1 Postdoctoral Researcher in Anthropology — Digitalisation in Greenhouse Horticulture

VITALGREENHOUSE ERC Starting Grant | Meertens Institute (KNAW), Amsterdam

Application deadline:  June 8, 2026

Starting date:  September 1, 2026

Contract: 2 years (24 months), 0.8 FTE

About the ERC Project

The Ethnology department at the Meertens Institute (KNAW) invites applications for a postdoctoral researcher position within the ERC Starting Grant project “Greenhouses as Vital Landscapes: Sustainability, Relationality, and the Future of Food” (VITALGREENHOUSE), led by Dr. Rebeca Ibáñez Martín.

VITALGREENHOUSE is a multisited, anthropological project that takes an ethnographic approach to analyse how sustainability is ‘done’ by diverse actors in two European horticultural greenhouse hubs, the Netherlands and Spain. It is designed to meet three main objectives: (1) to identify the diverse ways that sustainability is understood and performed in different greenhouse practices and by different greenhouse actors, including humans and non-humans; (2) to analyse historical, environmental, and social dimensions of industrial greenhouses, in order to deepen knowledge of the greenhouse industrial complex and its relation to sustainability; and (3) to conceptualise greenhouses as vital landscapes, in order to develop a new analytical framework that theorises sustainability as a relational practice. 

The Position

Digital agricultural innovations are often framed by policymakers, international organisations, and private actors as key drivers of sustainable agricultural transitions. This postdoctoral position focuses on the digitalisation of greenhouse horticulture — one of the most contested political and socio-ecological dimensions of contemporary industrial food production. Industrial greenhouse horticulture is heavily concentrated in two key European regions: Westland (the Netherlands) and Almería (Spain), both of which have become focal points of public concern and scientific debate about the future of food, sustainability, and the broader socio-ecological effects of industrial agriculture.

You will investigate the relationship between digitalisation and sustainability within the framework of the EU Green Deal, developing your own empirical case study — in consultation with the PI — to produce an ethnographic account of digitalisation in greenhouse horticulture. The following questions will guide your research: How are greenhouses responding to, or resisting, European sustainability visions and the particular forms of knowledge and practice these entail? What digital systems are being introduced — for automating climate control, recognising pests, guiding harvesting, or codifying 'green knowledge' — and how are the humans working in greenhouses engaging with such systems? What new dependencies, power relations, and subjectivities does digitalisation produce among growers, workers, and other actors? How do specific innovations, such as new LED lighting systems, accommodate or interfere with the lives of insects living and labouring in and around the greenhouse? Crucially, these transformations encumber farmers and workers with new dependencies, socialities, and knowledge systems — and yet their social, political, and more-than-human dimensions remain poorly understood.

You will conduct fieldwork in the Netherlands, Spain, or both countries, depending on your prior research experience. Candidates with previous fieldwork experience in one or both countries are particularly encouraged to consider a comparative approach spanning both sites. Please specify in your problem statement which approach you intend to take, and if you will do fieldwork in Spain, Netherlands or both and how and why.

Your Tasks

• Design and conduct ethnographic fieldwork on a case study surrounding the digitalisation of greenhouse horticulture, including participant observation, interviews, and literature revision;
• Develop your own case study for the work package (WP), in close collaboration with the PI;
• Participate actively in the VITALGREENHOUSE research team, consisting of the PI, one PhD candidate, one Postdoc, and a co-supervisor;
• Publish 2 peer-reviewed articles;
• Provide supervision support to the PhD candidate, particularly during fieldwork;
• Reside in Amsterdam (or within commuting distance) when not conducting fieldwork, and actively participate in team meetings and the research environment at the Institute.

Requirements

Essential:

• A doctorate in Social and Cultural Anthropology, Human Geography, or a closely related field within the social sciences. The degree must be obtained by the time of appointment;
• Demonstrable experience in ethnographic fieldwork;
• A track record for, publishing in peer-reviewed academic journals;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English;
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to work in a team;
• A commitment to academic integrity and transparency.

