"PhD in Food Microbiology"

Job Summary: As a PhD candidate, you will be part of the SHIELT project, which aims to develop predictive microbiology and risk assessment tools to support safe-by-design development of plant-based meat alternatives, improving supply chain sustainability and limiting food waste. The project involves developing multi-species prediction models and risk assessment frameworks for spoilage microorganisms and pathogens in plant-based products, in collaboration with Wageningen Food Biobased Research and industrial partners.

Responsibilities:

• Use experimental and literature data to develop mathematical microbial kinetics models and quantitative risk assessments.
• Develop user-friendly tools for quality and safety assessment of plant-based meat analogues.
• Supervise BSc and MSc thesis research projects.
• Participate in education as supervisor.
• Publish results and findings in peer-reviewed journals.

Requirements:

• Successfully completed MSc degree in a relevant field, such as Food Safety, Data Science, Food Science, or Biotechnology.
• Experience in predictive modelling and quantitative microbial risk assessment approaches.
• Experience with relevant software tools and programming languages such as R or Python.
• Interest in working with people from the food industry.
• Must be an ambitious and highly motivated scientist.
• Must be a creative researcher, independent yet a team player.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English, with a command at C1 level.

What the employer offers:

• A fully funded PhD position with a tailored course program.
• Gross salary from €3059 to €3881 per month, based on a full-time working week of 38 hours.
• Temporary contract for 18 months, extendable upon good performance.
• Excellent terms including partially paid parental leave, flexible working hours, option to accrue additional compensation, strong focus on vitality, sports facilities, fixed December bonus of 8.3%, and excellent pension scheme.
• Opportunities for personal initiative in a learning environment and international atmosphere.