DTU Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Precision Fermentation for Sustainable Food production

DTU Food offers a position for a molecular microbiologist to work in the field of cell factories for sustainable production of food ingredients. The position is in the Microbial Biotechnology & Biorefining group working on fundamental as well as solution-oriented research in sustainable food production.
The high climate impact from animal-based food production calls for enhanced efforts in the field of sustainability of food production and we see a great potential to contribute to this growing field at DTU Food with advanced and strong research expertise in systems biology, molecular microbiology, and precision fermentation. The new position shall focus on increasing our ability to understand the bottlenecks associated with microbial production of animal proteins and other high-quality food ingredients.

The current research team consists of five faculty staff with research focus on precision fermentation, side-stream valorization, microbiome engineering, biorefining and plant-based foods.

Responsibilities and qualifications

You will join the faculty at a leading university department within food research, to work at the forefront of science providing solutions to the major societal challenge related to production of healthy and sustainable foods.

You will interact with students, academia, public authorities, consultants, and industrial partners in Denmark as well as abroad.

We expect that you have worked successfully on the development of cell factories for food production, preferably with a molecular biology and protein engineering background. Industrial experience as well as experience with various industrially relevant microorganisms is considered advantageous.

Your primary tasks will be, in collaboration with other group members, to:

• Perform research at the highest international levels in the field of sustainable food production.
• De-bottlenecking bacterial cell factories using synthetic biology, protein engineering and high throughput screening.
• Find innovative solutions for sustainable food production.
• Research into post-translational modifications and secretion of proteins.
• Responsibility for developing and maintaining the groups fermentation platform.
• Collaborate with colleagues in related groups (e.g., groups working on novel food and GMO risk assessment, food technology, nutrition and bioactives).
• Teach basic and advanced courses.
• Teach and supervise BSc and MSc student projects and be supervisor for PhD students and post-doctoral fellows in the field of sustainable food production.

The key evaluation criterion is your personal and professional potential for enhancing the research and teaching capacity of the group and for initiating world-class research within the area. You are not expected to excel on all mentioned areas, nor to have performed within all the topics listed above.

You will become responsible for teaching courses. DTU employs two working languages: Danish and English. You are expected to be fluent in at least one of these languages, and in time you are expected to master both.

As formal qualification you must hold a PhD degree (or equivalent). As part of the tenure-track program at DTU you are obliged to follow internal didactic/pedagogic training.

You will be assessed against the responsibilities and qualifications stated above and the following general criteria:

• Experience and quality of teaching.
• Research experience.
• Research vision and potential.
• International impact and experience
• Societal impact
• Innovativeness, including commercialization and collaboration with industry.
• Leadership, collaboration, and interdisciplinary skills
• Communication skills

Salary and terms of employment

The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union.

The assistant professor position is part of DTU’s Tenure Track program. Read more about the program and the recruitment process

You can read more about career paths at DTU

Starting date is October 1 st , 2024 (or according to mutual agreement). The position is full-time.

Further information

May be obtained from Group leader, Professor Peter Ruhdal Jensen,

, tel.: .

You can read more about DTU Food at

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at

Application procedure

Please submit your online application no later than 1 July 2024 (23:59 Danish time).

Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link 'Apply now', fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file . The file must include:

• Application (cover letter)
• Vision for teaching and research
• CV including employment history, list of publications, H-index and ORCID (see
• Teaching portfolio including documentation of teaching experience.
• Academic Diplomas (MSc/PhD)

You can learn more about the recruitment process

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion, or ethnic background are encouraged to apply.

DTU Food – The National Food Institute - At the National Food Institute, we want to make a difference by creating the welfare of the future through research into food and health. We focus on preventing disease and promoting health, developing new and better food for the growing population and creating sustainable technological solutions. We do this through a strong academic environment of international top class with corresponding skilled researchers and employees. Our research and consultancy help solve some of the world's biggest societal challenges, and you have the opportunity to become a significant part of that journey. As an educational institution, we also help to ensure that Denmark will continue to have the highest competencies available to both businesses and authorities in food technology, food safety, nutrition and the environment at national and international level. The Department has more than 300 staff, from a broad range of nationalities.

Technology for people

DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear mission to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That mission lives on today. DTU has 13,500 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.

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