Professional Doctorate Candidate in the maritime field (Practice Based Research Promovendus)

Location                      Amsterdam

Salary                          € 3.896,- to € 5.936,- a month based on a 36-hour workweek

Employment               32 – 40 hours
Contract                      Temporary 1 year contract, with extension option of 3 years to finalise the professional doctorate time-frame

Are you interested in making the (maritime) maintenance sector safer and more sustainable? In bringing the output of academic research to full potential in the every day practice? Would you like work on state-of-the-art practice based research questions straight from the maintenance sector? Read on!

Where else than at AUAS …

• Can you research predictive maintenance from a financial, environmental and operational perspective
• Are you making a contribution to a safer and more sustainable sector by combining academic and practice-based research
• Can you conduct practice-oriented research that contributes to the sustainability, safety and competitiveness of the maritime sector.
• Do you have the opportunity to work in a practice-oriented equivalent of University PhD tracks at the university of applied sciences, in Amsterdam

Would you like to know if this job is right for you? Call or send a WhatsApp message to Konstantinos Stamoulis, Professor, Aviation Engineering, 06- 21155138 or Hubert Schaafsma, Maritime Studies, 06- 11719290 and get in touch!

Here's how you will make a difference

In the maritime sector, there is a need for more safety and sustainability. Technological solutions are offered from academia. However, without a deep understanding of the everyday practice of the sector, one could wonder if full potential of these developments will be realised. A Professional Doctorate can bridge this gap by making knowledge practically applicable. This Professional Doctorate is the practice-oriented equivalent of PhD tracks at universities where the candidate conducts research at a university of applied sciences at the highest level. Our group is engaged in multiple (inter-)national research projects which include the topic of predictive maintenance. In such an approach, maintenance takes place when it is beneficial from a financial, environmental and operational perspective.

Your professional doctorate program starts with a proposal phase. Before you start working at AUAS you are expected to write a research proposal for the maritime program, together with the lector and supervisors. You bring in your own vision and network. After a positive assessment, via the PD-program, you receive a one-year employment contract, followed by a potential three-year contract. The aim is to submit the proposal beginning of 2026 and to start with the PD trajectory (contract) after the summer 2026.

During your Professional Doctorate route you follow support courses to further develop yourself and your research skills. As a member of our multidisciplinary team you are supervised by a professor and fellow researchers. There will be several asesment moments during the trajectory.

Your other perks

• A gross monthly salary between € 3.896,- and € 5.936,- (VSNU profile Researcher 3 scale 11), based on a full-time appointment and depending on education and experience.
• An end-of-year bonus of 8.3% and holiday allowance of 8% of your gross annual salary.
• 10.7 holiday weeks per year with a 40-hour working week.
• Entitlement to various types of leave, such as (un)paid parental leave, care leave, adoption and foster care leave and various other arrangements.
• A travel allowance for your commute, an NS-Business Card, your own AUAS bicycle or a tax incentive to purchase your own bicycle. If you are unable to use personal or public transport to travel to work, e.g. because of a disability, we will explore alternate possibilities together.
• Plenty of development opportunities, e.g. via our own AUAS Academy.
• Discounts on various facilities, such as books, cultural courses, soft- and hardware and a number of insurances.
• A strong focus on your job satisfaction, work-life balance and vitality.  For example, you can participate in various sports activities for AUAS staff or via the USC sport centre. You can also visit our (career) coaches and use various online tools to benefit your mental health.
• A good pension scheme via the ABP pension fund.
• A monthly internet allowance, a laptop and smartphone on loan.
• Last but not least: a chance to work in a dynamic and pleasant environment with wonderful colleagues. You and your colleagues can also get together outside work, e.g. in one of our communities such as HvAPride, HvA Alumni, HvA United, JongHvA and FEM IT.

Have a look at our employment conditions here and learn more about the tailor-made opportunities we offer.

What you bring to the table

At AUAS, no two employees are the same. No matter who you are, you are sure to be a valuable addition to our team. You are independent, persistant, curious, have a collaborative spirit and a drive to improve practice.

You also possess:

• A completed university of applied sciences or university master’s degree in the maritime field or in another relevant field  e.g. Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or similar with a research topic relevant for this project;
• Previous experience in maintenance and repair;
• Coding skills, (preferably in Python) and data science fundamentals
• A demonstrable good command of the Dutch and English language (at least level C1) or willingness to learn;
• Research and publication experience is a plus, however this vacancy is not open to people that already hold a Ph.D. Up-to-date knowledge of maritime practice is a plus as well.

Become our new Professional Doctorate Candidate in the maritime field

• Upload your CV and letter of motivation via the application button. We will get back to you within two to three weeks, so keep an eye on your inbox.
• For more information about the application procedure, you can send an email to vacatures@hva.nl.
• This vacancy has been published simultaneously internally and externally. In the event of equivalent suitability, internal candidates will be given preference over external candidates.
• Candidates will be subject to an information security check and should live and work in the European Union already.
• We apply the AUAS Job Application Code to this vacancy’s recruitment and selection process. No (recruitment) agencies please.

Creating tomorrow at the Faculty of Technology

At the Faculty of Technology, students, teachers, researchers and external partners work intensively together on current issues in society. Consider challenges such as the climate, sustainability, housing shortage, transport and health. 
Together with our partners, our education and research makes a substantial contribution to technical and technological solutions for social issues of today and the future. All our employees contribute to this from their own expertise and thus literally lay the foundation for the developments of tomorrow!

Talent as our foundation, diversity as our strength

No two of our more than 45,000 students and 4,500 employees are the same! Can you imagine how dynamic that enormous diversity of personalities, backgrounds and perspectives is? It is also important, because we believe it is this diversity that makes us even more valuable as both an employer and as a university of applied sciences of and for the metropolitan region of Amsterdam. We strive to have our staff reflect the rich diversity that Amsterdam has to offer and be an organisation where every employee and every student feels welcome, valued and at home.  Whoever you are: you are welcome here!