Assistant Professor in open-field vegetable production at Aarhus University, Denmark

The Department of Food Science, Aarhus University, Denmark, invites applications for a 3-year Assistant Professor position within sustainable production and open-field cropping systems of vegetables.
We are looking for a successful candidate with a strong research profile within plant responses to agroecological conditions and their effects on production, and nutrient and carbon balances. The candidate should like to work with a highly engaged and motivated staff in a dynamic working environment. The position is available from 1. December 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The position

The position is offered for a 3-year period of employment. We are specifically interested in a candidate who has expertise in sustainable production of field-grown vegetables and crops. Development of this research area is a focal point and the candidate’s scientific competences are expected to contribute to further strengthening the research activities within the Department of Food Science. The position is aligned to the Science Team of Plant, Food & Sustainability. Current research is focused on field- and controlled environment grown horticultural crop physiology, cropping systems and management practices, including plant growth and soil fertility, fertilisation strategies, peat replacement, use of compost and cover crops, including conventional and organic farming, using measures such as root growth, nutrient use efficiency and soil enzyme activity. The Science Team activities also focus on sustainable fruit and legume production, phenotyping and stress physiology.

The successful candidate should have documented research experience within production of field-grown vegetables or agricultural crops, and master state-of-the-art experimental and analytical methods in agronomy and agroecological research.

You are expected to have research experience within two or more of the following areas:

• Growth and physiology of vegetable crops
• Sustainable cropping systems for field-grown crops
• Effects of crop production on climate and environment
• Plant nutrition and fertilization in organic field production
• Soil fertility, carbon and nitrogen cycles
• Organic farming

Collaboration with industry, growers and advisory services, and the Danish Government is a natural part of the position.

Qualifications

• PhD degree in Plant, Horticultural or Agricultural Science
• Several years of postdoc experience in a relevant area
• A proven publication record in international peer-reviewed journals
• Experience in international research collaboration and networking
• Write and speak English fluently
• Experience in planning and conducting experiments in field-grown crop production is an advantage
• Teaching experience is preferred

The candidate will work with other staff members in the Science team of Plant, Food and Sustainability mainly on current research projects, and contribute to tasks for the Danish Ministries in vegetable production.

The Department of Food Science

The Department of Food Science is part of the Faculty of Technology, Aarhus University and includes research across the food value chain within the areas of Plant Production Systems, Biofunctional Food, Systems Biology, Food Chemistry and Technology, Food Quality, Food Metabolomics and Sensory Science. The Department currently employs approx. 60 full time scientific staff and 70 PhD students and Postdocs, with approx. 30 visiting staff and students contributing to an international research environment where English is the preferred language in the laboratory, at meetings and at seminars.

The Department works in teams and therefore self-leadership, clear and open communication, success in mentoring, supervising and teaching are important qualities needed to be successful in the Department. In addition, the Department has a strong culture that is based on openness, equality, consultation and inclusion, and contributing to the Department strategy and working environment is viewed as important.

The Department is responsible for a Master’s programme in Molecular Nutrition and Food Technology, taught at AU, Denmark, and a Master’s programme in Food and Health at the Sino-Danish Center in Beijing, China. In addition, Department staff contribute to several key interdisciplinary educations, including Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes in Agrobiology, Plant and Food Science, and a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering in Food Technology, Aarhus University.

The Department conducts research-based advice of the Danish Government in the areas of horticulture and food quality.

Please refer to https://food.au.dk/ for further information about The Department of Food Science and to https://tech.au.dk/en/ and www.au.dk/en or information on Faculty of Technical Sciences and Aarhus University, respectively.

Place of Work and further information

The place of work is Agro Food Park 48, 8200 Aarhus North, Denmark.

For further information contact Science Team Leader Hanne Lakkenborg Kristensen, phone: +45 20698054, e-mail: [email protected]

Living in Aarhus / Denmark

Please visit the International Staff Office's website for information about arriving, working and living in Denmark.

Deadline

All applications must be made online and received by 24 September 2025.

Application procedure

Shortlisting is used. This means that after the deadline for applications – and with the assistance from the assessment committee chairman, and the assessment committee if necessary, – the head of department selects the candidates to be evaluated. The selection is made on the basis of an assessment of who of the candidates are most relevant considering the requirements of the advertisement. All applicants will be notified within 6 weeks whether or not their applications have been sent to an expert assessment committee for evaluation. The selected applicants will be informed about the composition of the committee and will receive his/her assessment. Once the recruitment process is completed a final letter of rejection is sent to the deselected applicants.

Letter of reference

If you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf, please state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to ensure that letters of reference received after the application deadline will be taken into consideration.

If you wish to add a referee after you have submitted your application, you must send this person’s details (name, job title, place of work, and email address) as well as the name of the position you have applied for to: [email protected]

Formalities and salary range

Technical Sciences refers to the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Danish Universities under the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The application must be in English and include a curriculum vitae, degree certificate, a complete list of publications, a statement of future research plans and information about research activities, teaching portfolio and verified information on previous teaching experience (if any). Guidelines for applicants can be found here.

Appointment shall be in accordance with the collective labour agreement between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. Further information on qualification requirements and job content may be found in the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Danish Universities.

Salary depends on seniority as agreed between the Danish Ministry of Taxation and the Confederation of Professional Associations.

Aarhus University’s ambition is to be an attractive and inspiring workplace for all and to foster a culture in which each individual has opportunities to thrive, achieve and develop. We view equality and diversity as assets, and we welcome all applicants.

Research activities will be evaluated in relation to actual research time. Thus, we encourage applicants to specify periods of leave without research activities, in order to be able to subtract these periods from the span of the scientific career during the evaluation of scientific productivity.

Aarhus University offers a broad variety of services for international researchers and accompanying families, including relocation service and career counselling to expat partners.

The application must be submitted via Aarhus University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aarhus University's website.