3D Digital Heritage Researcher and Technologist

Maastricht University; Maastricht; On-site; EUR 55,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

12-month contract

Flexible working hours

Home office allowance

Pension ABP

University sports facilities

Job summary

Maastricht University is seeking a 3D Digital Heritage Researcher and Technologist to bridge humanities, heritage professionals, and software developers in building and refining 3D scholarly models. The role emphasizes co-design with user communities, evaluating 3D web technologies, and prototyping viewer enhancements.

You will work within an international team, contributing to open-source infrastructure, open science practices, and robust scholarly workflows across Europe.

Qualifications

• MA/MSc or PhD in the digital humanities, humanities, social sciences, digital heritage, or related field with at least three years in digital heritage or related area.
• Experience with 3D heritage workflows such as photogrammetry, structure-from-motion, laser scanning, 3D modelling, HBIM, or related.
• Experience gathering user requirements and translating them into technical specs for software developers.
• Experience collaborating across researchers, software engineers, heritage professionals, educators, and institutions in multi-partner projects.
• Excellent written and spoken English (CEFR C1), Dutch knowledge is a plus but not required.

Responsibilities

• Co-design with user communities through labs, hackathons, and training to translate user needs into technical specs.
• Research and evaluate emerging 3D web technologies, annotation frameworks, and repository solutions; provide evidence-based recommendations.
• Prototype 3D viewer enhancements for user feedback before development.
• Support 3D heritage workflows across partners, including digitisation and model optimisation.
• Stay current with 3D web standards and tools (3DHOP, ATON, Kompakt, HBIM) and explore the use of LLMs in coding and 3D workflows.
• Collaborate with the Smithsonian Institution to extend Voyager toolkit and aid in open-source development for 3D model ingestion, QA, versioning, and archiving.

Skills

3D heritage workflows

User-centered development

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

English proficiency

Communication skills

Education

MA/MSc/PhD in digital humanities

Advanced degree

Tools

3DHOP

ATON

Kompakt

HBIM

LLMs

Job description

3D Digital Heritage Researcher and Technologist

PURE3D 2.0 is creating the world’s first open, sustainable, and FAIR-compliant infrastructure for 3D Scholarly Editions. We are looking for an experienced 3D Heritage Researcher with 3D modelling skills and coding knowledge to act as a bridge between humanities and social science researchers, cultural heritage professionals, and software developers. You will assist with making and refining 3D scholarly models as well as help ensure that the needs of research communities are translated into robust technical specifications and that new infrastructure developments remain grounded in authentic scholarly workflows and requirements.

3D Digital Heritage Researcher and Technologist

• Our goal: PURE3D 2.0 is an Open Science NL Infrastructure project (2026–2029). We are building a modular, interoperable, open-source platform (by extending the first phase of PURE3D ) for creating and publishing 3D research outputs that are richly annotated, FAIR-compliant, and peer-reviewed, serving academics, GLAM professionals, educators, and the public across Europe.
• Your colleagues: You will join a dynamic, international team led by Dr Costas Papadopoulos (Maastricht University) and including partners from the University of Amsterdam, TU Delft, Open University, the Netherlands eScience Center, and DANS, as well as collaboration partners such as the Smithsonian Institution, DARIAH-EU, Europeana, the Rijksmuseum, and the National Library of the Netherlands. Within UM’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS), you will work closely with two Senior RSEs (based at NL eScience Center), a Digital Content and Community Building Specialist, a research assistant, and the project’s PI and Project Manager.

What you do

• Co-design with user communities: Actively develop and participate in co-creation labs, hackathons, training and testing sessions with scholars, GLAM professionals, and educators, developing and translating user requirements into technical specifications and feeding findings back into the development cycle.
• Conduct applied research on technologies and platforms: Investigate, evaluate, and benchmark emerging 3D web technologies, annotation frameworks, simulation engines, and repository solutions, and produce evidence-based recommendations that steer architectural decisions.
• Feature Prototyping: Rapid prototyping of possible 3D viewer enhancements for users to give initial feedback before it enters the development process.
• 3D technical support: Assist project partners on 3D heritage workflows, including digitisation, geometric and material model optimisation and troubleshooting.
• 3D web standards and practices:Stay current with the rapidly evolving landscape of tools and frameworks such as 3DHOP, ATON, Kompakkt, HBIM, and cloud-based 3D pipelines as well as the use of LLMs both in the coding ecosystem and in 3D workflows.
• Contribute to the open-source ecosystem:Collaborate with the Smithsonian Institution on extending the Voyager toolkit, while collaborating with PURE3D developers to enhance the PURE3D infrastructure, including assisting with the design of plug-and-play components for 3D model ingestion, quality assurance, versioning, and archiving.

