We invite applications for a postdoctoral researcher position on sustainability assessment of colorants for packaging applications. The researcher will work in a research project within the framework of the Interreg NWE project CURCOL - Curcumin based sustainable dyes. The project consortium partners are international companies, research organizations and universities. This research is part of the research line on additives for biobased and circular materials of the research group Sustainability of Chemicals and Materials at the Aachen Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM), Maastricht University.

The postdoctoral researcher will be employed by Maastricht University. The successful candidate will be responsible for the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and further sustainability assessment of curcumin based colours/dyes and other additives for packaging applications. Activities of the postdoctoral researcher include the advancement of methods for LCA and sustainability assessment of biobased colorants/additives. She/he will be a lead contributor to peer reviewed publications, technical reports, conference proceedings and in-depth interactions with research and industrial partners on this topic. In addition, the postdoctoral researcher will take responsibility for some coordination and teaching activities within the research group Sustainability of Chemicals and Materials.

The successful candidate will work in the research group Sustainability of Chemicals and Materials of the Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials. The mission of the research team is to provide suitable instruments and sustainability impact assessments to guide the transition from a fossil-based economy to a biobased circular economy. It is a relatively young international team of sustainability experts with various backgrounds. In addition to the scientific challenges, this position offers the opportunity to build an international academic and professional network in the field of sustainability of biobased products and to gain experience in management, teaching as well as supervision of students and PhDs.

Our ideal candidate:

• has a PhD degree in chemistry, chemical engineering or a related field within the past 5 years, with experience in environmental impact assessment, preferably Life Cycle Assessment (LCA);
• has expertise on LCA tools such as SimaPro theoretically and practically;
• has an excellent background in biobased chemicals/materials and sustainability assessment;
• has excellent interpersonal skills to effectively and closely work with scientific team members, project team members, PhDs and BSc/MSc students;
• has proven experience with publishing scientific work in refereed international scientific journals;
• has outstanding oral and written communication skills in English;
• has demonstrated ability to work efficiently and independently.

Fixed-term contract: one year fixed-term employment contract with the possibility to extend the contract after this period.

• The postdoctoral appointment will be for 12 months with the possibility to extend the contract after this period.
• The salary is competitive, and will be set in scale 11 of the collective labour agreement of the Dutch Universities (expected minimum € 3.821 and maximum € 5.230) for a full-time job (38 hours/week), depending on qualifications and work experience. In addition, there is an 8% holiday and 8.3% year-end allowance. 
• We offer an attractive package of fringe benefits such as, reduction on collective health insurance, substantial leave arrangements, parental leave packages, attractive retirement benefits and application for attractive fiscal arrangements for employees from abroad.
• We offer you a stimulating working environment with excellent facilities for professional and personal development. 
• Our international network has researchers coming from a variety of disciplines, but we are an academic community linked by a biobased materials value chain approach. We provide you with a collaborative, entrepreneurial research environment with innovative and cross-disciplinary research.
• The position is embedded in a lively and creative working environment at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen (the Netherlands) as one of the largest chemical and materials communities in Europe.
• The terms of employment of Maastricht University are set out in the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO), supplement with local UM provisions. For more information on terms of employment, please visit our website www.maastrichtuniversity.nl > About UM > Working at UM

Maastricht University

Maastricht University is renowned for its unique, innovative, problem-based learning system, which is characterized by a small-scale and student-oriented approach. Research at UM is characterized by a multidisciplinary and thematic approach, and is concentrated in research institutes and schools. Maastricht University has around 20,000 students and 4,700 employees. Reflecting the university's strong international profile, a fair amount of both students and staff are from abroad. The university hosts 6 faculties: Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Faculty of Law, School of Business and Economics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience. For more information, visit www.maastrichtuniversity.nl.

Faculty of Science and Engineering

The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) is home to several outstanding departments and institutions covering education and research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) as well as the liberal arts and sciences.

AMIBM

The Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM) is a department of the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) at Maastricht University, located on the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen. AMIBM is a European cross-border research institute established by Maastricht University and RWTH Aachen University (Germany) focusing on the development of advanced biobased materials. The mission of AMIBM is “ground-breaking conversion of biomass to biobased materials and into product applications”. AMIBM promotes excellent multidisciplinary research in the field of biobased materials, by training PhD students with the multiple skills needed to be future leaders in the field, and creating the research breakthroughs that will enable the utilization of sustainable and renewable materials for advanced materials applications. The multidisciplinary team draws together scientists with expertise in molecular and applied biotechnology, organic chemistry, polymer chemistry, polymer physics, polymer engineering, biomedical materials, and sustainability assessment. You can find more information via www.amibm.org