Field Trial Technical Officer

As a Senior Field Trial Technical Officer, you will work with a wide range of precision agriculture (field trial) machinery and have experience in cultivating various open-field crops. You will work with both organic and conventional crops on an area of 220 hectares in and around Wageningen, and occasionally on farms elsewhere in the country. In this broad role, you will contribute in a practical way to new developments in agriculture.

Your tasks and responsibilities as Senior Field Trial Technical Officer include:

• Operating advanced machinery on trial fields and practical plots, with a primary focus on trial sowing, fertilization, harvesting machines, and crop protection;
• Working in the field on trial plots and practical parcels;
• Contributing ideas to trial design, establishment, and the practical execution of field trial work;
• Maintaining the (trial field) machinery fleet, including its registration;
• Weed control, both manual, mechanical, and chemical.

Team

You will work in the Open Field team of Unifarm, the plant and crop science research center of Wageningen University & Research. Within the Open Field team, you will collaborate with 20 permanent staff members.

You are communicative and socially skilled, enabling you to easily connect with colleagues in the team and external stakeholders. You work carefully, ensuring quality and safety are maintained. You are able to respond effectively to unexpected situations.

You also have:

• A completed MAS (Senior Secondary Agricultural Education) qualification in arable farming and experience in arable farming;
• Extensive experience with various GPS-guided arable farming machines and tractors;
• Extensive experience in establishing and managing arable field trials;
• Knowledge of machine maintenance;
• Computer skills (Office, Dacom) are preferred/required;
• A (heavy vehicle) driver’s license and a valid spraying license, or willingness to obtain one;
• Good command of the Dutch language;
• Willingness to work irregular hours when necessary.

In our international working environment, English is increasingly used for communication. For this position, language level B2 is required. If you do not yet have this level, we will of course support you, and you can attend courses at our language center, Wageningen in’to Language.

You can see that there are plenty of challenges waiting for you. These challenges can also be viewed as development opportunities. If you do not yet fully meet the track record described in the vacancy but do have solid work experience, we would still like to invite you to apply.

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent terms of employment. A few highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• sabbatical leave, study leave, and partially paid parental leave;
• working hours that can be discussed and arranged so that they allow for the best possible work-life balance;
• there is a strong focus on vitality and you can make use of the sports facilities available on campus for a small fee;
• a fixed year-end bonus of 8.3%;
• excellent pension scheme.

In addition to these first-rate employee benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. Depending on your experience, we offer a competitive gross salary of between €3.029,- and €3.623,- for a full-time working week of 38 hours, in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreements for Dutch Universities (CAO-NU) (scale 6). Additionally, a contract for  32 hours can be discussed. As for your contract, we initially offer a one-year contract that can be extended - if possible within (company) organizational circumstances - on good performance.

We encourage development and internal mobility within our organisation. Our recruitment and selection policy sets out the conditions that apply specifically to you as a (former) employee. If you have any questions, we are happy to help.

Due to Dutch immigration laws, candidates from outside the EU/EFTA zone, can usually not be hired for this position. More information can be found on the website of the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service.

For more information about the position, please contact Gerard Derks, gerard.derks@wur.nl

Questions about the procedure? Get in touch with Ine van 't Land, Corporate Recruiter, via vacaturemeldingen.psg@wur.nl.

Ready to apply?
Click on the application button next to the vacancy on our website. Only applications submitted through our website will be considered.

You can apply up to and including April 6th, 2026. Internal candidates are preferred to apply before March 16th, 2026.

Procedure
As part of our selection process, an assessment may be incorporated within the procedure

Welcome, safe, and valued
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) highly values diversity and inclusion because we believe that different insights lead to innovative solutions. We create a work environment where everyone feels welcome, safe, and appreciated, regardless of background, identity, or experience. Together, we are building a culture where everyone's unique contribution adds to the success of our organization.

​The mission of Wageningen University & Research is “To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. Under the banner Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and the specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation have joined forces in contributing to finding solutions to important questions in the domain of healthy food and living environment. With its roughly 30 branches, 7,600 employees (6,700 fte) and 13,100 students and over 150,000 participants to WUR’s Life Long Learning, Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain. The unique Wageningen approach lies in its integrated approach to issues and the collaboration between different disciplines.

Read the 5 reasons why your future colleagues enjoy working at WUR and watch the video below to get an idea of our green campus!

We will recruit for the vacancy ourselves, so no employment agencies please. However, sharing in your network is appreciated.

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