Are you ready to build an infrastructure for the future of 3D Scholarship? Then we’d love to meet you.

What you bring

We’re not looking for a 3D Digital Heritage Researcher and Technologist that is checking all the boxes. We are interested in who you are and what you bring.

You are a collaborative and self-directed professional who enjoys working at the intersection of research, cultural heritage, and technology. You can move confidently between scholarly and technical environments, build productive relationships with different communities, and explain complex technical choices clearly to non-technical audiences. You combine strategic thinking with attention to detail and are comfortable managing several activities in a dynamic, international, and cross-institutional project.

To succeed in this role, you bring:

• An Advanced degree and relevant professional experience: An MA/MSc or PhD in the digital humanities, humanities, social sciences, digital heritage, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience, together with at least three years of relevant experience in digital heritage, digital scholarship, research infrastructures, or a closely related area.
• Practical experience with 3D heritage workflows: Demonstrable experience with one or more aspects of 3D heritage production, analysis, or interpretation, such as photogrammetry, Structure-from-Motion, laser scanning, 3D modelling, Heritage Building Information Modelling (HBIM), digital reconstruction, model optimisation, visualisation, simulation, or scholarly interpretation.
• Experience with iterative and user-centred development: Demonstrable experience gathering and analysing user requirements, involving different communities in design or testing processes, and translating research or user needs into specifications that can be discussed and implemented with software developers.
• Experience working across disciplines and stakeholder groups: The ability to collaborate effectively with researchers, research software engineers, cultural heritage professionals, educators, students, and institutional partners in multi-partner projects or comparable environments.
• Excellent communication and organisational skills: Excellent written and spoken English (minimum C1 level - CEFR), with the ability to communicate technical and scholarly matters to different audiences, manage concurrent activities, and maintain high standards of documentation and quality. Knowledge of Dutch is advantageous but not required.

We do not expect you to have experience with every technology, platform, or interoperability standard mentioned in this vacancy. Familiarity with open science, FAIR data, repositories, APIs, persistent identifiers, linked data, web annotation standards, paradata, HBIM, or open-source development will be valuable, but you will also have opportunities to develop this knowledge as part of the role.

Please note that living in or relocating to Maastricht or its surrounding area is an essential requirement for this position, as regular on‑site presence is required.

What we offer

• A 12-month contract with the prospect of an extension until the end of the project (June 2029), based on mutual satisfaction.
• A gross monthly salary (Scale 11 or 12 depending on experience) between € 4.925 and € 5.932 (please note: the salary range in this description is the correct one and should be used as a reference) based on full-time employment of 38 hours per week. 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus.
• 29 vacation days (based on full-time), four additional days off (Carnival Monday and Tuesday, Good Friday, and Liberation Day), and the possibility to accrue up to 12 extra days through compensation hours.
• Flexible working hours, a home office allowance, and the option to work (partially) from home.
• Freedom and space to shape your work independently and develop your ideas.
• A close-knit community of colleagues to collaborate and grow with.
• A solid pension plan via ABP, company fitness schemes, and access to various university sports facilities.
• An inspiring work environment in the heart of Europe.

About the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS)

FASoS is a close-knit, international community of thinkers, doers, and connectors. We offer interdisciplinary education in cultural and social sciences, and our research focuses on societies in transition. Creativity and collaboration are central; ranging from European integration, digitalization, and culture to innovative educational projects. FASoS is small‑scale, informal, and diverse, with room to follow your own path.

Interested?

Want to know more about this position or what it's like to work at our university? Reach out to Dr Costas Papadopoulos at [e-mail]. The deadline for submitting your application is 22 October 2026.

About Maastricht University

At Maastricht University, we collaboratively seek solutions to help move the world forward. We do this with 23,300 students and 5,400 employees across 5 regional locations, 6 faculties, and more than 70 research institutes. We encourage you to push boundaries and discover new opportunities for yourself and the world around you. Together, we can find the answers for tomorrow.

The vacancy is open for internal and external candidates. In case of equal qualifications, internal candidates will be prioritized.

At Maastricht University, we prefer to contact potential candidates directly. We therefore kindly ask that no agencies or intermediaries submit offers or approaches.

Maastricht University is committed to promoting and nurturing a diverse and inclusive community. We believe that diversity in our staff and student population contributes to the quality of research and education at UM, and strive to enable this through inclusive policies and innovative projects led by teams of staff and students. We encourage you to apply for this position.

Faculty/Service Center: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences