Tenure track Assistant / Associate professor in Food design

The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry invites applications for the position of tenure track Assistant / Associate professor in Food design. The position is based at the Department of Food and Nutrition.

The position may be filled as a tenure track assistant professor or tenure track associate professor depending on the candidate’s merits and career stage. Information about our tenure track system: University of Helsinki tenure track. The goal of the tenure track is to advance to a permanent professor position.

Food science provides the ability to produce safe, tasty, and accessible food under changing conditions and is accordingly a key research and teaching field. The raw materials and the food produced from them must be chemically, physically, and microbiologically safe and nutritionally of high quality. Food must be logistically accessible, affordable, and user-friendly. The flavour and user experience of food must meet consumer expectations, and food production must be sustainable. This requires in-depth knowledge of the chemical and physical properties of raw materials and food, production technologies, and how these relate to the sensory properties, safety, and usability of food.

Job Description 

The associate/assistant professor will strengthen the research and teaching of food sciences and related fields within the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. The appointee must have diverse knowledge of food design to create high-quality, sustainable, and safe food solutions. The position focuses on the fields of food chemistry (chemical safety), food technology, food processing technology, sensory and consumer research. The appointee should have comprehensive expertise in research methods based on the aforementioned fields and appropriate evidence of research activities that relate to future sustainable food systems. The appointee must have extensive knowledge of the food sector and the technologies used in it, as well as sufficient experience in the food industry, legislation, and the specific characteristics of food production in local and international contexts.

The associate/assistant professor is expected to promote the development of multidisciplinary methods and solutions to support a sustainable and profitable food system and future food security. The appointee must have demonstrable research experience in at least two of the following themes:

1. Food design, which may combine, for example, design, natural sciences, food sciences, food culture, and nutrition to create food and food experiences.
2. Reactions of macromolecules and other compounds in various food matrices, the effects of processing on macromolecular interactions, and subsequent impacts on food quality (structure, flavour, and safety).
3. Food safety, particularly related to chemical factors in food.
4. Development and utilization of food innovations.

Research expertise and experience in several themes, as well as the utilization of domestic and international research, development, and innovation funding (RDI), are considered advantages. Experience in national and international business collaboration is also regarded as an advantage. This position is new within the faculty, and thus the appointee has the opportunity to develop a groundbreaking, nationally and internationally unique research and education profile at the University of Helsinki. The appointee will also engage in public discussions relating to their scientific field.

The appointee will contribute to teaching and supervision of theses in food science within the Bachelor’s (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/degree-programmes/elin-tarvike-ja-ravitsemustieteiden-kandi-ohjelma) and Master’s programmes (https://www.helsinki.fi/en/degree-programmes/food-sciences-masters-programme). The appointee is also expected to collaborate with other MSc programmes of the faculty (e.g. Master's Programme in Technologies for Sustainable Use of Renewable Resources https://www.helsinki.fi/en/degree-programmes/technologies-sustainable-use-renewable-resources-masters-programme).  The appointee will also supervise theses within these programmes and provide discipline-specific teaching in relevant doctoral programmes. The appointee participates in the development of teaching at the faculty and is also expected to work in the management teams of the degree programmes.

REQUIREMENTS

An appointee to the position of assistant professor or associate professor in the tenure track system shall have

• a doctoral degree
• the capability to conduct independent scholarly work
• the teaching skills required for the position
• the capability and motivation to pursue an academic career, as demonstrated by publications and other means

The degree requirement (doctoral degree) must be met by the end of the application period.

When considering the candidates’ qualifications, attention shall be given to research and teaching merits. In addition, the candidates’ leadership and interaction skills, as well as activity in the scientific community and public engagement shall also be taken into account.

Scientific merits include

• scientific publications and other research results of scholarly value
• success in securing external research funding
• engagement in international scholarly work
• other international experience

Teaching merits include

• teaching experience
• pedagogical training
• the ability to produce learning material
• other teaching merits
• a teaching demonstration
• participation in doctoral education

Successfully performing the duties of the position requires good spoken and written proficiency in Finnish or Swedish and satisfactory proficiency in the other national language. Foreign citizens, non-native Finnish citizens or citizens who have not been educated in Finnish or Swedish may be exempted from this requirement without a separate application.  If you do not yet speak Finnish or Swedish, we expect you to achieve moderate language proficiency within a reasonable time after being selected for the position in either language. The University provides support for language learning and time for language studies can be included in annual work plan. To successfully attend to the duties of the position, the appointee must have good English skills.

