Assistant Professor Sustainable and Circular Healthcare Design at TU Delft

Developing (smart) products and services for a more sustainable and circular healthcare sector? Join us as an Assistant Professor in Sustainable and Circular Healthcare Design. 

Job description

The Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering (IDE) at TU Delft is seeking a talented and proactive Academic Career Track (ACT) candidate to strengthen our rapidly growing research area on sustainable and circular healthcare. This position focuses on developing design-driven approaches for medical devices and services that support the transition towards a more sustainable and circular healthcare system. We welcome applicants who are eager to establish an independent research line in the field of (smart) products and services for a circular and sustainable healthcare economy, grounded in creative and innovative research ideas.

Healthcare systems are under growing pressure to reduce their environmental impact while continuing to deliver high-quality and safe care. In the Netherlands, the healthcare sector accounts for more than 7% of the national ecological footprint and is still largely dependent on single use products—a linear economic model. This creates an urgent need for circular strategies such as reducing, reusing (including reprocessing), remanufacturing, repairing, and recycling medical devices to extend product lifetimes and close material loops.

Developing and implementing sustainable medical technologies requires close collaboration between designers, engineers, clinicians, business developers, and healthcare organizations. This Academic Career Track position is designed to connect industrial design engineering, medtech industry, and clinical practice, accelerating the creation and adoption of sustainable and circular healthcare solutions.

The successful candidate will establish an independent research line focused on the design of sustainable and circular medical technologies, including physical and digital medical products and product–service systems. The research will develop methods, tools, knowledge, and prototypes that support designers and healthcare professionals in addressing environmental impact alongside clinical effectiveness, safety, and usability. The work will result in academic publications as well as practical interventions to feed the transitions towards a more sustainable healthccare system. The candidate will actively seek external funding and further extend our collaborations with clinical and industrial partners.

In addition to research, the candidate will contribute to the educational programmes of the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering. This includes developing and teaching new courses and contributing to curriculum development in the area of medical technology and healthcare design, at both Bachelor’s and Master’s levels. The candidate will supervise MSc graduation projects and PhD candidates.

At TU Delft, within the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, we are actively involved in several circular and sustainable design research projects in the healthcare sector. These include the NWO ESCH-R (Evidence-based Strategies to Create Circular Hospitals: Applying the 10-Rs Framework to Healthcare) project, the EU DICE (Digital Health in the Circular Economy) project, and the Convergence ZEE (Zero Emission Endoscopy) project. In collaboration with societal and industrial partners, our interdisciplinary team is developing circular, safe, and scalable strategies, all aimed at accelerating the transition to more circular hospitals.     

Job requirements

We are looking for candidates that have the drive to make a difference. Circular Economy, Sustainability and Healthcare Systems inspire and motivate you.

You have a PhD and teaching experience in industrial design engineering, (bio)mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, or other related fields. Preferably you have a Post Doc or an equivalent of at least two years of post-PhD experience. 

In addition: 

• You have experience in conducting research and writing academic papers in health or care-related contexts.
• You have afinity and preferably experience with Design for Sustainability, Medical Device Design, Circular Economy, Co-creation and Human Centered Design.
• You have good social, communication and organization skills to work effectively in transdisciplenary teams.
• You have exxcellent verbal and written communication skills, your proficiency in English is good and knowledge of Dutch language is an advantage.
•  You have a demonstrated ability to engage with industry, societal partners and academic communities.
• You are a team player who wants to contribute to the sustainable transition of the healthcare sector.

Click here for the full job description and application procedure.
Submission is possible until 30 June 2026