Assistant Professor in Applied Mathematics

Job description

Join the Mathematical Institute of Utrecht University! As Assistant Professor in Applied Mathematics, you’ll develop your research programme, inspire students and advance education. Collaborating closely with colleagues and students, you’ll apply mathematics to tackle societal challenges and bring new data-driven modelling, experiment, and computer-aided mathematics into education. We welcome applicants from all areas of applied mathematics.
Your job
Working in Applied Mathematics within the Mathematical Institute means contributing to research that connects mathematics with the wider sciences, from life sciences and medical imaging to climate and ocean dynamics, and to teaching in which students meet current research first-hand. As a team, we aim to develop models and methods that are mathematically sound, computationally powerful and useful to other disciplines, and to prepare students to use new tools with confidence and care. Our societal impact is reflected in close collaborations with partners such as UMC Utrecht, RIVM and CWI (see below for more), and in work on pressing problems such as the spread of diseases and changing climate.
We are looking for an assistant professor (UD) in applied mathematics who can strengthen our Mathematical modelling research group, both substantively and strategically. We are open to candidates with an interdisciplinary research focus in mathematical modelling with a strong orientation toward real-world applications, as well as to candidates who can contribute to developing a sustainable vision on the role and impact of AI within mathematical research.
As an assistant professor in applied mathematics, you will balance research and teaching (approximately 50% each) in a role that allows you to grow as a leader while making a real impact on society.
In your research, you will develop your own line, driven by real-world problems. You’ll collaborate with scientists across disciplines, securing funding and building partnerships to amplify your impact. And as a mentor and supervisor, you’ll guide the next generation of mathematicians, including PhD candidates and postdocs.
In teaching, you’ll have the opportunity to teach and develop courses at every level, from core first-year Bachelor’s courses to advanced Master’s courses. Master’s courses can be taught either at the local level or as part of the national master programme, Mastermath. You’ll also supervise theses and smaller-scale projects. With university funding available for innovation, you’ll play a key role in defining the future of our curriculum, ensuring it remains resilient and adaptive in the face of fast-changing research methods.
By getting involved in the daily life of the Mathematical Institute, you’ll play an active and committed role in the academic life of our department and faculty. In addition, you help shape the future of the department, bringing fresh ideas and energy to our community.

Requirements

We are looking for a mathematician who brings a combination of the following qualifications, experience and potential:

• a PhD in mathematics or closely related field;
• a solid research foundation for your career stage, with peer-reviewed publications and other meaningful research contributions, paired with the drive to lead independent research;
• capacity to develop competitive funding proposals and foster research collaborations;
• experience or demonstrable affinity with modelling, analysis and/or computational experimentation applied to real-world problems;
• proven ability or potential to supervise and mentor postdocs, PhD candidates, Bachelor's and Master's students with enthusiasm and dedication;
• a commitment to inspiring and engaging teaching and the ability to teach courses across the breadth of the core Bachelor programme up to specialist Master's courses in Mathematics and related disciplines, based on an in-depth understanding of current developments in the field;
• engagement with international and national scientific and societal communities;
• the willingness to obtaining the University Teaching Qualification (UTQ) if you do not yet have it (support provided).
• proficiency in English (C1 level). Dutch is not required at the start, but we do ask you to learn the language within 5 years (support provided).

We recognise that academics follow diverse career paths and that no list of qualifications can capture every strength. We are committed to improving gender balance and fostering an inclusive academic community in which colleagues can develop and thrive. If this role aligns with your experience and aspirations, we encourage you to apply—even if you do not meet every qualification. Applications from groups currently underrepresented in mathematics are particularly welcome.

Employer

A better future for everyone. This ambition motivates our scientists in executing their leading research and inspiring teaching. At Utrecht University, the various disciplines collaborate intensively towards major strategic themes. Our focus is on Dynamics of Youth, Institutions for Open Societies, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability. Sharing science, shaping tomorrow.
Working at the Faculty of Science means bringing together inspiring people across disciplines and with a variety of perspectives and backgrounds. The Faculty has six departments: Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Information & Computing Sciences, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Together, we work on excellent research and inspiring education. We do so, driven by curiosity and supported by outstanding infrastructure. Visit us on LinkedIn and discover how you can become part of our community.
The Mathematical Institute of the Department of Mathematics organises and teaches the Bachelor's curricula in Mathematics as well as the (English-taught) Master's programme in Mathematics and some service teaching in mathematics. The Institute is internationally recognised for its research in both pure and applied mathematics. It houses the Utrecht Geometry Centre and Mathematical modelling group and maintains a long-standing tradition of transdisciplinary collaboration with other scientific fields including, among others, atmosphere/ocean sciences, computational life sciences, mathematical biology, mathematical economics, medical and seismic imaging, theoretical computer science, and theoretical physics. We participate in university focus areas in Complex Systems and Applied Data Science. Funds are available for accessing national supercomputer centre SURF.
You will be part of the Mathematical modelling group, where collaboration across disciplines and sectors is an important part of our research environment. As a part of the Mathematical Institute, the group has close ties with the Departments of Biology, Physics, Information and Computer Sciences, the Faculty of Geosciences, UMCU (Utrecht University Medical Center). And also with companies such as Rabobank, European Investment Bank (EIB), ASML, TNO and Canon, and institutes such as KNMI (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute), RIVM (The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) and CWI (the National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science). These connections create opportunities to develop interdisciplinary research and engage with academic, public-sector and industry partners.

Additional information

For more information, please contact Prof. Jason Frank (chair of the selection committee) at j.e.frank@uu.nl.
Do you have a question about the application procedure? Please send an email to science.recruitment@uu.nl.
Timeline: The in-person interviews are scheduled for the week of January 11, 2027. In case of a large number of applications, a first round of online interviews will be scheduled on November 23, 2026.
The preferred starting date is September 1, 2027 or earlier.