Operations/program Manager — ECO Group (0.8–1.0 FTE)

Introduction
Do you thrive on turning research ambition into smooth-running operations? Join ECO, TU/e's photonics and quantum communications & networks group, as the operational engine behind our growing project portfolio.

Job Description
As Operations Manager, you will be the operational engine and strategic coordinator of ECO, a leading research group of approximately 100 scientists, including PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, assistant, associate and full professors, supported by a dedicated team of technical and professional staff.

Working closely with the Chair, Principal Investigators (PIs), and professional support teams, you will ensure that ECO operates effectively, efficiently, and sustainably as it continues to grow its research activities, external partnerships, and international visibility.

You combine a hands-on operational mindset with strategic thinking. You translate ambitions into action, align people and processes, and create the organizational conditions that allow researchers to focus on scientific excellence and societal impact.

Your responsibilities include:

• Providing operational leadership across the group's research, education, organizational, and support activities.
• Coordinating strategic planning and helping translate long-term ambitions into actionable initiatives and priorities.
• Managing and monitoring the group's research project portfolio, ensuring effective resource allocation, risk management, compliance, and timely delivery.
• Acting as a central point of coordination between researchers, support services, university departments, industry partners, and funding organizations.
• Supporting the development of large research initiatives, strategic partnerships, and funding opportunities, while coordinating proposal development, including proposal writing, and project implementation.
• Overseeing contract preparation, project administration, financial monitoring, reporting processes, and governance requirements.
• Driving continuous improvement of internal processes, workflows, and organizational practices to support a growing and increasingly international research environment.
• Providing management information, analyses, and recommendations to support decision-making by the Chair and leadership team.
• Representing ECO internally and externally, building productive relationships across the academic, public, and industrial ecosystem.

Key Challenge
ECO is entering a period of continued growth, driven by large national and European research programmes, increasing industrial engagement, and expanding interdisciplinary collaborations. Your challenge is to further professionalize and strengthen our operations while helping shape the strategic opportunities that will define the group's next phase of development.

"ECO combines world-class research with a strong ambition for societal impact. As Operations Manager, you ensure that our organization, partnerships, and project portfolio are as excellent as the science we deliver."

Job Requirements
We are looking for a proactive and highly organized professional who enjoys operating at the intersection of strategy, operations, people, and research.

Essential Qualifications and Experience

• Master's degree or equivalent professional experience in a relevant field.
• Demonstrated experience in operational, programme, project, or research management within a complex organization.
• Strong organizational and coordination skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and stakeholders simultaneously.
• Proven ability to translate strategic objectives into operational plans, processes, and measurable outcomes.
• Experience managing budgets, financial planning, project administration, and reporting processes.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills and the ability to build trusted relationships with academics, researchers, administrators, and external partners.
• Strong analytical skills and judgement, enabling informed decision-making and problem-solving.
• Excellent command of English, both spoken and written. Dutch is considered an advantage.

Desirable Experience

• Experience in a university, research institute, innovation ecosystem, or R&D-intensive environment.
• Familiarity with European, national, or industrial research funding programmes and project governance requirements.
• Experience supporting collaborative projects involving multiple partners and stakeholders.
• Experience contributing to strategic planning, organizational development, or change initiatives.

Personal Qualities

• Strategic thinker with a strong operational orientation.
• Able to see both the big picture and the practical steps required to achieve it.
• Highly proactive, structured, and solution-oriented.
• Diplomatic and collaborative, with strong interpersonal sensitivity.
• Comfortable working in a dynamic and international environment.
• Curious about science and technology and motivated to help researchers maximize their impact.

What Matters Most
You do not need to be an expert in photonics, telecommunications, quantum technologies, or semiconductor systems. What matters is your ability to organize complexity, connect people, strengthen operations, and help translate opportunities into successful outcomes.

If you do not meet every requirement but are excited about the opportunity and believe you can bring value to ECO, we encourage you to apply.

Conditions of Employment
An exciting position within an international yet personal university. You are right in the middle of the students, on a green campus within walking distance of the central station. Besides beautiful architecture, you will find varied workplaces and excellent sports facilities.

