PhD on Ultracold electron source development for time-resolved protein crystallography

Introduction
Are you excited to solve technical challenges with a real-world application?
Are you eager to build something truly unique in the world?

Job Description
Development of a pulsed electron source with extreme transverse bunch brightness, based on photo-ionization of laser-cooled atoms, for time-resolved protein crystallography.

Context: ERC-funded project “Cool T-ReX”

Goal: Develop a unique and innovative instrument to enable time-resolved protein crystallography with electrons (and be the first in the world in doing so).

Scientific relevance: Understanding how proteins function is crucial to improving medicine and unraveling processes that are fundamental to life. Time-resolved protein crystallography uniquely allows following the conformational change of a protein with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution, yielding a “molecular movie” of how the protein performs its function. This is currently only possible on large-scale X-ray facilities. In this project we will build the very first instrument that can make such movies through time-resolved protein crystallography with electrons rather than X-rays, on a laboratory-scale setup. Next, through collaboration with leading research groups in time-resolved protein crystallography, we will demonstrate the instrument’s capabilities in time-resolved crystallography experiments on photo-active proteins with medical relevance (and used in the field of optogenetics, awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine!).

Your role: Drive the development of this unique instrument. You will build on our research group’s two decades of experience in building electron sources based on the photo-ionization of laser-cooled atoms. This technique has demonstrated electron pulses with record-low transverse temperatures, corresponding to a high transverse coherence, as needed for protein crystallography. In this project we will push this transverse coherence even further, making use of some of the unique capabilities of this source technology. The result will be an electron beam with a “transverse bunch brightness” that is three orders of magnitude beyond the current state of the art. To reach this ambitious goal, you will work with a team of experienced technicians, a second PhD student, a PostDoc, and the PI (Julius Huijts). We are part of the larger Coherence and Quantum Technology group in the Department of Applied Physics.

Job Requirements

• A MSc degree in Applied Physics, Engineering Physics, Mechatronics with a strong physics component, or similar.
• You can work in a team, are open to new ideas, can communicate with people outside your own field.
• You take initiative, are able to organize your own work load.
• You have an affinity with the goal of this project.
• You have a background or a proven affinity with at least two of the following (please highlight this in your application):
  
  • Mechanical and optical design
  • Complex optical setups
  • Charged particle optics
  • Cold atoms
  • High vacuum
  • High voltage
• Fluent in spoken and written English (C1 level).
• A research-oriented attitude

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 four years, with an intermediate assessment after nine months. You will spend a minimum of 10% of your four-year employment on teaching tasks, with a maximum of 15% per year of your employment.
• Starting date is somewhat flexible, but ideally Feb 1 2027.
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale P (min. € 3,204 - max. € 4,051 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 and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process.
• 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.
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the Expat Scheme) for international candidates.

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 Applied Physics and Science Education is a research-driven department housing high-quality educational programs, all featuring strong connections between research and education. Our research is clustered in three focal areas: Fluids, Bio and Soft Matter (FBSM); Plasmas and Beams (PB); and Nano, Quantum and Photonics (NQP). Our shared ambition is to equip the next generation of ‘engineers of the future’ with the knowledge and the skills they will need to impact science, innovation, and society, from regional to global scales.

Information
Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact the hiring manager Julius Huijts, Assistant Professor, j.v.huijts@tue.nl.

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

Curious to hear more about what it’s like as a PhD candidate at TU/e? Please view the video.

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

#EUfunded This is an EU funded project, named Cool T-ReX, with project number 101304364, within program HE / ERC.

Application
We invite you to submit a complete application by 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.

Ensure that you submit all the requested application documents. We give priority to complete applications.

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 Implementation of serial ED for protein crystals on a unique ultracold electron source

Introduction
Do you want to contribute to the development of a new, highly innovative instrument?
Are you excited to apply your knowledge in an interdisciplinary environment?

Job Description
In the ERC-funded project “Cool T-ReX” we are developing a unique pulsed electron source with exceptionally high transverse coherence. With this source we aim to demonstrate time-resolved protein crystallography for the first time using electrons instead of X-rays, on a table-top setup.

This demonstration will be based on the principle of Serial ED, with protein crystals provided by collaborators and using Graphene Liquid Cells assembled using a commercial solution. While our research group is world-leading on the development of the ultra-cold electron source technology, your role in this project is to take the lead on the implementation of Serial ED on our new setup.

You will be embedded in a team with two PhD candidates, the PI (Julius Huijts) and several experienced technicians. We are part of the larger Coherence and Quantum Technology group in the Department of Applied Physics.

Job Requirements

• Motivated researcher, with a PhD in serial ED (or microED), preferably on protein crystals.
• Experience or proven affinity with method development and/or instrumentation development (please highlight this in your application).
• You can work in a team, are open to new ideas, can communicate with people outside your own field (please give an example in your application).
• You take initiative, are able to organize your own work load.
• Experience with any of the following can be advantageous (please highlight this in your application):
  
  • Mechanical and optical design
  • Complex optical setups
  • Charged particle optics
  • Lasers and nonlinear optics
  • High vacuum
  • High voltage
• Ability to conduct high quality academic research, reflected in demonstratable outputs.
• Excellent (written and verbal) proficiency in English, good communication and leadership skills.

