PhD in Probabilistic and Extremal Combinatorics

University of Amsterdam (UvA) via AcademicTransfer; Netherlands; On-site; EUR 36,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

The Korteweg-de Vries Institute for Mathematics at the University of Amsterdam invites applications for a PhD candidate in probabilistic and extremal combinatorics. You will work within the DMQI group under Ross Kang, with Carla Groenland (TU Delft) as co-supervisor, and a TU Delft postdoc in the team.

The position is a temporary 38-hour-per-week contract for 4 years, with immediate start preferred. You will conduct independent research, contribute to teaching, and may travel for meetings and

Qualifications

• Master's degree in mathematics (or closely related discipline) required.
• Mathematical maturity at the master level.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• Fluency in English; no Dutch required.
• Familiarity with programming or mathematical software is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Carry out independent, curiosity-driven research in probabilistic/extremal combinatorics.
• Contribute to teaching one course per semester and supervise bachelor/master theses.
• Collaborate with the PI, co-PI, postdoc at TU Delft and the team; participate in meetings.
• Assist in drafting an educational plan and attend related courses and international meetings.

Skills

Mathematical maturity

Communication skills

Collaboration skills

English fluency

Programming / mathematical software

Education

Master's degree in mathematics

Tools

Programming

Mathematical software

Job description

Organisation/Company University of Amsterdam (UvA) Research Field Mathematics » Combinatorial analysis Mathematics » Probability theory Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Application Deadline 14 Oct 2026 - 21:59 (UTC) Country Netherlands Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Not Applicable Hours Per Week 38.0 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

In this project, with inspiration from physical phenomena, you will carry out a systematic qualitative study of such objectives as phase transitions.

You will be embedded in the Discrete Mathematics and Quantum Information (DMQI) group at the Korteweg-de Vries Institute for Mathematics (KdVI) at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), under the supervision of Ross Kang, with co-supervision by Carla Groenland (TU Delft), the co-PI on this project. In addition to the PI and co-PI, the project team includes a postdoc at TU Delft.

Join Us!

We seek an outstanding, highly motivated PhD candidate with excellent mathematical background to conduct research in probabilistic and extremal combinatorics.

A typical objective in combinatorics is to optimise a parameter (such as graph density or maximum degree) to guarantee some desired structure (such as a triangle subgraph or a large independent set). In this project, with inspiration from physical phenomena, you will carry out a systematic qualitative study of such objectives as phase transitions.

You will be embedded in the Discrete Mathematics and Quantum Information (DMQI) group at the Korteweg-de Vries Institute for Mathematics (KdVI) at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), under the supervision of Ross Kang, with co-supervision by Carla Groenland (TU Delft), the co-PI on this project. In addition to the PI and co-PI, the project team includes a postdoc at TU Delft.

This is what you will do

You will, as PhD candidate, carry out independent, curiosity-driven research in the mathematical field of (probabilistic/extremal) combinatorics. The main research objective is to both formulate and resolve combinatorial challenges in line with the “Combinatorial Condensation” programme coordinated by the PI and the co-PI. This has qualitative links with structural graph theory, discrete probability, and algorithms.

You won’t work in isolation. In addition to cooperation with the PI and co-PI, you will work directly with the postdoc at TU Delft. You will become embedded in the DMQI group at the KdVI, and benefit from the international research networks of the PI and the co-PI. The project includes the necessary allowances for occasional travel to Delft, as well as for (inter)national meetings, travel and guests.

Alongside the main research-oriented duties, you are expected to assist in the teaching of one course per semester for most of the employment duration, as well as occasional bachelor or master thesis supervision.

What we ask of you

Your experience and profile:

• Mathematical maturity on the level of a master's degree in mathematics; a master's degree in mathematics (or closely related discipline) is a requirement by the start of the position;
• strong communication and collaboration skills;
• enthusiasm for topics in probabilistic and extremal combinatorics (prior experience in these topics is not required but advantageous);
• prior experience in independent mathematical research, for example through a university thesis project or summer internship;
• fluency in English (no knowledge of Dutch is needed).

A familiarity with programming or mathematical computational software is a plus.

This is what we offer you

A temporary contract for 38 hours per week for the duration of 4 years (the initial contract will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of 4 years). The preferred starting date is as soon as possible. This should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. We also expect you to assist in teaching undergraduates and master students.

The gross monthly salary, based on 38 hours per week and dependent on relevant experience, ranges between € 3,204 to € 4,051 (scale P) .This does not include 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% year-end allowance. The UFO profile PhD profile and level is applicable. A favourable tax agreement, the ‘30% ruling’, may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Universities of the Netherlands is applicable.

You will work in this team

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 8,000, as well as 1,800 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The The Korteweg-de Vries Instituut voor Wiskunde KdV Institute) is the mathematical research institute of the Faculty of Science of the Universiteit van Amsterdam. The KdV Institute offers a stimulating scientific environment in which research focuses mainly within the research programmes (1) Algebra, Geometry and Mathematical Physics, (2) Pure, Applied and Numerical Analysis, and (3) Stochastics and (4) Discrete Mathematics and Quantum Information. It also provides the lecturers and instructors for the mathematics teaching within the Science Faculty. The KdV Institute participates in the NWO research clusters GQT, STAR, NDNS+ and DIAMANT and in the Gravity programme NETWORKS. There is formal (and informal) cooperation with the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), the VU University, and with Eurandom in Eindhoven. KdVI counts about 40 staff members and 50 postdocs and PhD students.

If you have any questions or do you require additional information? Please contact:

Applications should include the following information (all files besides your cv should be submitted in one single pdf file):

• a detailed CV including the months (not just years) when referring to your education and work experience;
• a letter of motivation (optional);
• the names and email addresses of two references who can provide letters of recommendation.