About the position

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has a vacancy for a PhD candidate position on simulation of winter maintenance services.

Winter maintenance (snow plowing, salting, sanding) is crucial to keep roads safe and open for traffic during wintertime. In Norway we plow over 20 million km each year! Optimizing winter maintenance services is important, particularly when the national goal is to reduce CO2-emissions of road maintenance by 50% in 2030. To assist this process, better simulation methods needs to be developed. In cooperation with the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens Vegvesen), NTNU has therefore started the project VinterSim. As PhD candidate you will be a central resource person to the project and will conduct research to develop and validate the simulation methodology. 

You will become part of an active and engaged research group within road and railway engineering and work closely with other experts in the fields of simulation and winter maintenance. The position is for three years and you will be based in Trondheim, at the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

You will report to a professor.

Duties of the position

• Search and review relevant literature
• Develop a spatial- and time – based simulation of winter maintenance operations, based on an existing case
• Analyze “production data” of actual performed winter maintenance operations
• Develop a weather model to trigger the simulations
• Validate the results of the simulations for a geographically confined area
• Publish your results in scientific literature

Required selection criteria

The PhD-position's main objective is to qualify for work in research positions. The qualification requirement is that you have completed a master’s degree or second degree (equivalent to 120 credits) with a strong academic background in computational simulation, geographical information systems (GIS) or Civil Engineering or equivalent education with a grade of B or better in terms of NTNU’s grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you are unable to meet these criteria you may be considered only if you can document that you are particularly suitable for education leading to a PhD degree.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant.

Other required selection criteria

• A master’s degree in computational simulation, geographical information systems (GIS) or Civil Engineering 
• Experience with programming (for example Phython, Matlab, C++ or Java)

Preferred selection criteria

• Experience with winter maintenance or logistics planning
• Good written and oral English and Norwegian language skills 

Personal characteristics

We are looking for you who are 

• curious, analytic and creative
• self-motivated and critical, but also result-oriented

We offer

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Salary and conditions

PhD candidates are remunerated in code 1017, and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 482 200 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years, and does not include duty-work. 

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Civil Engineering (www.ntnu.edu/ibm/phd) within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to external funding.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution daily.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above. 

The application must include:

• CV, certificates and diplomas
• Research plan or project proposal
• Academic works - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 5 works)
• Name and address of three referees

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal suitability.

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

General information

Working at NTNU

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background. 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

In accordance with The Public Information Act (Offentleglova), your name, age, position and municipality may be made public even if you have requested not to have your name entered on the list of applicants.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact prof. Alex Klein-Paste, e-mail alex.klein-paste@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Hege Johansen, e-mail: hege.johansen@ntnu.no.

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Diploma Supplement is required to attach for European Master Diplomas outside Norway. Chinese applicants are required to provide confirmation of Master Diploma from China Credentials Verification (CHSI). It is important that you read this link: https://www.ntnu.edu/positions/documentation-requirements-of-academic-credentials

If you are invited for interview you must include certified copies of transcripts and reference letters. Please refer to the application number IV 141/21 when applying.

Application deadline: 15.06.2021

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

We conduct research and teaching in civil and transportation engineering, technical planning, structural engineering, water and wastewater engineering and hydraulic engineering. Graduates from our programmes become employees – in both the public and private sectors – with a sustainability mindset combined with competitive knowledge and skills. The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is one of eight departments in the Faculty of Engineering.

Deadline 15th June 2021
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service