Junior Postdoc Position: Sensorimotor Neuroscience

Radboud Universiteit; Nijmegen; On-site; EUR 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension plan

Flexible working hours

Leave arrangements

Job summary

Radboud Universiteit in the Netherlands invites applications for a Junior Postdoc Position in Sensorimotor Neuroscience. The role is 0.8 FTE with a gross monthly salary of €4,925–€6,682 and requires a PhD in a relevant field.

The project combines neuroscience, AI and clinical research to study how humans perceive, move and decide in uncertain environments, using Bayesian modelling, VR and wearables.

Qualifications

• PhD in a relevant field (sensorimotor neuroscience, AI, or related).
• Strong empirical research and computational modelling background.
• Experience with behavioural or patient studies.
• Experience supervising students is advantageous.
• Excellent social, communication, and organisational skills.
• Team-oriented collaborator.

Responsibilities

• Design and conduct behavioural experiments and develop computational models.
• Apply Bayesian modelling and optimal control approaches to multisensory integration.
• Use VR, wearables, motion platforms and data analytics in studies.
• Collaborate with Donders Institute and external partners.
• Provide mentoring for PhD, MSc, and BSc students; teaching tasks may occur.
• Contribute to project management and supervision.

Skills

PhD

Empirical research

Computational modelling

Probabilistic neurocomputing

Naturalistic approaches

Supervising students

Social skills

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Team player

Education

PhD in sensorimotor neuroscience or related field

Tools

Bayesian modelling

Optimal control theory

Virtual reality

Wearable sensing

Motion platforms

Data analytics

Job description

Are you passionate about understanding how people perceive, move and make decisions in complex and uncertain environments? Do you enjoy combining experimental research with computational modelling to tackle fundamental questions about human behaviour?

In the Junior Postdoc Position: Sensorimotor Neuroscience, you will join an interdisciplinary programme spanning neuroscience, artificial intelligence and clinical research, investigating how humans behave in complex, uncertain environments.

• Employment: 0.8 FTE.
• Gross monthly salary: € 4,925 - € 6,682.
• Required background: PhD.
• Organizational unit: Faculty of Social Sciences.

The research aims to uncover the computational principles underlying perception and action, and to translate these insights into innovative technologies for autonomous systems, healthcare and rehabilitation. You will design and conduct behavioural experiments and develop computational models of multisensory integration and sensorimotor control, using approaches such as Bayesian modelling and optimal control theory. Using state-of-the-art methods – including virtual reality, wearable sensing, motion platforms and advanced data analytics – you will place particular emphasis on understanding natural behaviours such as navigation, orienting and reaching.

The position offers a highly collaborative environment, with close interaction with researchers at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour and a wide network of academic, clinical, industrial and societal partners across the Netherlands and Europe.

In addition to research, your responsibilities may include some management, mentoring (PhD, MSc and BSc) and teaching-related tasks.

Does this sound like you?

• You hold a PhD degree in a relevant field (e.g. sensorimotor neuroscience, human movement sciences, biomedical engineering, artificial intelligence, computational neuroscience).
• You have a strong background in empirical research and computational modelling of sensorimotor control and an interest in probabilistic neurocomputing and naturalistic approaches.
• You have experience with behavioural or patient studies.
• Experience supervising students at various levels would be an advantage.
• You have good social, communication and organisational skills.
• You are a team player.

What we offer you

• We will give you a temporary employment contract of 23 month(s).
• Your salary within salary scale 11 depends on your previous education and number of years of (relevant) work experience. The amounts in the scale are based on a 38-hour working week.
• You will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8,3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will receive extra days off. With full-time employment, you can choose between 30 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the statutory 20.

You will preferably start your employment on 1 December 2026.

Additional employment conditions

Work and science require good employment practices. Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions reflect this. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself. For example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports membership. In addition, you receive a 34% discount on the sports and cultural activities at Radboud University as an employee. And, of course, we offer a good pension plan. We also give you plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

Where you will be working

The Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour is a world-class interfaculty research centre that houses more than 700 researchers devoted to understanding the mechanistic underpinnings of the human mind. Research at the Donders Institute is focused around four themes:

1. Language and communication.
2. Perception, action and decision-making.
3. Development and lifelong plasticity.
4. Natural computing and neurotechnology.

Excellent, state-of-the-art research facilities are available for the broad range of neuroscience research that is being conducted at the Donders Institute. The Donders Institute fosters a collaborative, multidisciplinary and supportive research environment with a diverse international staff. English is the lingua franca at the Institute.

This postdoctoral research position will be embedded in the sensorimotor research group of Prof. Pieter Medendorp. The group’s research focuses on the neural mechanisms of perceptual processing, motor control and sensorimotor integration, building on theory, methods, and findings of psychology, artificial intelligence, neuroscience and related disciplines.

Faculty of Social Sciences

At the Faculty of Social Sciences, humanity and society are our focus; we study how people behave, think and feel. Within this context, we look at themes such as human behaviour and the human psyche, education and upbringing, communication, society and culture. The faculty provides education to 6,000 students and employs 700 staff. Education is organised into six programme clusters: Psychology; Artificial Intelligence; Pedagogical Sciences and Educational Sciences; Communication Science; Sociology; and Cultural Anthropology and Developmental Sociology, and the Radboud Centre Social Sciences as an institute for post-master education have been merged into the Social Sciences Education Institute. Our research is carried out within three research institutes: the Donders Centre for Cognition, the Behavioural Science Institute, and Radboud Social Cultural Research.

Radboud University

At Radboud University, we aim to make an impact through our work. We achieve this by conducting groundbreaking research, providing high-quality education, offering excellent support, and fostering collaborations within and outside the university.