Do you have a passion for computer science research that contributes to a better world? We at Wageningen Food & Biobased Research are working to create sustainable solutions to provide better food for more people. The applied research group Food Informatics is using new and innovative digital techniques to make that happen! We are looking for an eager software developer in our team who is participating in applied computer science research projects.
Food Informatics is the domain that deals with digitising information of all parts of food production and consumption, combining data from various sources with expert knowledge to enable smart, new applications. This knowledge and data is made digitally available using (among other things) software frameworks, ontologies and artificial intelligence (AI), such as Bayesian networks and machine learning. Examples are a decision support system for quality management of strawberries, where we started from scratch to connect data and knowledge to ensure a timely and tasty strawberry at the end of the supply chain. For the elderly who are dependent on meals-on-wheels, a decision model was developed that provides dietary advice. This advice is based on nutritional and health rules, taking into account personal characteristics and preferences. You will participate in these kinds of projects by developing applications that demonstrate the value of the underlying algorithms and merged data.
With colleagues and partners from industry you develop digital solutions that show how to support professionals, consumers and other users in taking optimal decisions. This also means dealing with unclear and missing information, possibly in badly structured sources. You keep up with scientific and technological developments in the professional field. You apply these in your work with colleagues within and outside your own expertise group. The Food Informatics group is an informal working environment with the freedom to organise your work and the expectation that you take your responsibility in reaching your goals.

Important tasks of the Software Developer are:

• As a team member, you will be responsible for the technical design and development of innovative prototype applications for commercial and governmental clients;
• You are involved in each project from the early start to look for suitable technical solutions and to create maximum value for the customer and research questions of the projects;
• You are able to carefully trade-off between quickly prototyping an application and sufficiently taking care of scalability, maintainability, and security;
• You connect to other researchers in the Wageningen University and Research (WUR) community.

• You have an MSc in computer science, information science or a related discipline with a software engineering background and an affinity for agrifood;
• You are a team player who is experienced in using a structured approach in complex software engineering projects with an agile way of working;
• You have experience in developing software in Java, using Spring and Hibernate;
• Knowledge of semantic web technology and triple stores is an advantage;
• You enjoy working in a research environment.

We offer you a meaningful job with, depending on your experience, a competitive salary and a full working week of 36 hours in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Wageningen Research. You also have the opportunity to work 40 hours a week with additional holidays.

In addition, we offer:

• 8% holiday allowance;
• a structural end-of-year bonus of 3%;
• excellent training opportunities and secondary employment conditions;
• flexible working hours and holidays can possibly be determined in consultation so that an optimal balance between work and private life is possible;
• excellent pension plan through ABP;
• 171 vacation hours, the possibility to purchase extra and good supplementary leave schemes;
• the possibility to work a maximum of 40 hours per week and in this way build up a maximum of 204 compensation hours per year;
• a flexible model to put together part of your employment conditions yourself, such as a bicycle plan;
• a lively workplace where you can easily make contacts and where many activities take place on the Wageningen Campus. A place where education, research and business are represented;
• make use of the sports facilities on campus.

Our University stimulates internal career opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. There are ample opportunities for own initiative in a learning environment.

Wageningen University & Research

Wageningen Food & Biobased Research develops insights and technologies that support industries, governments, and research institutes to create innovative solutions for a healthier, more sustainable, and prosperous world. Together with our clients we develop healthy and tasty food, truly-sustainable food chains, and chemicals and materials that use biomass instead of fossil resources. Our in-depth knowledge of the entire chain, from raw materials through processing to end product, drives our approach.

We make smart connections between various disciplines to explore complex issues from different perspectives. Through a combination of intelligent analyses and pragmatic invention, we find solutions for these issues. Grounded in science and business, our researchers bring a no-nonsense attitude to their work. We investigate and develop at all stages: upscaling from lab to pilot and from initial idea to production processes that deliver real products for our customers. We have direct access to the latest scientific findings and have a firm grasp of what modern technology offers. Every day, we work with national and global companies, governments and other research institutes to create innovative solutions; now and in the future.

Wageningen Food & Biobased Research is one of the Contract Research Organizations of Wageningen University & Research, with the aim to explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life. With approximately 30 locations, 5,000 members of staff and 10,000 students, we are world leader in its domain. An integral way of working and cooperation between the exact sciences, the technological and social disciplines are key to its approach.

Could you be one of these people? We give you the space you need.

For further information about working at Wageningen University & Research, take a look at http://www.wur.nl/en/Jobs.htm

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