Are you passionate about understanding the molecular biology of plant-light interactions? Do you have the drive to break new ground and shape the future of research in plant-light signaling? Are you dedicated to educating, supervising, and molding the next wave of scientists in this field? If yes, then we may have the perfect opportunity for you!

The Laboratory of Molecular Biology is actively seeking an enthusiastic Assistant Professor with a profound interest in plant molecular biology, light signalling and developmental biology. This is a Tenure Track position established within the framework of national Sector Plan Biology, where we aim to create an academic community that connects research at different levels of biological organization to understand dynamics and variation of biological systems. This tenure track position intends to specifically strengthen research on the building blocks of life.

As an assistant professor, you will bring complementary expertise to the photobiology team that recently moved to Wageningen University and you will actively do research, teaching and supervision.

Plants use light for photosynthesis and as an information channel to monitor their environment. We are excited to study and/or engineer the molecular mechanisms of light signalling both as a resource and as an information channel. You have the ambition to drive new developments in plant photobiology research, for example by bringing synthetic biology approaches, evolutionary aspects of light signaling, connections with photosynthesis research and still other innovations.

As a new team member, you will strengthen the teaching and supervision of students in plant molecular biology. Since we intend to break new grounds and make new connections in research on plant-light interactions, collaborations within and between groups, locally, nationally and internationally are strongly supported.

In this career trajectory:

• you will enthusiastically develop your basic research and you can seek opportunities towards translation and application in crops;
• you will pro-actively develop your acquisition with different research funding schemes and develop collaborations within the research group, institute, country and beyond;
• you can supervise PhD sYou cantudents, BSc and MSc thesis students and you develop and teach courses;

You will work here
The position is embedded within the chair group Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Prof. Ronald Pierik took over the leadership of this group in September 2023 and as part of this transition, is building a new plant-light interactions team within the Molecular Biology group that diversifies the research and teaching staff. As part of this process, we intend to use this recruitment to find an assistant professor who will diversify our group.

Tenure Track is a career trajectory for scientists who wish to develop excellent skills in research, education and supervision. We seek to attract scientific talent and to stimulate and support their development.

You are:

• an enthusiastic scientist in molecular plant science, dedicated to research and education;
• proficient team player with experience in multicultural organizations;
• skilled in project acquisition with a passion for coaching junior team members and students;

Top of FormYou also possess:

• a PhD in a field related to plant science and molecular biology;
• affinity with photobiology, synthetic biology, evolution and/or photosynthesis in plant light signaling research;
• a strong record of scientific publications in peer-reviewed international journals;
• demonstrated success in acquisition of research funding;
• relevant experience in teaching and student supervision;
• excellent English language proficiency (a minimum of CEFR C2 level). For more information about this proficiency level, please visit our language page.

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

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• 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 / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• 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 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will be offered a fixed-term, 7 year contract which, upon positive evaluation based on criteria elaborated in the University's Tenure Track policy, can lead to a permanent employment contract as (assistant/associate) professor. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive gross salary of between € 4332,- and € 5929,- for a full-time working week of 38 hours in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 11).

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 unique 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 18th 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.
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. For instance, under the "30% rule", certain categories of international staff can receive tax exemption on approximately 30% of their gross salary.

Wageningen University & Research

Wageningen University & Research
The mission of Wageningen University & 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, 7,200 employees (6,400 fte) and 13,200 students and over 150.000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.. 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.

These are the points our employees list as good reasons to come work at WUR: read the 5 reasons to come work at WUR



About the Laboratory of Molecular Biology
The group’s approach to research and teaching is to use the highly versatile tool-box available in molecular plant biology, expand it with new or adapted technologies and use it to push the envelope of our scientific domains. We work in Arabidopsis and in crops and are as much interested in discovering existing signalling pathways, as we are excited about engineering them to improve food crops.
The Molecular Biology chair group is closely connected with the Cell Biology chair group, together constituting the cluster Plant Developmental Biology. This integration strongly facilitates sharing of expertise, equipment and facilities. We are part of the Plant Sciences Group at Wageningen University, naturally forming a nucleation point of plant sciences research in Europe.
The Molecular Biology group teaches in different Bachelor and Master programmes, from basic to advanced level, and from fundamental science to application. Furthermore, the group actively participates in postgraduate courses through the graduate school, hosts students on research projects and gets involved in a variety of outreach projects.

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