Post-doctoral assistant Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering

Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG); Oost-Vlaanderen; On-site; EUR 23,000 - 36,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

36 days paid leave

Bicycle commuting reimbursement

ecocheques

Training opportunities

Job summary

Ghent University in Belgium invites applications for a Post-doctoral assistant in the Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering. The role blends cutting-edge research with teaching support and mentoring of doctoral students across several projects, including DFT and machine-learning driven catalysis studies.

The successful candidate will hold a PhD in Chemical Engineering, have experience in heterogeneous catalysis modelling, and be fluent in English and Dutch.

Qualifications

• You hold a doctoral degree (Doctor of Chemical Engineering). The degree requirement needs to be fulfilled at the start of your appointment.
• You have conducted research in first principles reaction modelling for heterogeneous catalysis, kinetic and reactor modelling, transport phenomena and ML models for structure-property relationships.
• You are a promising researcher with a track record in your doctorate and able to coach Bachelor’s/Master’s/Advanced Master’s students.
• Publications in peer-reviewed journals and proficiency in Python, Fortran, and Visual Basic are expected.
• You are fluent in English and Dutch and open to relocation to Belgium for the project.

Responsibilities

• Spends at least 70% on academic research and activities.
• Assist in teaching Bachelor’s or Master’s level courses and supervise student exercises and dissertations.
• Counsel Master’s and doctoral students participating in the projects.
• Participate in multiple parallel projects including DFT calculations and ML model development for catalysis and transport phenomena.

Skills

Machine learning

Python

Fortran

Visual Basic

scikit-learn

Keras

TensorFlow

English

Dutch

Education

Doctoral degree in Chemical Engineering

Job description

Post-doctoral assistant Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering

Job ID: 30380

Apply until 22/10/2026(DD/MM/YYYY) 23:59 (Brussels time)
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture
Department EA11 - Department of Materials, Textiles and Chemical Engineering
AAP temporary appointment - 70%
Number of openings: 1
Reference number: 202610/EA11/DA/012

ABOUT GHENT UNIVERSITY

Ghent University is a world of its own. Employing more than 15.000 people, it is actively involved in education and research, management and administration, and technical and social services on a daily basis. It is one of the largest, most exciting employers in the area and offers great career opportunities. With each of its 11 faculties and more than 100 departments offering state-of-the-art study programmes that are grounded in research in a wide range of academic fields, Ghent University is a logical choice for its employees as well as its students.

YOUR TASKS

• At least 70% of your assignment will be spent on academic research.
• You will assist in teaching activities at the Bachelor’s or Master’s level.
• You will counsel Master’s students in their exercises, work placement and Master’s dissertation.
• You will counsel doctoral students.
• You will participate in multiple parallel projects, including performing DFT calculations on heterogeneously catalyzed reactions, kinetic modelling of catalyzed reactions in the gas- and/or liquid phase and modelling of transport phenomena on catalyst and reactor scale. You will be particularly active in the exploitation of different machine learning techniques within these fields.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• You hold a doctoral degree (Doctor of Chemical Engineering).The degree requirement needs to be fulfilled at the start of your appointment.

For diplomas awarded outside the European Union, a certificate of equivalence (NARIC) must be submitted.

• You have already conducted research within the field of first principles reaction modelling for heterogeneous catalysis, kinetic and reactor modelling, modelling of transport phenomena and thermodynamics and the development of machine learning models for structure-property relationships.
• You have distinguished yourself as a promising researcher in your doctorate.
• You are profoundly interested in coaching students in the Bachelor’s, Master’s and/or Advanced Master’s programmes.
• You may present relevant scientific publications in (inter)national peer-reviewed academic journals that are widely disseminated.
• You have profound knowledge of different programming languages like Python, Fortran and Visual Basic.
• You are proficient in the development, training and application of machine learning models and have expertise in the use of scikit-learn, Keras and Tensorflow for model construction and optimization.
• You possess strong written and verbal communication skills and are fluent in both English and Dutch.
• You are based in Belgium or willing to relocate to Belgium for the duration of the research project.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU

• We offer you a part-time (70%) temporary appointment as a post-doctoral assistant of 3 years. A second appointment of up to 3 years can follow, subject to a favourable evaluation of the first term.
• Even if you have already been appointed earlier (whether or not at another university and whether or not in the same field of discipline) in a first term of up to three years, you can apply.
• The second appointment does not have to be immediately connected to a first term.
• The 70% appointment of post-doctoral assistant will be supplemented by a 30% position as post-doctoral scientific personnel, funded by budgets of the department EA11. This implies that we offer u a full-time position in the department EA11.
• Your appointment will start on 1 March 2027 at the earliest.
• All Ghent University staff members enjoy a number of benefits, such as a wide range of training and education opportunities, 36 days of paid leave, bicycle commuting reimbursement, ecocheques, etc. A complete overview of all our fringe benefits .

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Prof. Mark Saeys ( [e-mail] , [phone]).

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