You, as a technician and lab manager, will enable and support innovative research and education in our dynamic laboratory environment of the Catalysis Engineering section at TU Delft.

Job description
Students, professors, PhD students, and postdocs use the Chemical Engineering Department’s laboratories for education and research. As a technician and lab manager in the Catalysis Engineering Section, you ensure a safe and reliable operation of a lab focused on developing and demonstrating new catalytic solutions for energy transition and sustainability.

This requires an innovative mindset as our lab is at the forefront of developing novel heterogeneous catalysts and catalytic processes aimed at reducing energy use and minimizing negative impacts on the environment and human health. We use a multi-disciplinary approach that combines materials science, reaction engineering, and in situ/operando methods to thoroughly understand the active sites and transformation pathways involved in catalysis.

Your main responsibilities include setting up, managing, and maintaining specialized equipment crucial for our research, providing reliable and precise scientific support at our unique high-pressure facility, Industrial Catalysis Lab (ICL). You’ll actively contribute to developing and implementing new research methods and catalytic technologies. As lab manager you coordinate a healthy and dynamic environment in the lab, promoting collaboration between the scientific and technical staff within the section and beyond. It’s crucial to ensure all equipment operates safely and reliably, as a technical expert you're skilled in troubleshooting and resolving malfunctions, either on your own or with maintenance specialists and colleagues.

You’ll instruct users on safe equipment operation and assist in educational labs, providing technical support and advice for specific research and educational projects. Your expertise in materials characterization, chemical engineering, and equipment operation is vital to our success.

In the Chemical Engineering Department, you’ll be part of a team of twenty enthusiastic lab technicians. Each member is responsible for their own lab but collaboration is key. Our team is diverse, with members from various nationalities, and we highly value your ideas and input.

Requirements

• You have at least a bachelor/HBO-degree in chemical technology, chemical engineering, physical chemistry, or another relevant field.
• You have experience with high-pressure reactor systems and spectroscopic characterization techniques.
• You have an affinity with lab automation and using code to save time, improve safety and ensure reliability of the research data.
• You enjoy building new equipment and learning new methods!
• You understand applied chemistry and are experienced with how to deal with chemicals.
• You’re energized by sharing your knowledge and able to communicate clearly with students, faculty, professors, and direct colleagues.
• You have a keen eye for safety, as chemical research carries inherent risks.
• You are proactive in initiating improvements in research and education within your lab.
• You have experience or are willing to be trained as a Company Emergency Responder (BHV), preferably with a specialism as a breathing apparatus operator.
• You are proficient in English. If you do not already speak Dutch, you are willing to learn the language.
• Due to national regulations, eligible candidates must hold an EU passport or a Dutch work permit.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)
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!

Faculty Applied Sciences
With more than 1,100 employees, including 150 pioneering principal investigators, as well as a population of about 3,600 passionate students, the Faculty of Applied Sciences is an inspiring scientific ecosystem. Focusing on key enabling technologies, such as quantum- and nanotechnology, photonics, biotechnology, synthetic biology and materials for energy storage and conversion, our faculty aims to provide solutions to important problems of the 21st century. To that end, we educate innovative students in broad Bachelor's and specialist Master's programmes with a strong research component. Our scientists conduct ground-breaking fundamental and applied research in the fields of Life and Health Science & Technology, Nanoscience, Chemical Engineering, Radiation Science & Technology, and Engineering Physics. We are also training the next generation of high school teachers.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Applied Sciences.

Conditions of employment

• As a technician, you will receive a salary according to scale 9 of the collective labour agreement (CAO) for Dutch Universities, with a minimum of €3.502,- and a maximum of €4.812,- for a 38-hour workweek, plus 8% vacation pay and a year-end bonus of 8.3%. We also have opportunities for entry-level technicians (scale 8, with a minimum of €3.186,- and a maximum of €4.255,- for a 38-hour workweek), where we invest extra in training and guidance. In addition, it is possible to advance or start in a senior position involving more complex reactor design and coordinating tasks (scale 10, with a minimum of €3.345,- and a maximum of €5.278,- for a 38-hour workweek).
• An excellent pension scheme via the ABP.
• The possibility to compile an individual employment package every year.
• Discount with health insurers.
• 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.

Additional information
For more information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. Atul Bansode via A.B.Bansode@tudelft.nl. Do you meet the requirements but prefer an informal meeting before deciding if to apply? Contact Dr. Atul Bansode before November 22 to arrange a lab visit or call. In this case a motivational letter is not required but we do ask you to share your CV or LinkedIn profile.   

Application procedure
Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than 5 December 2024 via the application button and upload your motivation and CV. Please include in your letter (max 1 A4):

• Your experience with or enthusiasm for automated systems and coding;
• Your experience with reactor systems and spectroscopic characterization;
• Your motivation to become part of our chemical engineering department.

We encourage you to apply immediately and may start first interview rounds during the publication period.

Please note:

• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• A knowledge security check will be part of the selection procedure.
  (for details page 45: national knowledge security guidelines)
• Applying for an exemption for specific research and educational areas is an obligatory part of the selection procedure for this vacancy. This exemption must be obtained from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) before an employment contract is agreed upon. Click here for more information.
• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.