Who we are and what we do

Our cognitive neuroscience lab is known for its fundamental and applied research with a focus on advanced neuroimaging, brain-computer interfaces, innovative data analysis methods as well as computational modelling at the interface of neuroscience, AI and virtual robotics. Headed by Prof. Dr. Rainer Goebel, the team includes Associate Professors Bettina Sorger and Judith Peters, Assistant Professors Joel Reithler, Tobias Otto and Mario Senden as well as several post-doctoral researchers and PhD students. We work in the spirit of team science, in a very cooperative, collegial, and interdisciplinary work climate. We value and actively engage in local, national and international collaborations.

With our empirical, theoretical and computational expertise we aim to contribute to our understanding of the psychological and neural mechanisms of the mind. While we focus on the visual system, we also investigate neural mechanisms of somatosensory perception as well as representations underlying emotions and memory. One of our main ambitions is to go beyond a macroscopic description of brain function by using ultra-high field (UHF) fMRI (7 Tesla and beyond) to target the sub-millimeter mesoscopic scale of cortical layers and cortical columns to unravel fundamental insights into coding principles used by the brain. Another major goal of our team is to use fMRI and fNIRS to derive new personalised non-pharmacological interventions for human enhancement as well as for clinical applications in psychiatry and neurology in close collaboration with our partners in the medical faculty.

The candidate will be part of a highly collaborative, interdisciplinary and international Department, embedded in a unique world-leading research environment with outstanding facilities and research infrastructure, including 3T, 7T and 9.4T MRI scanners, EEG systems, magnetic and electric NIBS systems, VR labs, eye tracking and psychophysics labs. We offer a cutting-edge research environment at the forefront of (computational) cognitive neuroscience with societal relevance, long-term career support and mentorship and a pleasant, creative and dynamic work environment.

What we hope to find in you

We are looking for a passionate and pleasant new team member. You will be able to devote at least 50% of your time to conduct research within the “Vision” group. Your research interest should fit well within the research spectrum of our team. We expect that you collaborate with us by contributing to shared methods development within the group, and by strengthening our international network. We encourage you to develop your own research line, for example in the field of multi-sensory (e.g., vision and somatosensory, or vision and auditory) processing, including higher-level cognitive functions such as attention and imagery.

The remaining time of your work will be devoted to educational activities in the psychology and cognitive neuroscience courses and trainings of the bachelor and (research) master curricula of the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience. Guiding students in writing their bachelor or master thesis is also an important part of your educational work.

You are expected to be a team player with an open, effective management style and should be ready to fulfil an administrative role in the faculty.

• You have a PhD in Psychology, (Computational) Neuroscience, Biomedical Sciences, Artificial Intelligence or a related discipline;
• You must have strong analytical/computational skills and be interested in (multi-modal) human functional brain imaging;
• You should have experience in developing or applying computational models in cognitive neuroscience (i.e. models applicable to human behavioural or neural data or both);
• You should have experience as a PostDoc with a competitive publication track record;
• You display outstanding quality in research, and you enjoy and promote interdisciplinary team science. Good English communication skills are essential, but knowledge of Dutch is not required. 
• You have expertise in cognitive neuroscience methods, especially fMRI; you have experience in designing and conducting advanced analyses of functional neuroimaging data; experience with ultra-high field fMRI (7T and higher) is a plus but not a requirement;
• You should have a track record (or potential for) grant acquisition;
• You are an experienced and enthusiastic teacher and have demonstrated ability in thesis supervision;
• We expect and support that you develop an independent (computational) cognitive neuroscience research program that complements and interacts with the research in our lab and contributes to our long-term goal to identify the fundamental neural coding principles underlying human perception, cognition and behavior.
   

Fixed-term contract: 12-18 month, with option to get a permanent contract.

We offer a full-time position (38 hours/week) at the Department Cognitive Neuroscience of the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience. 
You will be employed temporarily for 12 or 18 months (depending on your employment history) as assistant professor (level 2) and will co-develop and agree to specific development goals. Towards the end of this contract period and upon satisfactory performance, this initially 12 or 18 months position will become permanent. Your development goals will also allow you to grow further to the position of assistant professor (level 1).

The salary depends on academic qualifications and experience. The salary will be set between minimum gross month salary € 3.974 and maximum gross month salary of € 5.439 based on a full-time employment  and in accordance with scale 11 of the Collective Labour Agreement of the Dutch Universities. For people recruited from abroad a reduced income tax rate may apply. Maastricht University has attractive employment conditions, which include a pension scheme, holidays, holiday allowance and an end of year bonus and partially paid parental leave.
The university’s relocation policy stipulates that you need to move to (the vicinity of) Maastricht. If not already living in Maastricht (or its surroundings), you could be eligible for an allowance for moving costs.

The terms of employment of Maastricht University are set out in the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO). Furthermore, local UM provisions also apply. For more information look at the website www.maastrichtuniversity.nl > About UM > Working at UM
 

Maastricht Univeristy

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 22,000 students and about 5,000 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.

Department of Cognitive Neuroscience (CN)

The Cognitive Neuroscience (CN) department in Maastricht combines research in human perception and cognition with the development of advanced methods in neuroscience. Various brain imaging methods are employed to describe and predict behaviour, such as single cell recording, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electro- and magneto-encephalography (EEG and MEG). Furthermore, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and neurofeedback are being used to manipulate behaviour. The research is embedded in the Maastricht Brain Imaging Center (M-BIC).

Section Computational architecture of visual processing streams at Maastricht Brain Imaging Centre (MBIC) Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology & Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands