The Institute of Physics (IoP) aims to recruit a tenure track candidate (assistant professor) with a dual academic/managerial role.

Scope of the position

Research in the Soft Matter group focuses on materials that flow or deform easily under external forces, and is at the crossroads of fluid and solid mechanics encompassing for instance complex fluid rheology and active matter systems. Typical soft materials are made up of mesoscopic building blocks that are large compared to simple molecules, organize themselves into complex structures and their mutual interactions give rise to striking mechanical, optical and flow properties and functionalities. 

The academic context for this position is that the group is seeking an excellent candidate for a tenure track position in soft and active matter research. You are expected to spearhead your own research line(s), to strengthen existing competences within the group, and to contribute to our growing and vibrant soft matter community within the University of Amsterdam, the Amsterdam Science Park and the Netherlands at large. 

On the managerial side, we are looking for someone who can play a leading, coordinating and supporting role in the research of the group. The group has a large number of research projects and industrial collaborations, with over 50 students (PhD/MSc/BSc) and postdocs and 6 permanent staff and benefits from state-of-the-art facilities that need to be kept up and running.

What are you going to do?

On the academic side, you are expected to:

• develop your own research line in (Active) Soft Matter research;
• be active in the fundamental experimental Soft Matter research, publishing in high level international journals, presenting at leading conferences and workshops and supervising PhD students;
• take part in the regular teaching efforts of IoP, including supervision of bachelor and master students;
• be successful in the attraction of external funding;
• develop new local, national and international collaborations for the Soft Matter group, in collaboration also with the Computational Soft Matter Cluster.

On the academic side we will base our selection on your scientific track record and on your vision for future research, as well as on your teaching achievement, qualifications, and vision for future teaching.

On the managerial side, you are expected to:

• support the Soft Matter research program by organizing the research group;
• (co-)supervise PhD students and postdocs;
• maintain the experimental rheology, (fast) imaging and microscopy facilities in working order, and instruct students, postdocs and occasionally external users to work with these
• maintain and expand the current outreach activities related to Soft Matter
• (help) coordinate educational activities of the Soft Matter cluster, notably Fluids and Soft Matter in the BSc and Hydrodynamics in the MSc.

On the managerial side we will base our selection on your track record in all the aspects just listed above.

What do we require?

The successful candidate should have:

• a PhD in Physics or in Physical Chemistry;
• a strong research track record, evidenced by a track record of publications in renowned international conferences and journals, and contributed and/or invited talks at international conferences/workshops;
• teaching experience at university level and demonstrable didactic abilities;
• ideally some experience with the (co-)supervision of MSc and/or PhD students;
• team spirit and a strong affinity with the Institute of Physics’ multidisciplinary environment as well as readiness to participate in interdisciplinary cooperation;
•  (the ability to develop) the management skills required for general academic administration, organisation and coordination tasks;
• a strong track in coordination, management and outreach and all other qualities required for the envisioned managerial role;
• the ability to further develop management skills as required by the further growth of the portfolio of emergence -related activities;
• excellent communication and social skills;
• an excellent command of English and willingness to learn the Dutch language. 

International research experience is preferred, as is a highly collaborative and enthusiastic approach.

We offer you a tenure track agreement for five years (which is part of a six-year temporary appointment). At the start, we will draw up an agreement with you, specifying the tenure track requirements for research, teaching and management tasks that need to be fulfilled in order to assess progress after three years and after five years. The requirements in this agreement are negotiable and depend on your experience and scientific profile. Following a positive assessment after five years the appointment will become permanent.

Start dates are negotiable. The position will be filled at the level of Assistant or Associate Professor, depending on your qualifications. The starting salary will be in accordance with university regulations for academic personnel and depending on experience and qualifications. It will range from a minimum of €3,746 gross per month up to a maximum of €5,127 gross per month (salary scale 11) based on full-time employment.

This is exclusive 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% end-of-year bonus. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The  Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities is applicable.

Are you curious about our extensive package of secondary employment benefits like our excellent opportunities for study and development? Then find out more about working at the Faculty of Science.

University of Amsterdam

With over 5,000 employees, 30,000 students and a budget of more than 600 million euros, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) is an intellectual hub within the Netherlands. Teaching and research at the UvA are conducted within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine and Dentistry. Housed on four city campuses in or near the heart of Amsterdam, where disciplines come together and interact, the faculties have close links with thousands of researchers and hundreds of institutions at home and abroad.  

The UvA’s students and employees are independent thinkers, competent rebels who dare to question dogmas and aren’t satisfied with easy answers and standard solutions. To work at the UvA is to work in an independent, creative, innovative and international climate characterised by an open atmosphere and a genuine engagement with the city of Amsterdam and society.

Faculty of Science - Institute of Physics

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 7,000, as well as 1,600 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain, or machines that display intelligent behaviour.

Research at the IoP is organized in three research divisions: the Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute for Experimental Physics (WZI), the Institute for Theoretical Physics Amsterdam (ITFA) and the Institute for High-Energy Physics (IHEF), the latter embedded within the Nikhef collaboration, the national NWO Institute for subatomic physics. The position will be based within WZI, which performs research in the areas of Soft Matter, Hard Condensed Matter, and Quantum Gases & Quantum Information. Strong links with ITFA exist through the Computational Soft Matter group, shared with HIMS and IvI, the Institutes for Chemistry and Informatics, respectively, as well as with NWO Institute AMOLF.