facilities. The successful candidate will be embedded in the Donders Centre for Cognition (DCC), part of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and one of the four centres of the interfaculty Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour. The Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour houses more than 700 researchers devoted to understanding the mechanistic underpinnings of the human mind. Research at the Donders Institute is focused around four themes: 1. Language and communication, 2. Perception, action and decision making, 3. Development and lifelong plasticity, 4. Neural computation and neurotechnology. Excellent, state-of-the-art research facilities are available for the broad range of neuroscience research that is being conducted at the Donders Institute. The Donders Institute has been assessed by an international evaluation committee as 'excellent' and recognized as a 'very stimulating environment for top researchers, as well as for young talent'. The Donders Institute fosters a collaborative, multidisciplinary, supportive research environment with a diverse international staff. English is the lingua franca at the Institute.

The PhD position will be embedded in Prof. Pieter Medendorp's sensorimotor research group. The group's research focuses on the neural mechanisms of perceptual processing, motor control and sensorimotor integration, building on theory, methods, and findings of psychology, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and related disciplines.

Radboud University We want to get the best out of science, others and ourselves. Why? Because this is what the world around us desperately needs. Leading research and education make an indispensable contribution to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. This is what unites the more than 24,000 students and 5,600 employees at Radboud University. And this requires even more talent, collaboration and lifelong learning. You have a part to play!