We also offer you:

• Salary in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale 12, ranging from €5,932 to €7,573 gross base salary per month (full-time), depending on your knowledge and experience.
• In addition to your base salary, you will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus, both calculated based on your annual gross base salary.
• Generous leave options: a standard 29 days (based on a 38 hour working week) per year that you can increase to 41 days by working two hours more per week (flexible working hours). This is prorated if you work part-time.
• As a TU/e employee, you participate in the ABP pension scheme, providing retirement pension and pension benefits for surviving dependents and occupational disability. TU/e pays 70% of the pension premium, while employees contribute the remaining 30%.
• A favorable arrangement for more holidays or a sabbatical.
• A selection model for additional fringe benefits.
• Working hours in consultation for an optimal work-life balance.
• Unlimited access to the modern on‑campus TU/e Student Sports Center at an exceptionally affordable rate.
• We support your wellbeing with free 24/7 access to OpenUp, providing you and your family with mental health support, expert guidance, and online training.
• Scope for your talent with advancement prospects and excellent development opportunities such as mentoring, workshops and coaching.
• Partially paid parental leave and reimbursement for commuting expenses, working from home and the internet.

On our website you can discover even more information about our conditions of employment. Build on your career at TU/e!

About ECO
The Electro-Optical Communication (ECO) group in the Department of Electrical Engineering has led scientific and applied research into the use of light for communication systems for more than 40 years. With deep connections to industry and academia worldwide, ECO offers new members the opportunity to work alongside the next generation of leaders in optical, wireless and quantum communications and networks.

ECO takes a systems approach to communication, sensing and computation, with photonics as its central enabling technology — spanning several laboratories (HCOT, ANL, QTS, PWCL, PNN, SONL, APSL, MMOF) and six strategic areas, from AI-native datacenter networks and quantum communication to space communications and photonic systems-on-chip. The group is housed in the FLUX building on the TU/e campus and supported by more than 300 m² of experimental laboratory space.

ECO's research portfolio is anchored in national and European programmes — including Horizon Europe, NWO, QuantumDelta NL, PhotonDelta, EuroQCI and Chips JU — and in flagship infrastructure such as the Quantum Communications Testbed NL (QuCT NL), connecting TU/e with the High Tech Campus Eindhoven and beyond.

About us
We are a leading international university where scientific curiosity meets a hands-on mindset. We work in an open and collaborative way with high-tech industries to tackle complex societal challenges. Our responsible and respectful approach ensures impact — today and in the future. TU/e is home to over 13,000 students and more than 7,000 staff, forming a diverse and vibrant academic community.

Our university is located in Brainport Eindhoven — a world‑leading tech region with more than 7,000 high‑tech companies and strong R&D activity. Known for breakthroughs in AI, photonics, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, Brainport is a place where technology serves people and society. Learn more about the Brainport region here.

Information
Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to have more information about the position, please contact Prof.dr.ir. Idelfonso Tafur Monroy i.tafur.monroy@tue.nl.

Visit our website for more information about the application process. You can also contact Kevin Caris, k.t.caris@tue.nl.

Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e? Please visit our career page.

Application
If you are interested, please use the ‘apply’ button to send us your CV and letter of application with your motivation and a description of your qualifications. Ensure that you submit all the requested application documents. We give priority to complete applications.

Screening of candidates begins as soon as applications are received and continues until the position is filled. Where applicable, internal candidates will be given priority over external candidates where they are equally suitable.

We look forward to receiving your application!

Please note

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• A pre-employment screening (e.g. knowledge security check) can be part of the selection procedure. For more information on the knowledge security check, please consult the National Knowledge Security Guidelines.
• Important for non-EU applicants: Please be aware that for this position, specific residence permit requirements apply. If you are a non-EU national, you may not be eligible to legally work in this role under current Dutch immigration regulations. We strongly advise you to contact our Staff Immigration Team (staffimmigration@tue.nl) before applying to check your eligibility and to receive further guidance.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.

Operations/program Manager — ECO Group (0.8–1.0 FTE)

As Operations Manager, you will be the operational engine and strategic coordinator of ECO, a leading research group of approximately 100 scientists, including PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, assistant, associate and full professors, supported by a dedicated team of technical and professional staff.

Working closely with the Chair, Principal Investigators (PIs), and professional support teams, you will ensure that ECO operates effectively, efficiently, and sustainably as it continues to grow its research activities, external partnerships, and international visibility.

You combine a hands-on operational mindset with strategic thinking. You translate ambitions into action, align people and processes, and create the organizational conditions that allow researchers to focus on scientific excellence and societal impact.

Your responsibilities include:

• Providing operational leadership across the group's research, education, organizational, and support activities.
• Coordinating strategic planning and helping translate long-term ambitions into actionable initiatives and priorities.
• Managing and monitoring the group's research project portfolio, ensuring effective resource allocation, risk management, compliance, and timely delivery.
• Acting as a central point of coordination between researchers, support services, university departments, industry partners, and funding organizations.
• Supporting the development of large research initiatives, strategic partnerships, and funding opportunities, while coordinating proposal development, including proposal writing, and project implementation.
• Overseeing contract preparation, project administration, financial monitoring, reporting processes, and governance requirements.
• Driving continuous improvement of internal processes, workflows, and organizational practices to support a growing and increasingly international research environment.
• Providing management information, analyses, and recommendations to support decision-making by the Chair and leadership team.
• Representing ECO internally and externally, building productive relationships across the academic, public, and industrial ecosystem.