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 2½ years.
• Starting date is somewhat flexible, but ideally Feb 1 2027.
• 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 Applied Physics and Science Education is a research-driven department housing high-quality educational programs, all featuring strong connections between research and education. Our research is clustered in three focal areas: Fluids, Bio and Soft Matter (FBSM); Plasmas and Beams (PB); and Nano, Quantum and Photonics (NQP). Our shared ambition is to equip the next generation of ‘engineers of the future’ with the knowledge and the skills they will need to impact science, innovation, and society, from regional to global scales.

Information
Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact the hiring manager Julius Huijts, Assistant Professor, j.v.huijts@tue.nl.

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

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

#EUfunded This is an EU funded project, named Cool T-ReX, with project number 101304364, within program HE / ERC.

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.

PhD on Ultracold electron source development for time-resolved protein crystallography

Development of a pulsed electron source with extreme transverse bunch brightness, based on photo-ionization of laser-cooled atoms, for time-resolved protein crystallography.

Context: ERC-funded project “Cool T-ReX”

Goal: Develop a unique and innovative instrument to enable time-resolved protein crystallography with electrons (and be the first in the world in doing so).

Scientific relevance: Understanding how proteins function is crucial to improving medicine and unraveling processes that are fundamental to life. Time-resolved protein crystallography uniquely allows following the conformational change of a protein with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution, yielding a “molecular movie” of how the protein performs its function. This is currently only possible on large-scale X-ray facilities. In this project we will build the very first instrument that can make such movies through time-resolved protein crystallography with electrons rather than X-rays, on a laboratory-scale setup. Next, through collaboration with leading research groups in time-resolved protein crystallography, we will demonstrate the instrument’s capabilities in time-resolved crystallography experiments on photo-active proteins with medical relevance (and used in the field of optogenetics, awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine!).

Your role: Drive the development of this unique instrument. You will build on our research group’s two decades of experience in building electron sources based on the photo-ionization of laser-cooled atoms. This technique has demonstrated electron pulses with record-low transverse temperatures, corresponding to a high transverse coherence, as needed for protein crystallography. In this project we will push this transverse coherence even further, making use of some of the unique capabilities of this source technology. The result will be an electron beam with a “transverse bunch brightness” that is three orders of magnitude beyond the current state of the art. To reach this ambitious goal, you will work with a team of experienced technicians, a second PhD student, a PostDoc, and the PI (Julius Huijts). We are part of the larger Coherence and Quantum Technology group in the Department of Applied Physics.

Postdoc on Implementation of serial ED for protein crystals on a unique ultracold electron source

In the ERC-funded project “Cool T-ReX” we are developing a unique pulsed electron source with exceptionally high transverse coherence. With this source we aim to demonstrate time-resolved protein crystallography for the first time using electrons instead of X-rays, on a table-top setup.

This demonstration will be based on the principle of Serial ED, with protein crystals provided by collaborators and using Graphene Liquid Cells assembled using a commercial solution. While our research group is world-leading on the development of the ultra-cold electron source technology, your role in this project is to take the lead on the implementation of Serial ED on our new setup.

You will be embedded in a team with two PhD candidates, the PI (Julius Huijts) and several experienced technicians. We are part of the larger Coherence and Quantum Technology group in the Department of Applied Physics.

PhD in Physics-informed generative AI for dynamic cardiac MRI

Cardiac MRI gives unmatched insight into heart disease, but some of its most important exams depend on gadolinium-based contrast agents. Gadolinium can build up in the body, cannot be given to all patients, and is now an environmental pollutant. A large reduction in the dose would make cardiac MRI safer and available to more patients. At low doses, however, the images no longer contain enough signal for a reliable diagnosis. Current AI methods can make images that look realistic, but they cannot guarantee that what they show is real.

We are looking for a motivated PhD candidate to develop new generative AI methods that recover diagnostic information from low-dose cardiac MRI in a reliable and trustworthy way. Your work will combine knowledge of MR imaging physics, patient-specific clinical information, and uncertainty quantification. The aim is a model whose outputs clinicians can trust, and which tells them when it is not certain. You will validate the methods on real clinical data together with our clinical partners.

This PhD position is part of PRIMA-CMR, a collaborative project within the EuroTech Universities Alliance programme. You will be based at TU/e and spend six months at TUM in the group of prof. Julia Schnabel, which is a world leader in generative and multimodal AI. You will also work with international clinical and academic partners across Europe. This position is embedded in the Medical Image Analysis group, Department of Biomedical Engineering, TU/e. You will be supervised by dr. Cian Scannell, and co-supervised by prof. Julia Schnabel (TUM).