Doctoral Researcher in Food Processing for Planetary and Human Health

We are looking for a highly motivated candidate to join a collaborative research project that explores how food processing affects both nutritional quality and environmental impact. The overall vision is to identify and develop processing strategies that improve nutritional quality and environmental performance as assessed by nutritional life cycle assessment (nLCA) while creating appealing hybrid protein-rich products. Thus, in addition to executing processing trials, the role includes coordinating collaborations within the team and with external partners to ensure that nutritional, health, and sustainability aspects are systematically integrated into the research. Our two well-equipped pilot plants, featuring technologies ranging from multi-scale extruders to high-pressure and thermal treatment systems, pulsed electric field (PEF) equipment, and more, will serve as the core experimental platform for the project. Advanced analytical methods (e.g., nutritional profile, bioaccessibility, dynamic mechanical analysis, imaging, spectroscopy) may be employed to assess product quality.

The ETH Sustainable Food Processing Group focuses on advancing food processing technologies and their role in sustainable food systems, using innovative approaches to tackle fundamental challenges such as the protein transition and food security. We use innovative sustainability assessment and emerging food system approaches as key tools to guide processing innovations toward holistic and impactful solutions.

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Food Technology, Food Engineering, Food Science, Bioengineering, Biotechnology or a closely related field.

• Excellent academic qualifications.

• Advanced knowledge in food processing.

• Strong communication and writing skills and high self-motivation.

• Openness to interdisciplinary work and a flexible mindset.

• Enthusiasm for engineering, food technology, and sustainability-related questions.

• Expertise in structurization via extrusion, disintegration, or preservation technologies, as well as project management and nutrition, will be considered a plus.