Your job
Within the chair group Crop Physiology, we offer an assistant or associate professor position (tenure track) in the domain of crop sensing. The position includes teaching, research, general management tasks and services to society. The teaching will be in the area of crop science and crop physiology and will be at the BSc, MSc and PhD levels (our courses). Supervision of PhD candidates is a major part of the job. The candidate will develop their own research line, in consultation and collaboration with the other team members, which matches the long-term strategy of both the Crop Physiology group and the Centre for Crop Systems Analysis within which this group is embedded. Activities include writing research proposals for external funding.

You will work here
The research is embedded within the Centre for Crop Systems Analysis (www.csa.wur.nl). The Centre is a federation of two chair groups, which are closely interacting in all aspects of their daily activities. The chair groups are Crop physiology and Crop and Weed Ecology. The candidate will be a member of the Crop Physiology chair group. Both chairs are strongly committed to excellent research and teaching providing the scientific basis for the development of high-quality plant production in sustainable agro-ecosystems. CSA focuses on understanding the functioning of crops from underlying physiological and community ecological processes. This is done through growth chamber, greenhouse and field experiments, computer modelling and data analysis.

In this challenging career trajectory:

• you acquire, lead and implement innovative and creative(inter-) national research projects;
• you collaborate with colleagues and supervise PhD students, BSc and MSc theses and you develop and teach courses;
• you contribute to the further development of the Crop Physiology group.

Tenure Track is a career path for scientists who pursue to excel in education and research. We seek to attract scientific talent and to stimulate and support their development.

Your Qualities
We seek a crop scientist who specializes in analyzing and explaining field crop functioning from (remote or proximal) sensing data. The candidate is experienced in interpreting large datasets coming from crop sensing in terms of crop performance: development, functioning, health, and productivity. The candidate has a background in advanced data analysis (e.g. machine learning techniques) and affinity with crop simulation modelling techniques to link sensor data to underlying crop traits.

The candidate's research focus should be complementary to ongoing research of the chair group as well as the broader field, with potential for collaboration with public and private partners, both in the temperate and/or (semi-) tropical regions. With this position, we aim to expand the portfolio of the Crop Physiology group in the domain of understanding and predicting crop functioning based on sensor data, complementing existing research lines.

You possess:

• A completed PhD in plant or crop physiology, or crop science
• Experience in analyzing and interpreting large datasets from field crop sensing
• Proven affinity with and experience in teaching
• Highly developed interpersonal and intercultural skills
• A strong publication record in relevant journals
• Experience in acquiring and leading externally funded research projects, preferred
• An excellent English language proficiency (a minimum of CEFR C1 level).

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• the option to accrue additional compensation / holiday hours by working more, up to 40 hours per week;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed December bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will be offered a fixed-term, 7 year contract which, upon positive evaluation based on criteria elaborated in the University's Tenure Track policy, can lead to a permanent employment contract as professor. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive gross salary of between € 3.974,- and € 6.702,- for a full-time working week of 38 hours in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 11-13).

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal advancement opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. There are plenty of options for personal initiative in a learning environment, and we provide excellent training opportunities. We are offering a unique position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

You are going to work at the greenest and most innovative campus in Holland, and at a university that has been chosen as the "Best University" in the Netherlands for the 18th consecutive time.

Coming from abroad
Wageningen University & Research is the university and research centre for life sciences. The themes we deal with are relevant to everyone around the world and Wageningen, therefore, has a large international community and a lot to offer to international employees.

Our team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family.

Feeling welcome also has everything to do with being well informed. Wageningen University & Research's International Community page contains practical information about what we can do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen. Furthermore, we can assist you with any additional advice and information about helping your partner to find a job, housing, schooling. For instance under the "30% rule", certain categories of international staff can receive tax exemption on approximately 30% of their gross salary.

Wageningen University & Research

Wageningen University & Research
The mission of Wageningen University & Research is "To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life". Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,200 employees (6,400 fte) and 13,200 students and over 150.000 participants to WUR's Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch this video
to get an idea of our green campus!

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.