The research you carry out will be within two use cases. First, a logical robot that aids in the process of analyzing test samples within a hospital. This robot is to take on tasks that are currently performed by laboratory workers. Additionally, the work of those workers will change to overseeing the robots and teaching them new skills in the face of changes in the workflow or test samples. The second use case relates to autonomous greenhouses, where the environment is optimized for plant growth. This approach leads to inhospitable working conditions for human workers inside the greenhouse. Robot-worker teams could still operate inside the greenhouse to maintain and harvest crops. For both use cases, the question is how the robotic systems, and the operation thereof, can be designed to facilitate enjoyment in work and provide meaning to workers.

We are seeking a post-doc for a full-time 2-year project on "Designing robotic systems and operation to facilitate worker wellbeing". You will be responsible for:

• Developing creative prototypes for (remote) operation of robotic systems.
• Running user studies to evaluate these systems and their impact on the current workforce.
• Collaborating within two consortia of universities, institutions, and companies.
• The timely writing of project deliverables and research publications.

• You have, or will shortly acquire, a PhD degree in the field of Human-Computer Interaction, Creative Technology, Design, Communication, Social sciences, or a closely related field.
• You have experience with creative prototyping.
• You are an expert in human-robot interaction and published in this field in peer-reviewed conferences or journals.
• You are a highly motivated, enthusiastic, and self-driven researcher.
• You have good team spirit, excellent communication and social skills, and like to work in an internationally oriented environment where many cultures meet.
• Fluency in English is required to present your work at conferences and project meetings.
• As a post-doc you are keen to take on responsibility and you are capable of planning and executing your work individually.

• You will be appointed for a period of maximum 2 years full-time within a very stimulating scientific environment. The university offers a dynamic ecosystem with enthusiastic colleagues.
• Your salary and associated conditions are in accordance with the collective labour agreement for Dutch universities (CAO-NU);
• Gross salary between € 3.557,- and €4.670,- per month depending on experience and qualifications;
• Excellent benefits including a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, a year-end bonus of 8.3% and a solid pension scheme;
• The flexibility to partially work from home;
• Free access to sports facilities on campus;
• A minimum of 232 leave hours in case of full-time employment based on a formal workweek of 38 hours. A full-time employment in practice means 40 hours a week, therefore resulting in 96 extra leave hours on an annual basis.
• Excellent support for research and facilities for professional and personal development.
• We encourage a high degree of responsibility and independence, while collaborating with close colleagues, researchers and other university staff.
• We are also a family-friendly institution that offers parental leave (both paid and unpaid) and career support for partners.

You will be positioned in the Human Media Interaction (HMI) group of the University of Twente, the Netherlands, and you will be a part of a dynamic, multidisciplinary team. The HMI lab does research into multimodal interaction: from interactive playgrounds to social robots. It is a multidisciplinary group in which computer science meets social science to investigate and design and evaluate novel forms of human-computer interaction. In addition, the post-doc will be part of a larger European project called Harmony. This EU project aims to develop assistive robotic mobile manipulation technologies for use in hospital environments. The Harmony consortium is a partnership made up of various entities: six university research departments, two hospitals, and two companies. The post-doc is expected to work in close collaboration with these partners.