Can you see yourself acting as spectral sensing researcher in our agro food robotics team? Do you want to contribute to creating for our customers the innovative solutions that they need? Then this is an excellent opportunity for you! We have a vacancy Researcher Spectral Sensing and Chemometrics. Are you our new colleague? Then please apply immediately!

What will you do?
As spectral sensing researcher, you understand the problems of our customer, you are able to assess the possibilities of sensor technologies, and you can explain a project approach and project results in non-scientific terms. You will be part of the Agro Food Robotics (AFR) team, part of Wageningen Food & Biobased Research. You take part in the team as researcher spectral sensing and chemometrics. You work in multidisciplinary project teams of highly educated professionals, and together you strive to find good solutions for the posed problems.

Working in our team offers you a great opportunity to get fully immersed in the world of applied research for the agro food robotics domain. You will be involved in the whole duration of each project, from the planning of the work to the delivery of the result. You will get the opportunity to learn many new things and to give a personal contribution to innovative projects. We expect you to work in multiple projects in parallel. As a valued team member, you are flexible and keen to find solutions.

What do we do?
We do contract research for clients all over the world. Their questions vary from the use of A.I. in defect detection of fresh produce, to the use of drones and robots in agriculture and food industry. Take a look at THIS LINK and/or THIS LINK to see an example of our work.

• you are an enthusiastic and ambitious researcher with expertise in spectral sensing and chemometrics with a college education in the field of electronics and electrical engineering, analytical chemistry with focus on spectroscopy, physics/optics, chemical engineering or chemometrics; a PhD in one of these fields is an advantage but practical work experience in the area of spectral sensing will also be highly relevant;
• you have experience in developing hands-on innovative sensing solutions, for example, combining OEM spectral detectors to develop stand-alone solutions;
• you have experience with new machine learning approaches such as deep learning and knowledge of programming languages such as python, MATLAB, etc.;
• you have a relevant track record of scientific publications;
• willingness to travel abroad (EU / international) is a must since visiting our clients is part of the job;
• you have good language skills in English and preferably Dutch.

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional compensation hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 4% (as of December 2021);
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. We offer, depending on your experience, a competitive gross salary of between €2836,- and €4624,- for a full-time working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the CLA Wageningen Research (scale 10). Additionally, a contract for 0.8 FTE can be discussed.

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal advancement opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a multi-faceted position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the Best University in the Netherlands for the 16th consecutive time.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees. Applicants from abroad moving to the Netherlands may qualify for a special tax relief, known as the 30% ruling. Our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about helping your partner to find a job, housing, schooling, and other issues.

Wageningen University & Research

The mission of Wageningen University and Research is "To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life". Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment.

With its roughly 30 branches, 6.800 employees and 12.900 students, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. An integrated approach to problems and the cooperation between various disciplines are at the heart of Wageningen's unique approach. WUR has been named Best Employer in the Education category for 2019-2020.

Read the 5 reasons why your future collaegues enjoy working at WUR and watch this video to get an idea of our green campus!

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.