"University Professorship (W3) „Food Process Engineering“"

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) – The Research University in the Helmholtz Association creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is our goal to make significant contributions to mastering the global challenges of mankind in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 10,000 employees of KIT cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in research, academic education, and innovation. KIT is one of the German Universities of Excellence.

Division I - Biology, Chemistry, and Process Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering in Life Sciences (BLT), KIT Department of Chemical and Process Engineering invites applications for an unlimited

University Professorship (W3) „Food Process Engineering“

to be filled from November 1, 2026.

The holder of this position will represent the field of food process engineering in research and teaching. This professorship is associated with Division I (Biology, Chemistry, and Process Engineering) and the KIT Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, and is located at the Institute of Process Engineering in Life Sciences. The holder of this position will also be a member of the institute's collegial management team.

The professorship is expected to deliver scientific contributions to efficient production and processing of food from a process engineering perspective, with a particular focus on availability of feedstock and energy resources. The research shall focus on developing a fundamental understanding of the processing methods and structure-property relationships of biopolymers. This will be achieved by using sophisticated experimental and/or theoretical methods across various timescales and spatial scales.

The institute's flexible research facilities, with a particular focus on food processing machinery, provide an excellent foundation for the University Professorship’s (W3) future research in the aforementioned key areas and other current fields of food processing technology.

Teaching duties include courses in German and English for the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes in Chemical and Bio-Engineering. In particular, the module ‘Food Bio-Process Engineering’ in the Bachelor programme and the specialisation ‘Food Process Engineering’ in the Master programmes are mandatory, as well as various laboratory courses.

You will execute university tasks with a teaching obligation of 9 hours per week per semester.

Employment is subject to Art. 14, par. (2) of the KIT Act in conjunction with Art. 47 LHG Baden-Württemberg (Act of Baden-Württemberg on Universities and Colleges). We are looking for a person with extensive experience in the listed areas, and an excellent track record of scientific achievements with international visibility, or equivalent experience in industry. Furthermore, excellent teaching skills, leadership experience, and the ability to work in a team are required. The future professor is expected to engage in interdisciplinary collaboration and actively participate in academic self-administration, as well as having the ability to actively solicit public and private third-party funding.

Please mail your application with the relevant documents (curriculum vitae, list of publications, diplomas/certificates, teaching evaluations, description of previous and planned research and teaching activities, research and teaching concept, description of your own contributions in the above-mentioned areas, acquired third-party funds, statement on scientific honesty), to Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Division I – Biology, Chemistry, and Process Engineering, Division Head Professor Dr. Andrea Robitzki, c/o Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Wetzel,Chair of the Appointment Committee, Kaiserstr. 12, D-76131 Karlsruhe, preferably as a single PDF file by e-mail to: ciw@kit.edu.

For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Jürgen Hubbuch, phone: +49 721 608-47526, email: juergen.hubbuch@kit.edu.

We prefer to balance the number of employees (f/m/d). Therefore, we kindly ask female applicants to apply for this job.

Recognized severely disabled persons will be preferred if they are equally qualified.

As a family-friendly university, KIT offers part-time employment, leaves of absence, a dual career service, and coaching to support the work-life balance.