Tenure Track assistant professor, associate professor or professor of Food Processing & Technology

Tenure-track Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Full Professor of Food Processing & Technology
Department of Food Science
Faculty of Science
University of Copenhagen

The Department of Food Science, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen invites applications for a position as Tenure-track Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Full Professor in Food Processing and Technology. Applicants must be capable of, and interested in, conducting and developing basic and applied interdisciplinary research of high international standard in the field of food processing and technology. The position will involve extensive collaborations within the department and with national and international academic groups and industrial partners. Research within the Department has a mission to unearth new solutions for society and industry to support sustainable food production, food security and safety as well as production of high-quality food promoting human health and wellbeing. The Department of Food Science is recognized for excellence in food research, education, and industrial collaborations. The Department is an international workplace with Danish and English as parallel working languages, however it is expected that the successful candidate will be able to contribute to teaching in Danish within 3 to 6 years. We encourage applications from a range of disciplines within the food science and technology area, ideally covering the understanding of food macromolecular interactions on a mechanistic level, how processing and formulation affect or determine these interactions, and how this influences final product quality with focus on functional properties.

We are seeking a candidate who will establish an internationally leading research program, and we encourage a diverse range of applicants whose work may center on one or more of the following disciplines:

• Developing a mechanistic understanding of interactions of food macromolecules in complex matrices during processing or formulation spanning dairy, plant, and single-cell protein sources.
• How this knowledge can be used in the rational design of functional ingredients and healthy foods using established and emerging processing technologies
• Development and utilization of high throughput methods for characterizing and quantifying the physicochemical behavior of food macromolecules in complex matrices.
• Modelling and the use of machine learning/AI for simulation and prediction of the outcome of process unit operations on food and ingredient functionality.
• Formulation and fluid dynamics of complex emulsions and the mechanisms governing this.

In addition, it is expected that this position will be involved in a significant amount of collaboration with industry, and therefore it is expected that the successful candidate has a documented successful track record in industry collaboration and working with innovation-oriented research. Furthermore, we expect that the successful candidate has a genuine interest in leadership and the wellbeing and development of their group.

Tenure-track assistant professor
The tenure-track assistant professor’s duties will primarily include research, including obligations with regards to publication/scientific communication and research-based teaching with associated examination obligations within the Tenure Track Assistant Professorship. To a limited extent the position may also include other duties.

The tenure-track assistant professor must have an academic standing showing internationally competitive research, and/or have internationally recognized high potential to make a future impact.

Assessment of applicants for the tenure-track assistant professorship will primarily consider their level of documented, internationally competitive research. The ability to attract external funding will be considered together with outreach qualifications. Teaching qualifications are not mandatory but documented teaching qualifications and teaching experience will be considered.

Associate professor and full professor

Applicants are required to have university level teaching experience, documented teaching competencies and must be able to explain and reflect upon own teaching practice and portfolio. Formal pedagogical training or supervision equivalent to the University of Copenhagen teacher training programme for assistant professors is required.
In particular, the candidate must actively contribute with research-based teaching on the BSc in Food Science and Nutrition, and the MSc in Food Science and Technology programs, with an emphasis on the specialization in Dairy Science and Technology.

Duties include the applicant’s own research, development of the field, assessment tasks, grant applications, and research management such as supervision and training of research fellows and other staff. The successful applicant must also teach, supervise, prepare and participate in examinations, and fulfill other tasks requested by the Department.

Assessment of applicants for the associate professorship and full professorship will primarily consider their level of documented, original scientific production at an international level, including contributions to developments in their field, as well as their documented teaching qualifications. Managerial and out-reach qualifications of applicants including ability to attract external funding will also be considered.

University of Copenhagen’s criteria for recognising merit
General criteria apply to the appointment of assistant professor / associate professor / professor at the University of Copenhagen. The criteria (research, teaching, Innovation & societal impact, organizational contribution and leadership) are considered as a framework for an overall assessment of the applicant. In addition, each applicant will be assessed according to the specific requirements listed in this advertisement.

