Senior research engineer for transdisciplinary innovation in dutch sme's

Interested in understanding and accelerating the potential for innovation of physical work processes in Dutch small and medium enterprises? 

For a 1-year transdisciplinary innovation project with Dutch small-medium enterprises (SME's), we are looking for senior (post-PhD) talent to form a transdisciplinary team of five senior researchers, to start working by March 15th 2025. The project is a policy experiment ("beleidsexperiment") assigned by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs to a consortium led by transdisciplinary research and innovation centre FRAIM, with partners Bouwend Nederland, MetaalUnie, TNO, fieldlab RoboHouse and TU Delft.

The goal of the experiment is to explore how to accelerate innovation in physical work processes for SME's in the construction and metal sectors, using a transdisciplinary approach: close and continuous integration of perspectives from engineering, design, work psychology, organisational science and innovation. There is also a project manager to help out with the challenge of scheduling the work with multiple stakeholders: 6 months with several SME's in one sector, and then 6 months in the other sector. The nature of the work will be oriented more towards practice than academic output, and will involve visits to the workfloor, spending time with the other team members and jointly understanding potential for innovation and providing links to academic research.

The specific position for senior research engineer requires you to represent the engineering perspective in the team. Your role will be to explore the potential for both upcoming robotic capabilities (including links to academic research in robotics) and more readily applied technological solutions (pragmatically relevant and feasible at shorter timescales).

General profile for all senior researchers in the transdisciplinary team.

The ideal candidate (regardless of specific discipline):

• Has a track-record within the academic discipline within which the PhD was obtained.

• Has experience with interdisciplinary research: the ability to alternate between working within and across academic disciplines.

• Has some experience with (or strong interest in) working with pragmatic ways of knowing (e.g., participatory methods, stakeholder engagement, experience outside of academia), or working in transdisciplinary research and innovation.

• Feels comfortable working closely with four others senior researchers from different disciplinary perspectives, and working through difficulties in scheduling, alignment of perspectives and uncertainty.

• Is open to working on personal growth and transformative learning - in self and in others.

• Is able to understand and speak Dutch, given the fact that most interactions at the workfloor will be in Dutch.

• Is able and willing to align schedules with the other team members, and commit to starting March 15th 2025 and taking main holidays during summer (during the dutch "bouwvak").

Engineering specific requirements

In addition to the general requirements, the ideal candidate for this position

• Possesses a completed PhD in mechanical engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, preferably with a specialization in mechatronics, robotics or physical human-robot interaction.

• Brings experience in developing mechatronics and/or robot capabilities for human environments, including skills in robot programming & testing, and specific expertise (e.g. Learning from demonstration, robot manipulation, human-robot collaboration, haptics, social navigation).

• Is keen on applying and advancing their engineering skills within a transdisciplinary context.

• Demonstrate a curiosity for developing their critical, practical, academic, and social mindsets in innovating the future of work through robotic systems.

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

From chip to ship. From machine to human being. From idea to solution. Driven by a deep-rooted desire to understand our environment and discover its underlying mechanisms, research and education at the ME faculty focusses on fundamental understanding, design, production including application and product improvement, materials, processes and (mechanical) systems.

ME is a dynamic and innovative faculty with high-tech lab facilities and international reach. It's a large faculty but also versatile, so we can often make unique connections by combining different disciplines. This is reflected in ME's outstanding, state-of-the-art education, which trains students to become responsible and socially engaged engineers and scientists. We translate our knowledge and insights into solutions to societal issues, contributing to a sustainable society and to the development of prosperity and well-being. That is what unites us in pioneering research, inspiring education and (inter)national cooperation.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Do you want to experience working at our faculty? These videos will introduce you to some of our researchers and their work.

• Duration of contract is 1 year Temporary external finance
• A job of 36-40 hours per week.
• An excellent pension scheme via the ABP.
• The possibility to compile an individual employment package every year.
• Discount with health insurers on supplemental packages.
• Flexible working week.
• Every year, 232 leave hours (at 38 hours). You can also sell or buy additional leave hours via the individual choice budget.
• Plenty of opportunities for education, training and courses.
• Partially paid parental leave.
• Attention for working healthy and energetically with the vitality program.

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than 2 March 2025 

• CV
• Motivational letter

Please note:

• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• National Knowledge Security Guidelines. We carry out this check on the basis of legitimate interest.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.