Research Assistant - Engineering and Support

Who are we?

The Jan IngenHousz Institute (JII) is a philanthropic, open science institution dedicated to improving photosynthesis to enhance crop production and resilience. JII is located on the campus of Wageningen University & Research (WUR), and partners with WUR and other institutions worldwide.

Our goal is to contribute to global food security in the face of climate change, biodiversity challenges, and population growth. Our ambition is to unravel the secrets of photosynthesis in the real world by developing and deploying an open science platform of sensors, data, methods and fundamental knowledge that will reveal the factors that control photosynthesis under real-world conditions and deploy these tools globally to enable multiple crop improvement pipelines.

JII has a strongly dedicated and highly integrated team of engineers, data scientists, modelers, biochemists, biophysicists, geneticists, and plant breeders, working collaboratively at national and international levels.

What will you do?

The candidate will hands-on guided technical support for researchers, ensuring their projects succeed. The day-to-day tasks would revolve around building and maintaining the technical systems researchers rely on for their experiments (such as sensors). Routine duties include CAD designing, 3D printing, laser cutting and electronics development (e.g. circuit testing, PCB assembling). The ideal candidate can quickly build a prototype using an iterative mindset to test specific research questions.

Who are you?

• You have preferably completed your studies (HBO, WO) in technical fields, such as electronics, materials engineering or technology.

• You are able to design 3D mechanical models and electronic circuit using CAD software.

• You have experience in soldering, PCB assembly, and troubleshooting electronic circuit.

• Programming knowledge is considered a plus.

• You are comfortable working in iterative design processes and able to experiment and to self-test.

• You have good English language skills as you will work in a team of international individuals, where English is the primary language.

• What do we offer?

• A position of 38 hours in scale 8 of the NU collective labour agreement (€ 3.218 to € 4.298). Although we are not covered by a collective agreement, we follow the salary scales of the NU agreement. You will be located at the Jan IngenHousz Institute in Wageningen, NL.

• You will receive 8% holiday pay and an 8.3% year-end bonus.

• We start with a 1-year contract, and if both parties wish to continue collaborating, a long-term contract will follow.

• You will work in an intellectually stimulating and challenging environment with opportunities to increase your knowledge and skill levels, leading to job advancement.

• You will contribute to building an institute with significant societal relevance.

Response

If you have questions about this position, you can contact Ludovico Caracciolo, ludovico.caracciolo@jii.org. Send your CV and a short summary of motivations and experience in an email containing the header “position research engineer” to hrm@jii.org by June 22nd .