Your dedication to our mission!

Do you want to use your passion to scientifically address challenges in (precision) agriculture and spray technology in relation to crop protection? Do you have an interest in detecting and optimizing spray deposition on plants and reduce environmental risk of plant protection products by reducing exposure of soil-water and bystanders? Do you have a flair for interacting with and serving multiple stakeholders such as spray technology manufactures and crop production product manufactures, but also environmental agencies and crop protection product assessment authorities? Are you interested to contribute to sustainable, data-driven assessment of spray applications, well embedded in society, and bring science (and technology) to environmental agencies and crop protection product assessment authorities? Then we have an interesting position for you at the Plant Sciences Group of Wageningen University & Research.

We would like to integrate your interest and experience in our spray assessment (technology) projects. Your skills, ambitions and positive attitude in life will contribute to our research and the position of our business unit Agrosystems Research, and the Plant Sciences Group of WUR.

The new spray application methods we are working on aim to reduce plant protection product usage, to understand and improve the efficacy of the spray application process, increase food security and safety, and reduce the impact of agriculture on the environment. You will contribute to new developments in our team. New knowledge is required to understand and respond to temporal and spatial variability of spray deposition on plants and non-target areas (such as water, soil, operator, bystander and residents), and to optimize systems to produce food in harmony with nature.

We work closely with stakeholders to develop and underpin scientifically based systems knowledge about spray deposition distribution. The application systems necessarily consist of knowledge encoded as decision rules and of an infrastructure to collect, manage, and process data and develop models. The research results in direct input to farmers, assessment and environmental authorities, but may also help as inputs to a new generation of application methods (such as automated machines and robotics). You will work in this field within a multidisciplinary team of scientists, in strong interactions with stakeholders.

• A scientist with an appropriate MSc or PhD in plant sciences, agrotechnology, biosystems engineering, fysiscs and maths, data and model handling or a related field.
• You have proven skills or an interest to carry out measurements, thoroughly analyse data, to use and/or develop models and to publish in international peer-reviewed journals.
• You have skills in data handling, modelling, databases and also experience in computer programming.
• You want to contribute to new developments in our teams, e.g. in development of variable rate application of crop protection agents and to be able to be responsible for measurements and data analyses.
• You liaise with relevant stakeholders and clients and be up to date about the Dutch and European developments in your field.
• You are happy to share your experience and insights with colleagues and are curious to learn from them.
• You effectively communicate and discuss research results in reports, (scientific) journal papers and on meetings and conferences different formats.
• You are able to formulate and acquire research projects and operate as a project leader/researcher.
• You are result oriented, show analytical capacities and are able to handle quantitive data, have the ability to collaborate in multidisciplinary teams and project management competences
• We expect that you can speak and write in Dutch and English

Suitable candidates portray one or more of the following: good knowledge of agronomy, precision farming and spray processes.

If you recognize yourself in this text, but do not yet meet all requirements. We would like to encourage you to respond and convince us that you are able to reach the expected skills in a reasonable time.

You will be part of a dynamic team and business unit, embedded in a unique organization with an outstanding reputation - Wageningen University & Research. We exchange and collaborate amongst each other, based on the values of sound science, trust, transparency, and togetherness. We are curious to get to know you!

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 holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• sabbatical leave, study leave, and 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 3%;
• 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 salary of between €2790-4549 (scale 10) or between €3336-5183 (scale 11) for a full-time working week of 36 hours, in accordance with the CLA Wageningen Research . You also have the opportunity to work part-time (32 hours per week). Evaluation on job performance is every year and a positive outcome will continue in a permanent position after 2 years.

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.

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

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, 6.500 employees and 12.500 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.

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

Agrosystems Research
Agrosystems Research is part of the Plant Sciences Group of Wageningen University & Research. We advise the public and the private sector and provide training in areas of our expertise. We are a community of scientists working on safe and sustainable agricultural systems, well embedded in society and contributing to the quality of life. We work in a demand driven contract research organization, where stakeholders' needs are explored and served. Acquiring new research projects is an intrinsic part of our work.

Our core business is understanding and quantifying the soil-crop-environment continuum at both the process level and the ecosystem level, which we assess with mixed methodologies like integrated assessments, the analysis of big data, precision agriculture, sensing, and robotics. We do this by means of experimental design and computer modelling, ICT, on-farm testing and implementation in interaction with stakeholders. Our research and knowledge-intensive advisory systems are based on agronomy and ecology as our main scientific disciplines, which are increasingly complemented by social science research. Our vision of agroecology is to integrate agronomy, technological and social research in interaction with stakeholders. This requires an integrated, inter- and transdisciplinary perspective for the study and development of food systems.

Our objective is to raise the productivity of agriculture in a sustainable and socially acceptable manner and increase the resilience of systems to deliver food security, feed, fuel, fiber and other services under current and future climate and resource availability.

As guiding principles, we work synergistically in teams, like to express and base our opinions on sound science and operate self-conscientiously in our networks to have impact, and to attract and serve our clients' needs. We strongly believe in diversity and inclusiveness to strengthen our teams, their modus operandi and their impact.

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