Institute Director at DTU Electro

Do you want to lead one of Europe’s strongest research environments within electrical engineering and photonics?

DTU Electro is a strong institute with high professional ambitions and substantial resources. We are seeking a visionary and unifying institute director who can create a common direction, strengthen leadership across the institute, and ensure that DTU Electro’s many strengths are translated into even greater societal value.

Research and innovation for the energy, health, and digital society of the future

DTU Electro is DTU’s institute for electrical engineering and photonics. We develop technologies that contribute to sustainable energy, robotics, a greener internet, enhanced cybersecurity, and new solutions in health technology.

The Institute is characterized by strong national and international collaborations with universities, research institutions, companies and authorities, as well as substantial external research funding. At the same time, DTU Electro plays a central role in the university’s education and contributes teaching to a large number of students at bachelor, diploma, master and PhD levels. We educate the engineers and researchers of the future in technologies that will be decisive for the green and digital transition.

A strategic leadership role with impact

As institute director you will become the unifying leadership hub for DTU Electro. Today the institute rests on a solid foundation of international research excellence, significant external funding, and strong collaborations. Your main task will be to align these strengths in a common strategic direction and ensure that the institute’s resources and research investments support the ambitions that will shape DTU Electro in the coming years.

You should be able to develop and communicate a vision that creates engagement across the institute, be eager to take on a large and exciting leadership role, strengthen the cohesion of the leadership team, and position DTU Electro even more strongly as a central actor in solving future challenges in health, energy, communication, digitalization and security.

Beyond the overall responsibility for research, education, innovation and research-based advisory services, you will have particular responsibility to:

• Set an ambitious direction for the development of the institute’s research, educations, and innovations, and ensure alignment between the institute’s four core tasks
• Secure strategic use of the institute’s research grants, investments and infrastructure
• Develop national and international collaborations with universities, companies and authorities
• Recruit and develop research and leadership talents at all levels
• Strengthen the strategic importance of teaching and create good conditions for teaching development and education quality
• Create attractive frameworks for a diverse, inclusive and international working environment
• Actively participate in DTU’s director’s circle and contribute to the university’s overall strategic development

An important part of the task will be to unite and further develop the institute’s professional strengths across research areas and to create the best conditions for interdisciplinary collaboration, innovation and securing external research funding.

As institute director you report to DTU’s rector.

Your profile – visionary research leader with strategic impact

We seek a leader who has a strong understanding of the university’s overall mission and views research, education and innovation as mutually reinforcing activities. You have ambitions on behalf of the students and understand the importance of attractive, research-based, high-quality international education.

You are a visible and inspiring leader who can create followership among some of the most capable researchers and leaders in your field. You set a clear direction, create engagement around common goals, and are able to translate visions into concrete priorities and results. You are passionate about uniting and further developing the institute’s professional strengths with a view to positioning DTU Electro among the leading international environments within electrical engineering and photonics.

We especially emphasize that you have

• a background as an internationally recognized researcher
• strong leadership experience from a research or university environment
• experience with strategic development and prioritization in complex organizations as well as use of substantial research funds
• a documented ability to create followership, cohesion and common ambitions
• a strong national and international network
• experience with or close collaboration with industry would be an advantage.

As a person you are able to balance strategic overview with presence and engagement. You create followership through clear communication, high integrity and respect for the professional diversity that characterizes an international top research environment.

You communicate fluently in English and in Danish or another Scandinavian language.

What DTU offers you?

As institute director for DTU Electro you get a meaningful and strategic leadership role at one of Europe’s leading technical universities. You will become part of a strong professional and managerial community and join DTU’s director’s circle, where you have the opportunity to actively contribute to the university’s overall strategic development.

DTU works purposefully to develop and strengthen leadership at all levels. Our leadership framework rests on four cornerstones: professional leadership, resource leadership, results-driven people management and strategic leadership. As institute director it is expected that you bring your personal leadership into play and create results through collaboration, involvement and clear direction. You can read more about DTU’s leadership role and leadership framework on our website.

Salary and terms of employment

The appointment is on a fixed term basis and on terms corresponding to the Circular on institute directors and deans at universities as well as the AC agreement.

The position is a full-time role primarily based at the DTU Lyngby Campus, but also Risø Campus, where part of the institute is anchored.

Application and contact

We must receive your online application no later than 25 October 2026 . Open the link “Apply now,” where you fill out the application form and attach a motivated application, CV and certificates.

If you would like more information about the position, you are welcome to contact Rector Anders O. Bjarklev at 4525 1000.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All applicants regardless of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic origin are encouraged to apply for the position. As DTU works with research in critical technologies, there are special rules for security and export control, so an open-source background check may be performed on qualified candidates for the position.

DTU Electro employs more than 300 researchers and specialists in electrical engineering and photonics. We develop technologies for sustainable energy systems, a greener internet, strengthened cybersecurity and future health technology solutions. Through world-class research, education and innovation we create the knowledge and technological breakthroughs that will help shape the society of the future.

DTU – For the benefit of society since 1829

DTU is one of Europe’s leading technical elite universities. With research and education of international top class we create solutions to the major societal challenges of our time and contribute to ensuring Europe’s global leading position in sustainable technology development. Since H.C. Ørsted founded DTU almost 200 years ago, our mission has been the same: We develop and exploit natural science and technical science for the benefit of society. DTU has 13,800 students, 1,600 PhD students and 6,500 employees.

We operate in an international environment and have an inclusive, developing and informal work culture. DTU has campuses throughout Denmark and in Greenland and collaborates with the best universities in the world.

Location

Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark

Apply Before

2026-10-25T22:59:00+00:00