Key Challenge
ECO is entering a period of continued growth, driven by large national and European research programmes, increasing industrial engagement, and expanding interdisciplinary collaborations. Your challenge is to further professionalize and strengthen our operations while helping shape the strategic opportunities that will define the group's next phase of development.

"ECO combines world-class research with a strong ambition for societal impact. As Operations Manager, you ensure that our organization, partnerships, and project portfolio are as excellent as the science we deliver."

PostDoc on Targeted Proteomics for Protein Biomarker Standardization

Introduction
Are you eager to translate cutting-edge targeted proteomics into standardized protein biomarker measurements for clinical diagnostics? Join an interdisciplinary academic-clinical-industry collaboration developing robust LC-MS/MS reference methods for lung cancer tumor markers.

Job Description
The challenge
Protein tumor markers can support minimally invasive lung cancer diagnostics, but results from current immunoassays vary between platforms and laboratories. You will help close this standardization gap by developing and validating targeted mass-spectrometry workflows and reference measurement procedures for clinically relevant protein biomarkers, including CEA, NSE and CYFRA21-1.

Your role
You will conduct hands-on research in quantitative targeted proteomics, with emphasis on immunoaffinity enrichment, bottom-up LC-MS/MS and SISCAPA-based workflows. You will select and evaluate signature peptides, establish calibration strategies using stable-isotope-labelled standards, characterize reference proteins and peptides, and assess sensitivity, selectivity, recovery, matrix effects, precision, accuracy and robustness. You will compare candidate reference methods with commercial immunoassays and contribute to analysis of serum and pleural-fluid samples.

You will integrate activities across connected projects that aim to create a transferable platform for reference measurement procedures and materials for complex protein biomarkers. You will plan experiments, maintain high-quality and reproducible documentation, analyze and interpret quantitative data, prepare scientific publications and presentations, and contribute to method transfer, standard operating procedures and project reporting.

Research environment and collaboration
The position is embedded in the Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), and in the regional Expertise Center Clinical Chemistry Eindhoven. You will work closely with researchers and clinical chemists at TU/e, Catharina Hospital and Máxima Medical Center, and with diagnostic and technology partners including Roche Diagnostics and SISCAPA Assay Technologies. You will also collaborate with PhD students and supervise Master and Bachelor students.

Expected impact
Your work will advance metrologically traceable and comparable protein biomarker measurements, support harmonization of tumor-marker testing across clinical laboratories, and establish methods that can be extended to biomarkers beyond lung cancer.

Job Requirements

• A PhD in analytical chemistry, proteomics, biochemistry, chemical biology, clinical chemistry, biomedical engineering, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrable hands-on research experience in (targeted quantitative) proteomics, LC-MS/MS bioanalysis and/or quantitative protein biomarker analysis.
• Experience with triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry and quantitative acquisition strategies such as MRM/SRM or PRM.
• Experience with protein and peptide sample preparation, enzymatic digestion, immunoaffinity enrichment and/or stable-isotope-labelled internal standards. Experience with SISCAPA, automated liquid handling, protein engineering or recombinant protein production is an advantage.
• Sound knowledge of analytical method development and validation, including calibration, sensitivity, selectivity, precision, accuracy, recovery, matrix effects, robustness, quality control and measurement uncertainty.
• Ability to conduct high-quality independent research, demonstrated through publications or other substantial research outputs.
• Strong quantitative and problem-solving skills, careful experimental practice.
• Ability to manage complex work packages, prioritize activities and deliver results on schedule.
• A collaborative and proactive working style, with the ability to communicate effectively across academic, clinical and industrial disciplines and to support junior researchers.
• Excellent written and spoken English. Knowledge of Dutch is not required, but willingness to collaborate effectively with Dutch clinical and academic environments is expected.

Conditions of Employment
A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station.