WHAT WE OFFER

We offer an interesting opportunity to work in a diverse research environment. At the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry you will carry out research-based teaching at the highest education level in the field in Finland and have the opportunity to take part in internationally valued, first-class research activities. The position is also an opportunity to develop your own professional skills in a multidisciplinary work community of the faculty. Your work will be supported by the research and teaching staff of the department and the faculty as well as the administrative and technical staff at Viikki campus.

The assistant/associate professor’s salary will be on level 7 of the job requirement scheme for teaching and research personnel in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee will be paid a salary component based on personal work performance. Annual gross salary for an assistant professor amounts to approximately 55,000–63,000 euros, and for an associate professor to approximately 60,000–70,000 euros depending on the appointee’s qualifications and experience. The appointment has a six-month trial period. The workplace of the position is on the Viikki campus of the University of Helsinki.

Furthermore, the university takes care of your well-being by flexible work arrangements, comprehensive occupational health care and wide-ranging, low-cost UniSport services. Professional development is supported in different ways, i.e. by offering versatile staff training, mentoring etc.

HOW TO APPLY

Applicants are requested to enclose with their applications a SINGLE PDF file that includes the following documents in English:

1) CV

2) A short motivation letter and report on how the applicant intends to develop his or her research and focus his or her activities, if appointed (1-2 pages)

3) Report on the applicant’s research activities (including activities in scientific communities, the acquisition of research funding and international scholarly work) (max. 5 pages)

4) A numbered list of publications

5) A report on pedagogical expertise (see the instructions via the link below under University portfolio – Teaching and supervision)

For more detailed instructions on the application documents, please see

https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/open-positions/instructions-applicants-teaching-and-research-positions

Applications with the above attachments must be submitted in a single PDF file, which is named: food design_lastname_firstname.

Other attachments are not required.

The Faculty may request shortlisted applicants to submit 5-10 publications of their choice to be sent to the assessors via the electronic recruitment system after the application deadline. In the case of shortlisted applicants, aptitude evaluation may be used as part of the recruitment process.

External applicants, please submit your application using the University of Helsinki Recruitment System via the Apply Now link.

Applicants who have a helsinki.fi username and a valid employment contract, a grant researcher's contract, a visiting researcher's or visiting professor's contract at the University of Helsinki are requested to leave their application by using the Employee login.

The closing date for applications is 3.6.2026 at 23:59 EEST.

FURTHER INFORMATION

• Further information can be obtained from Department Head Kati Katina kati.katina(at)helsinki.fi, +358 2941 58245

• Recruitment process and the recruitment system: HR Specialist Mirkka Juntunen, recruitment(at)helsinki.fi, tel. +358 2941 57583

ABOUT US

The tenure track Assistant / Associate professor’s position in Food design is part of the Systems of Food and Drug Security profile building area. The high standards required in terms of quality, safety, acceptability and sustainability, and the advent of emerging technologies such as the alteration of an organism’s genome for agri-food and pharmaceutical applications are just some of these common challenges. By ensuring access to healthier, more secure food and medications, our research is very close to everyone’s everyday life.  The Systems of Food and Drug Security (fooDrug) area is co-led by the Faculties of Pharmacy and Agriculture and Forestry, with the participation of the Faculties of Educational Sciences, Law, Science, Social Sciences, Veterinary Medicine and Medicine, and HiLIFE's Institute of Biotechnology.  This profile building area is a part of PROFI8 and received funding for 2025–2031. https://www.helsinki.fi/en/research/top-research-areas-and-researchers/projects-funded-research-council-finland/profile-building-areas

The Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry is located on the Viikki campus. The mission of the faculty is to promote the sustainable use of renewable natural resources through scientific research and research-based teaching. We focus on agricultural and forest sciences, food and nutrition, microbiology, as well as on economics and management. We cover the full natural resource chain from farm to fork, the entire field of forest sciences from soil chemistry to marketing, as well as the environmental effects of related activities. Graduates from the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry are versatile experts in biosciences and business, able to meet the needs of both the business sector and society at large. www.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-of-agriculture-and-forestry

The Department of Food and Nutrition is one of the six units of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. We respond to sustainability challenges associated with the food system by investigating and developing raw materials used in food and production techniques on the road to an increasingly healthy and environmentally friendly diet. In our changing society, the need for research-based knowledge on food, diets and their health effects as well as the special needs of different consumer groups is growing. https://www.helsinki.fi/en/faculty-agriculture-and-forestry/research/food-and-nutrition

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• Why should you choose University of Helsinki: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/about-us/careers/why-university-helsinki
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