Desirable:

• Affinity with Science and Technology Studies (STS);
• Previous engagement with topics such as infrastructure studies, agricultural transitions, sustainability, or political ecology;
• Oral and written communication skills in Dutch and/or Spanish;
• Prior fieldwork experience in the Netherlands or Spain.

What We Offer

• A 2-year postdoctoral contract at 0.8 FTE, embedded within an active and internationally connected ERC project;
• Access to the KNAW career development programme, including Dutch language courses, academic writing support, and grant writing training;
• An intellectually stimulating environment at the Meertens Institute, a research institute within the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), located in Amsterdam.
• You will also be affiliated at the Health Care and the Body program group of the Anthropology department of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). 

Applications should be submitted as a single PDF (except the CV) and include:

• Curriculum Vitae (max. 2 pages), including a list of publications;
• Cover letter (max. 4 pages) describing your qualifications and motivation for the position. The cover letter should include a  detailed problem statement outlining: (1) the specific problem or phenomenon you propose to study within the broader theme of digitalisation in greenhouse horticulture; (2) your proposed case study or fieldwork site(s), specifying whether you would focus on the Netherlands, Spain, or both countries in a comparative design, and your reasons for this choice; and (3) the ethnographic methods and approach you would bring to the study. Please also reflect on what has led you to your current scholarly focus and why this project resonates with your intellectual trajectory;
• A link to your PhD dissertation (if available online), or a copy submitted as a separate PDF;
• Contact details for two academic references (no letters required at this stage).

Application procedure
If this opportunity resonates with you, but you’re unsure if you meet all the requirements, we encourage you to apply. In line with the Institute’s commitment to diversity, we strongly encourage applications from all qualified candidates, particularly those from migration backgrounds or other groups underrepresented in academia. 

We look forward to receiving your application by June 8, 2026.  Interviews will be held in person on the week of 22-26 June 2026. The starting date for the position is September 1, 2026.  

For more information
For any questions contact directly dr. Rebeca Ibáñez Martín, Principal Investigator of VITALGREENHOUSE ERC starting grant, rebeca.ibanezmartin@meertens.knaw.nl

About Meertens
The Meertens Institute, together with the International Institute of Social History and the Huygens ING, is part of the KNAW Humanities Cluster. This is a partnership in which research in the humanities (history, ethnology, literature, linguistics) is carried out using advanced methods, in which computer science plays an important role.

The Meertens Institute is a national institute for research and documentation of the Dutch language and culture, and language and culture in the Netherlands. It consists of the research groups Ethnology and Variational Linguistics, both of which hold leading positions in international research on everyday language and culture.

Terms of employment
Depending on education and experience the salary is 4.728 gross per month for a full-time appointment (scale 11.0 cao Nederlandse Universiteiten/KNAW). This is exclusive of 8% vacation allowance, 8.3% year-end bonus, travel allowance, internet allowance, home working allowance and pension accrual with ABP.

The KNAW offers its staff an excellent package of secondary benefits. A package that meets the different needs of employees depending on their stage of life, lifestyle or career ambitions. For example, by working an extra two hours a week, it is possible to increase the number of days off from 29 to 41 days a year (with full-time employment). 

For a complete overview of the terms of employment, please refer to the web page: werken bij de KNAW.

Applying for a Certificate of Good Conduct can be part of the employment procedure.

Diversity & Inclusion
The KNAW considers a working environment in which everyone feels welcome and appreciated of great importance. A working environment in which attention is paid to individual quality and where development opportunities are paramount. Together we strive for an inclusive culture in which we embrace differences. We would therefore like to invite candidates who want to contribute to this through their background and experience. In the event of equal suitability, preference will be given to the candidate who thus enhances diversity within the Academy.

We will not respond to any supplier enquiries based on this job advertisement.