Job offer

Are you motivated to contribute to the transition toward nature-inclusive agriculture and horticulture? Do you want to work at the interface of geospatial technologies, information systems, biodiversity restoration, and real-world decision-making by farmers and agrifood stakeholders? Join the NWO-KIC project RISE - Resilient Integrated Systems for Ecosystem restoration as a PhD candidate. You will co-develop an interactive spatial decision-support framework for agrifood transitions in an interdisciplinary team of four PhD candidates, collaborating closely with farmers and societal stakeholders.

Information Biodiversity restoration in agriculture and horticulture is urgently needed, but difficult to realize in practice. Farmers operate in complex systems: they are embedded in value chains, regional communities, regulatory environments, ecological landscapes, and business models that often prioritize short-term productivity and profitability. RISE addresses this challenge by developing systems-based tools and implementation pathways that help stakeholders make nature-inclusive decisions that are ecologically meaningful, economically viable, and socially supported.

RISE is an interdisciplinary project involving Eindhoven University of Technology, Wageningen University & Research, Leiden University, and Inholland University of Applied Sciences, together with a broad network of societal partners from agriculture, horticulture, regional development, water management, policy, and civil society. The project works in two regional case areas: Reusel-Zuid, focused on open-field agriculture, and Oostland Zuid-Holland, focused on greenhouse horticulture. A third region on tree-nursing will be used for validation and replication.

This PhD position is hosted by the Eindhoven University of Technology, within the Department of the Built Environment (BE). You will be part of a closely connected cohort of four PhD candidates working across universities and disciplines. All candidates receive cross-university supervision to ensure deep integration between innovation science, system dynamics, spatial modeling, and ecology.

The specific focus of this PhD project is on spatial system mapping and decision-support design. You will investigate how spatial development interacts with systemic dynamics and implementation feasibility. Using geospatial modeling, participative mapping, and interactive workshops, you will analyze how landscape conditions, land-use choices, and regional features shape the feasibility of biodiversity-enhancing practices.

Your work will include:

• Socio-Ecological-Economic Mapping: Co-creating integrated regional maps that combine human actors with non-human elements (e.g., ecological features, water systems) to visualize regional interdependencies.
• Decision-Support Framework Construction: Taking the lead in designing and constructing an interactive spatial decision-support framework grounded in system dynamics logic.
• Model Integration: Collaborating with the broader PhD cohort to link temporal system dynamics simulation models to real-world spatial configurations.
• Stakeholder Facilitation: Designing and running interactive scenario workshops where regional stakeholders use geospatial tools to evaluate the spatial feasibility and trade-offs of biodiversity measures.
• Dissemination & Scaling: Integrating spatial insights into actionable technology and policy roadmaps, and validating the developed tools within a third case region.
• Academic Output: Publishing high-quality academic papers, individually and collaboratively, on spatial systems modeling, stakeholder alignment, and digital tool design for sustainability transitions.

This position is ideal for a candidate who is comfortable working interdisciplinary, at the boundary between theory and practice: developing rigorous academic insights while engaging closely with farmers, regional stakeholders, businesses, policymakers, and researchers from other disciplines., A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station.

Specific Requirements

We are looking for a motivated, curious, and analytically strong candidate who is eager to contribute to both scientific research and practical impact.

You have:

• A Master’s degree in Geoinformatics, GIS/Geospatial Technologies, Architecture/Built Environment, Information Systems, or a related field.
• Strong experience or clear affinity with geospatial modeling, spatial data analysis, and GIS software platforms (e.g., ArcGIS Pro, QGIS).
• Experience in programming (preferably python) and web development languages (JavaScript or TypeScript).
• A demonstrated interest in sustainability transitions, ecosystem services, and integrating spatial elements with social or economic dynamics.
• Experience or strong interest in mixed-method research, including participatory mapping, stakeholder workshops, interviews, or fieldwork.
• The ability to work productively within an interdisciplinary team and translate complex spatial concepts into user-friendly digital tools.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills. Excellent written and spoken English is required.
• Willingness to perform fieldwork in Dutch agricultural and horticultural regions.
• Speaking Dutch is a strong advantage, as it is essential for facilitating workshops and interviews with local farmers, growers, and regional policymakers.

• Full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate assessment after nine months. You will spend a minimum of 10% of your four-year employment on teaching tasks, with a maximum of 15% per year of your employment.
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale P (min. € 3,204 - max. € 4,051 gross base salary per month (full-time)).
• In addition to your base salary, you will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus, both calculated based on your annual gross base salary.
• As a TU/e employee, you participate in the ABP pension scheme, providing retirement pension and pension benefits for surviving dependents and occupational disability. TU/e pays 70% of the pension premium, while employees contribute the remaining 30%.
• High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, and on-campus children’s day care.
• Unlimited access to the modern on-campus TU/e Student Sports Center at an exceptionally affordable rate.
• We support your wellbeing with free 24/7 access to OpenUp, providing you and your family with mental health support, expert guidance, and online training.
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the Expat Scheme) for international candidates.