Aalto University is a community of bold thinkers where science and art meet technology and business. We are committed to identifying and solving grand societal challenges and building an innovative future. Aalto University has been ranked the 9th best young university in the world (Top 50 under 50, QS 2018) and one of the world’s top technology challenger universities (THE 2017), for its outside-the-box thinking on research collaboration, funding and innovation. Aalto has six schools with nearly 11 000 students and 4000 employees of whom close to 400 are professors. Our main campus is located in Espoo, capital area of Finland.

We believe that people from diverse backgrounds can together reach the best results. Diversity is part of who we are: for example, over 40% of our academic faculty comes from outside Finland. We warmly encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds, especially minorities, to apply, as we want to ensure our community’s diversity and inclusiveness in the future as well. We are committed to equal and transparent recruitment procedures.

At Aalto, high-quality research, art, education and entrepreneurship are promoted hand in hand. Disciplinary excellence is combined with multidisciplinary activities, engaging both students and the local innovation ecosystem. Our main campus is quickly transforming into an open collaboration hub that encourages encounters between students, researchers, industry, startups and other partners. Aalto University was founded in 2010 as three leading Finnish universities, Helsinki University of Technology, the Helsinki School of Economics and the University of Art and Design Helsinki, were merged to strengthen Finland’s innovative capability.

We are now looking for a

A DOCTORAL RESEARCHER in the field of energy systems modelling
For a position opened at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, research group of Energy Conversion and Systems

Research focus
The successful applicant will be appointed as a PhD researcher, to work on developing and applying energy system and integrated assessment models. Particular areas of focus include better modelling of (1) heterogeneity, behaviour and vulnerability of energy system’s actors, (2) uncertainty and multidimensional energy system resilience, and (3) demand side management solutions. The work will be funded through projects, especially IAM COMPACT ( https://www.iam-compact.eu/ ) and FLAIRE ( https://flaire.fi/ ).

Person specifications
The successful candidate must be eligible to start doctoral studies at the School of Engineering (see here: https://www.aalto.fi/en/study-options/aalto-doctoral-programme-in-engineering , note especially the language and grade requirements).
Other requirements:
Essential

• A quantitative academic background (e.g. engineering, economics, science, quantitative social sciences)
• Demonstrated academic excellence in previous studies
• Interest in doing interdisciplinary research and in learning methods and approaches that originate outside applicant’s current area of expertise
• Familiarity with energy technologies and energy systems
• Knowledge of mathematical modelling tools (e.g. GAMS), energy system modelling frameworks, or programming tools (e.g. Python)

Desirable

• Interdisciplinary studies/experience, esp. combining economics and/or other social sciences with a robust understanding of energy technologies and energy systems
• Experience with prominent energy system modelling frameworks (TIMES, OSeMOSYS, MESSAGE)
• Previous experience or studies in one or more of the research focus areas (modelling or non-modelling)

What we offer
Aalto University follows the salary system of Finnish universities. The salary of a starting Doctoral researcher is currently 2667 € / month (gross), increasing as milestones for the PhD are achieved (highest PhD researcher level is currently 3336 €/month). The annual workload of research and teaching staff at Aalto University is 1612 hours. The employment contract includes occupational health care, and Finland has a comprehensive social security system. The employment relationship is full-time, fixed-term (period of two years) employment at Aalto University, which can further be extended, based on performance and availability of funding. The doctoral candidate will be expected to contribute also to teaching (max 20% of her/his time).

Join us!
To apply for the position, please submit your application electronically through our online recruitment system and provide the following documents:

• a CV, describing at least education, employment history and relevant software skills
• academic certificates and transcripts
• a personal statement outlining motivation, interest, and eligibility for the post (maximum one page)

Do note that the applicants are not expected to apply to the Aalto doctoral programme at this point - only the successful candidate will do this at the next application window (but is expected to take up the position already before that).

The deadline for applications is no later than 26th of February 2024, at 23:59 Finnish time (UTC +2). Possible interviews (via MS Teams) will take place during the week commencing on the 11th of March.

Aalto University reserves the right for justified reasons to leave the position open, to extend the application period, and reopen the application process.

Please note: Aalto University’s employees and visitors should apply for the position via the internal HR system Workday (Internal Jobs -> Find Jobs) by using their existing Workday user account.

Further information
For additional information, please contact Prof. Ilkka Keppo (Ilkka.keppo@aalto.fi ). In questions related to the recruitment process, please contact HR Advisor Paula Thomsson-Levä paula.thomsson-leva@aalto.fi .

For more information about living in Finland: https://www.aalto.fi/services/about-finland
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