In addition, we offer you:

• Full-time employment for 2 years.
• Salary in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale 10, ranging from € 4,422 (step 4) to € 5,760 gross base salary per month (full-time).
• In addition to your base salary, you will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus, both calculated based on your annual gross base salary.
• Generous leave options: a standard 29 days (based on a 38 hour working week) per year that you can increase to 41 days by working two hours more per week (flexible working hours). This is prorated if you work part-time.
• As a TU/e employee, you participate in the ABP pension scheme, providing retirement pension and pension benefits for surviving dependents and occupational disability. TU/e pays 70% of the pension premium, while employees contribute the remaining 30%.
• High-quality training programs on general skills, didactics and topics related to research and valorization.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, and on-campus children's day care.
• Unlimited access to the modern on‑campus TU/e Student Sports Center at an exceptionally affordable rate.
• We support your wellbeing with free 24/7 access to OpenUp, providing you and your family with mental health support, expert guidance, and online training.
• Partially paid parental leave and an allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A TU/e Postdoc Association that helps you to build a stronger and broader academic and personal network, and offers tailored support, training and workshops.
• A Staff Immigration Team is available for international candidates, as are a tax compensation scheme (the Expat Scheme) and a compensation for moving expenses.

On our website you can discover even more information about our conditions of employment. Build on your career at TU/e!

About us
We are a leading international university where scientific curiosity meets a hands-on mindset. We work in an open and collaborative way with high-tech industries to tackle complex societal challenges. Our responsible and respectful approach ensures impact — today and in the future. TU/e is home to over 13,000 students and more than 7,000 staff, forming a diverse and vibrant academic community. Discover what Light Up means to TU/e in our short company video.

Our university is located in Brainport Eindhoven — a world‑leading tech region with more than 7,000 high‑tech companies and strong R&D activity. Known for breakthroughs in AI, photonics, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, Brainport is a place where technology serves people and society. Learn more about the Brainport region here.

The Department of Biomedical Engineering offers top-level education and research in one of the most relevant and exciting scientific disciplines of the 21st century: engineering health. In combining engineering and life sciences, through challenge-based learning and a multidisciplinary approach in collaboration with hospitals, industry and others, the department addresses the great challenges of the future, striving to improve healthcare and society as a whole.

Information
Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact the hiring manager Luc Brunsveld, Professor of Chemical Biology, l.brunsveld@tue.nl or +31 40 2472870.

Visit our website for more information about the application process. You can also contact HRServices.bme@tue.nl.

Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e? Please visit our career page.

Application
We invite you to submit a complete application using the apply-button. The application should include a:

• Cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position.
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and the contact information of three references. Kindly note that we may reach out to references at any stage of the recruitment process. We recommend notifying your references upon submitting your application.
• List of up to five self-selected ‘best publications’.

Ensure that you submit all the requested application documents. Please note that incomplete applications may not be considered and could be rejected.

We look forward to receiving your application and will screen it as soon as possible. The vacancy will remain open until the position is filled.

Please note

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• A pre-employment screening (e.g. knowledge security check) can be part of the selection procedure. For more information on the knowledge security check, please consult the National Knowledge Security Guidelines.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.

PostDoc on Targeted Proteomics for Protein Biomarker Standardization

The challenge
Protein tumor markers can support minimally invasive lung cancer diagnostics, but results from current immunoassays vary between platforms and laboratories. You will help close this standardization gap by developing and validating targeted mass-spectrometry workflows and reference measurement procedures for clinically relevant protein biomarkers, including CEA, NSE and CYFRA21-1.

Your role
You will conduct hands-on research in quantitative targeted proteomics, with emphasis on immunoaffinity enrichment, bottom-up LC-MS/MS and SISCAPA-based workflows. You will select and evaluate signature peptides, establish calibration strategies using stable-isotope-labelled standards, characterize reference proteins and peptides, and assess sensitivity, selectivity, recovery, matrix effects, precision, accuracy and robustness. You will compare candidate reference methods with commercial immunoassays and contribute to analysis of serum and pleural-fluid samples.

You will integrate activities across connected projects that aim to create a transferable platform for reference measurement procedures and materials for complex protein biomarkers. You will plan experiments, maintain high-quality and reproducible documentation, analyze and interpret quantitative data, prepare scientific publications and presentations, and contribute to method transfer, standard operating procedures and project reporting.

Research environment and collaboration
The position is embedded in the Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), and in the regional Expertise Center Clinical Chemistry Eindhoven. You will work closely with researchers and clinical chemists at TU/e, Catharina Hospital and Máxima Medical Center, and with diagnostic and technology partners including Roche Diagnostics and SISCAPA Assay Technologies. You will also collaborate with PhD students and supervise Master and Bachelor students.

Expected impact
Your work will advance metrologically traceable and comparable protein biomarker measurements, support harmonization of tumor-marker testing across clinical laboratories, and establish methods that can be extended to biomarkers beyond lung cancer.

