Full Professor and Chair of Food Process Engineering

Full Professor and Chair of Food Process Engineering

Wageningen University & Research (WUR) is seeking a Full Professor (0.8-1 FTE) to head the chair of Food Process Engineering (FPE)

About Food Process Engineering chair group
The chair group of Food Process Engineering (FPE) is an academic group of approximately 70 FTE dedicated to developing sustainable processes for producing food and food ingredients. Our research centres around separation technology, microtechnology, protein technology, dry processing, food digestion and health, and food structuring technologies like shear cell, extrusion and 3D printing. In many of these area’s the group is considered as world leading. In recent years, the group initiated new research lines in data sciences and AI, strongly related to the previously mentioned research areas.

The group contributes to the Food Technology BSc, MSc and PhD study programs of Wageningen University. Our teaching portfolio covers the breadth of our research and trends in food technology. Teaching is done both on campus and online. Our mission is to enable students to investigate food processing principles, so that they can contribute to sustainable food production.

The group consists of three Full and two Associate Professors, each with a clear research line. It has four tenure track Assistant Professors who are developing their own research. In addition, three teachers work side-by-side with the academic staff to innovate our education. Seven technicians develop and maintain advanced research equipment and provide support to PhD, MSc and BSc students. Besides, the group has three supporting staff members. The group has forty PhD-students and six postdocs. The group members work together to do research and provide education that enable student to improve our future supply of food. They collaborate nationally and internationally with many academic and industry partners, as well as societal stakeholders to achieve our ambitions. Information about the group can be found here. https://www.wur.nl/en/research-results/chair-groups/agrotechnology-and-food-sciences/food-sciences-technology/food-process-e ngineering.htm.< br> About Wageningen University Food Cluster
The group of Food Process Engineering is part of the Food Sciences and Technology Cluster at Wageningen University, a leading unit of food sciences disciplines comprising the five chair groups Food Process Engineering, Food Physics, Food Quality and Design, Food Chemistry and Food Microbiology who combine their joint expertise in all five disciplines with world class facilities into a cross-disciplinary centre of excellence. The Food Cluster vision is to create novel mechanistic understanding and to invoke new principles to pro-actively enable our society to tackle the challenges of turning the world’s harvests into safe, healthy and enjoyable foods for our changing populations, for decades to come.

Your qualities
The group of Food Process Engineering seeks a chair holder to further strengthen its research and education vision within the food engineering domain together with the chair group PI’s and external stakeholders. As a successful candidate:

• You have a research profile that matches or complements current strengths of the group;
• You have several years of experience in food process engineering research in an academic environment and/or in industrial R&D;
• You have experience in coordinating, initiating and integrating research lines in food process engineering;
• You have experience in developing and maintaining a broad (inter)national network with different partners (e.g. academic institutes, private sector);
• You have experience with applying for research funding, particularly through the formation of large consortia;
• You preferably have experience in teaching and developing Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD level courses and programmes;
• You have experience with leading a large group of professionals;
• You have experience with various management styles and coaching at different levels. You bring an empathic and inclusive leadership to a group;
• You have experience with financial and personnel management and budget responsibility.

We offer you
We offer you a position as Full Professor Food Process Engineering. Besides a competitive salary (maximum gross salary for starting chair holders is scale 13 H2 € 10.138,- per month), we offer a number of additional benefits, such as an end-of-year extra month’s salary, a holiday allowance and a pension plan with the Dutch pension fund for government and education. International candidates moving to the Netherlands may benefit from a special tax relief, by which a part of their salary is exempt from tax for several years. Working hours can be discussed to optimize the work-life balance (32-38 hours per week).

Coming from abroad.
We are a globally leading university in the 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.

The university’s highly qualified team of advisors on Dutch immigration procedures will help you with the visa application procedures for yourself and, if applicable, for your family. Furthermore, WUR offers a dual career programme for partners to assist your partner in finding a job or starting a business in the Netherlands. Furthermore, we assist you in finding schools for your children and advise you on finding housing in the region or elsewhere in the Netherlands. The Wageningen University & Research (WUR) International Community page contains practical information about what we do to support international employees and students coming to Wageningen.

Do you want more information?
Further information about the position can be acquired from prof. dr Renger Witkamp, Professor of Nutritional Biology and chair of the Appointment Advisory Committee. E-mail: renger.witkamp@wur.nl

Application
You are encouraged to upload your complete application via our application page and address this to Ineke Ammerlaan, the secretary of the Appointment Advisory Committee. Four documents should be uploaded as pdf:

• A motivation letter (preferably one page A4),
• A curriculum vitae including the names of 4 references (in total max 4 page A4),
• Statement of research and education interests and intended direction (in total max 1 page A4),
• A list of publications.

The closing date of the vacancy is May 19, 2025. The Committee will inform you about the status of your application no later than June 6, 2025. The Committee will interview selected candidates for this position on June 26, 27 and 30, 2025. The Committee will thereafter invite short-listed candidates for a second interview and a public lecture on September 9 and 10, 2025.

Welcome, safe, and valued
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) highly values diversity and inclusion because we believe that different insights lead to innovative solutions. We create a work environment where everyone feels welcome, safe, and appreciated, regardless of background, identity, or experience. Together, we are building a culture where everyone's unique contribution adds to the success of our organization.

We are
The mission of Wageningen University & Research is ‘To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life’.

We pursue this mission through a synergistic approach between Wageningen University and Wageningen Research Foundation (applied research). Our research focuses on questions within the domains of food, living environment, and society. With approximately 30 locations, 7,700 staff members, 2,500 PhD candidates, and over 13,000 students, Wageningen University & Research is among the world’s leading knowledge institutions in its domain. The integral approach to challenges and the collaboration across various disciplines form the core of the unique Wageningen approach.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below 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.