Post doctor in Building and Energy Systems Modelling

Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world’s top 100 universities. The University has around 44 000 students and more than 8 000 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition.

LTH forms the Faculty of Engineering at Lund University, with approximately 9 000 students. The research carried out at LTH is of a high international standard and we are continuously developing our teaching methods and adapting our courses to current needs.

Subject description
The post-doctoral position is defined under a H2020 project called “Collective Intelligence for Energy Flexibility” or COLLECTiEF. In this project we are going to implement, test and qualify an energy management platform based on Collective Intelligence (CI) to increase energy flexibility and climate resilience in buildings and urban areas. The idea is to develop an interoperable and scalable energy management system that allows easy and seamless integration of legacy equipment into a collaborative network within and between existing buildings and urban energy systems with reduced installation cost, data transfer and computational power while increasing data security, energy flexibility and climate resilience. You can read more about the project here: https://collectief-project.eu/

The post-doctoral position is shaped around the second work package in the project, which is about “algorithm training and reinforcement for control strategies of COLLECTiEF System”. This will include development of control strategies, algorithms and frameworks for demand side management and energy system optimization as well as integration, validation and fine-tuning the algorithms and frameworks in simulated environments. On the building side, IoT and occupant-centric control algorithms should be developed to control the energy performance of buildings. The algorithms should be developed in a scalable manner, enabling system control at the building and urban scale. On the energy system side, the developed algorithms should follow a coherent CI based logic, enabling the energy system to communicate smoothly with buildings and reach an optimum and resilient performance. The project will be conducted in close collaboration with several other European universities, institutes and companies.

Work duties
The main duties involved in a post-doctoral position is to conduct research. Teaching may also be included, but up to no more than 20% of working hours. The position shall include the opportunity for three weeks of training in higher education teaching and learning.

The major work duties are:

• Conducting the research within the subject area.
• Developing CI-based energy management algorithms.
• Leading the relevant tasks under work packages.
• Preparing reports and deliverables.
• Communicating with project partners.
• Participating in international activities such as IEA Annexes.
• Writing scientific articles.
• Teaching in the master programme (limited).
• Supervising degree projects and doctoral students.
• Actively seeking external research funding.
• Collaboration with industry and wider society.
• Administration related to the work duties listed above.

Qualification requirements
Appointment to a post-doctoral position requires that the applicant has a PhD, or an international degree deemed equivalent to a PhD, within the subject of the position, completed no more than three years before the last date for applications. Under special circumstances, the doctoral degree can have been completed earlier.

Additional requirements:

• PhD in Mechanical/Electrical/Civil Engineering, Computer Science or other relevant fields.
• Very good oral and written proficiency in English.
• Very good programming skills in Python.
• A good and relevant publication record.
• Good knowledge about energy system and building simulation and optimization.
• Good knowledge about data-driven approaches, machine learning, and/or agent-based modelling.
• Good skills to lead a project (communication, management, reporting, meeting deadlines etc).

Assessment criteria and other qualifications
This is a career development position primarily focused on research. The position is intended as an initial step in a career, and the assessment of the applicants will primarily be based on their research qualifications and potential as researchers.

Particular emphasis will be placed on research skills within the subject.

For appointments to a post-doctoral position, the following shall form the assessment criteria:

• A good ability to develop and conduct high quality research.
• Teaching skills.

Additional assessment criteria:

• Having experience in developing, writing or leading research proposals is a merit.
• Having teaching and supervision experience is a merit.

Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and independence, and how the applicant’s experience and skills complement and strengthen ongoing research within the department, and how they stand to contribute to its future development.

Terms of employment
This is a full-time, fixed-term employment of 2 years. The period of employment is determined in accordance with the agreement “Avtal om tidsbegränsad anställning som postdoktor” (“Agreement on fixed-term employment as a post-doctoral fellow”) between Lund University, SACO-S, OFR/S and SEKO, dated 4 September 2008.

Instructions on how to apply

Applications shall be written in English. Please draw up the application in accordance with LTH’s Academic qualifications portfolio – see link below. Upload the application as PDF-files in the recruitment system. Read more:

http://www.lth.se/english/working-at-lth/to-apply-for-academic-positions-at-lth/

Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard gender equality and diversity as a strength and an asset. We kindly decline all sales and marketing contacts.

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