EngD in Digital Textile Manufacturing and Systems

Introduction
Are you inspired to make textile production digital, circular, and scalable for SMEs? Are you eager to turn machine, production, and ecosystem data into insights with data science, ML, and AI, working hands-on with real machines and their makers, to redesign complete textile value chains?

Job Description
Textile machines are often digital, but they are rarely connected or ready for data-driven work with machine learning and AI. Much of the production knowledge still lives in the heads and hands of operators. As a result, designers, producers, repairers and recyclers work in isolated steps, and valuable know-how and material are lost along the way. As an EngD trainee, you will help prepare textile production for the AI and ML age, and you will show how production and prototyping data can inform and redesign the complete value chain.

What you will do
You will design, build and adapt experimental machine setups with textile producers and machine builders, for example by adding sensors and controls or by linking machine settings to design files. You will use data science, machine learning and AI to turn machine, production and ecosystem data into insights that operators, designers and partners can use. Beyond machines, you will analyze how data-enabled production affects the wider ecosystem, from design and material choices to small-batch production, repair, reuse and recycling.

Working with people
This is a collaborative role. You will learn from operators and technicians, co-design with small companies, and turn fieldlab learning into workflows, demonstrators and open knowledge that others can build on. You will work in a public-private fieldlab with TU/e, industry, design researchers and the Dutch Textile Campus, with close supervision and room to grow as an engineer.

Why it matters
Your work helps Dutch textile SMEs meet new European circularity rules without losing their own craft, and keeps textiles and materials in use for longer. Moreover, the semiconductor industry in Eindhoven was built with engineering companies who made machinery for Textile companies. In this project we look to see how the knowledge generated informs all industries in the region.

Job Requirements

• A master’s degree (or an equivalent university degree) in Industrial Design or related field.
• A design-oriented attitude.
• Ability to work in a team and interest in collaborating with industrial partners.
• Fluent in spoken and written English.

Conditions of Employment
A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station.

In addition, we offer you:

• Full-time employment for two years.
• Salary in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale TOIO (€ 3.173 gross per month (full-time)).
• In addition to your base salary, you will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus, both calculated based on your annual gross base salary.
• Generous leave options: a standard 29 days (based on a 38 hour working week) per year that you can increase to 41 days by working two hours more per week (flexible working hours). This is prorated if you work part-time.
• As a TU/e employee, you participate in the ABP pension scheme, providing retirement pension and pension benefits for surviving dependents and occupational disability. TU/e pays 70% of the pension premium, while employees contribute the remaining 30%.
• High-quality training programs on general skills, didactics and topics related to research and valorization.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, and on-campus children's day care.
• Unlimited access to the modern on‑campus TU/e Student Sports Center at an exceptionally affordable rate.
• We support your wellbeing with free 24/7 access to OpenUp, providing you and your family with mental health support, expert guidance, and online training.
• Partially paid parental leave and an allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A TU/e Postdoc Association that helps you to build a stronger and broader academic and personal network, and offers tailored support, training and workshops.
• A Staff Immigration Team is available for international candidates, as are a tax compensation scheme (the Expat Scheme) and a compensation for moving expenses.

On our website you can discover even more information about our conditions of employment. Build on your career at TU/e!

About us
We are a leading international university where scientific curiosity meets a hands-on mindset. We work in an open and collaborative way with high-tech industries to tackle complex societal challenges. Our responsible and respectful approach ensures impact — today and in the future. TU/e is home to over 13,000 students and more than 7,000 staff, forming a diverse and vibrant academic community.

Our university is located in Brainport Eindhoven — a world‑leading tech region with more than 7,000 high‑tech companies and strong R&D activity. Known for breakthroughs in AI, photonics, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, Brainport is a place where technology serves people and society. Learn more about the Brainport region here.

Information
Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact the hiring manager Troy Nachtigall, T.R.Nachtigall@tue.nl.

Visit our website for more information about the application process. You can also contact HRServices.ID@tue.nl.

Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e? Please visit our career page.

Application
We invite you to submit a complete application using the apply-button. The application should include a:

• A cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position.
• A curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and the contact information of three references. Kindly note that we may reach out to references at any stage of the recruitment process. We recommend notifying your references upon submitting your application.
• Copies of relevant BSc and MSc diplomas and grade transcripts.
• The result of an English proficiency test such as IELTS or TOEFL.

Ensure that you submit all the requested application documents. Please note that incomplete applications may not be considered and could be rejected.

We look forward to receiving your application and will screen it as soon as possible. The vacancy will remain open until the position is filled.

Please note

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• A pre-employment screening (e.g. knowledge security check) can be part of the selection procedure. For more information on the knowledge security check, please consult the National Knowledge Security Guidelines.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.