Please read more here:

For tenure-track assistant professors: https://jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabelige-stillinger/kriterier-for-videnskabelige-stillinger/kriterier-for-meritering-maj-2026/5a_Criteria_for_recognising_merit_-Assistant_professors.pdf

For associate professors: https://jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabelige-stillinger/kriterier-for-videnskabelige-stillinger/kriterier-for-meritering-maj-2026/5b_Criteria_for_recognising_merit_-Associate_professors.pdf

For professors: https://jobportal.ku.dk/videnskabelige-stillinger/kriterier-for-videnskabelige-stillinger/kriterier-for-meritering-maj-2026/5c_Criteria_for_recognising_merit_-professors.pdf

Applicants are encouraged to read the University of Copenhagen's Guidance on the merit criterion Innovation and Societal Impact here

The tenure-track assistant programme
The tenure-track programme is a career programme and an assigned mentor will provide the tenure-track assistant professors with guidance related to career development, other academic topics and administrative procedures.

Performance of the tenure-track assistant professor will be followed via internal yearly evaluations and a mid-term and final international evaluation by an assessment committee. If the ‘final appraisal’ is positive you will be promoted as associate professor. Performance and progression towards the criteria below will be evaluated with due consideration of differences between research fields.

After a 6-year tenure-track period tenure-track assistant professors are expected to meet the criteria for appointment of associate professors at the University of Copenhagen.

Salary and employment conditions
The position is open from 1 April 2027 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The position is covered by the Memorandum on Job Structure for Academic Staff.

Employment is either as tenure track assistant professor, associate professor or professor under the applicable collective agreement between the Ministry of Finance and The Danish Confederation of Professional Associations on Academics in the State. There will be an opportunity to negotiate supplements based on qualifications. You can read more about salary levels in the state sector www.loenoverblik.dk (in Danish).

This position comes with an opportunity to negotiate a start package that will help leverage the candidate’s scientific deliverables in the initial years of employment. The negotiation for the start package takes place as part of the recruitment process. Please read about the contents of the programme and conditions, as well as UCPH’s extensive support for international researchers, here Start package programme – University of Copenhagen .  

The University wishes our staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background.

The successful candidate will be a part of the Section for Ingredients and Dairy Technology. The section has internationally acknowledged expertise within novel sustainable processing technologies, protein, polyphenol and lipid chemistry, functionality, and modification of food components, kinetics, oxidation, food engineering, rheology, digitalisation, and advanced data analysis. The section is also equipped with pilot facilities for brewing, dairy and bioprocessing. The section has extensive collaborations on research projects with major food industries in both Denmark and abroad.

Further information on the Department is linked at Department of Food Science – University of Copenhagen Inquiries about the position can be made to Inquiries about the position can be made to Head of Department, Colin Ray (+45 93565911, colin.ray@food.ku.dk) or Head of Section, Mogens Larsen Andersen (+45 3533 3262, mola@food.ku.dk).

Filing of application
The position may be applied for at the tenure-track assistant professor level, associate professor level or full professor level. Please note that it is possible to apply at more than one level. If applied at more than one level, separate applications must be submitted (see below).

The application including all attachments must be in English and submitted electronically by clicking APPLY NOW below.

Applying for the tenure-track assistant professorship please include

• Curriculum vitae including:
  • Please describe and document international network and relations
  • Please describe and document internationally based activities
  • Positions held at universities/research institutions outside Denmark
  • Outreach activities, i.e. popular lectures or other activities in the media
  • Grants held, personal or in part. Career development grants.
• Diplomas (Master and PhD degree or equivalent)

• Research plan - description of current and future research plans

• If available, description and documentation of teaching and supervision experience and qualifications- please describe and document:
  • Experience with supervision of BSc and MSc students
  • Teaching experience
  • Formal pedagogical training

• Complete publication list
• Separate reprints of up to 5 particularly relevant papers

Applying for the associate professorship or full professorship please include

• Curriculum vitae including information about external funding
• Diplomas (Master and PhD degree or equivalent)
• Research plan – description of current and future research plans
• Description and documentation of teaching experience and qualifications according to university guidelines
• Complete publication list
• Separate reprints of 5 particularly relevant papers

The deadline for applications is 27 October 2026, 23:59 GMT +1.

After the expiry of the deadline for applications, the authorized recruitment manager selects applicants for assessment on the advice of the Interview Committee.

You can read about the recruitment process at https://employment.ku.dk/faculty/recruitment-process/

Interviews will be held on 25 February 2027.  

Please refer to the following no. in future communication in this case:

211-0262/26-2N, Tenure-track Assistant Professor of Food Processing & Technology.

211-0759/26-2E, Associate Professor of Food Processing & Technology.

211-0366/26-2K, Professor of Food Processing & Technology.