Postdoctoral Fellow on the Topic Smart District Heating and Building Energy Supply

About the job

We are looking for a Postdoctoral Fellow on the topic smart district heating and building energy supply at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Different external projects and internal resources provided funding for this position. The ambition is that a relevant candidate will develop the topic, publish high quality journal papers, and initiate new national and international projects.

The appointment has a duration of three years.

The field of work will be to further develop models for smart district heating including heat prosumers and thermal storage. Flexibility assessment for thermal storing and different pricing models should be also considered. The candidate will contribute to industry related projects on thermal storing. Finally, the candidate will be involved in the EU Horizon project Climate Positive Circular Communities – ARV and will contribute on deliverables.

The position is linked to the Department of Energy and Process Engineering and the Sustainable Energy Systems group. The group has a well-established expertise in energy supply systems, building energy services, and renewables. Research activities within the group range from building energy use, building energy supply, indoor environment, energy efficiency, building services, control and automation, energy planning, building performance modelling and simulation, to energy storages, etc. The group is strongly involved in the Norwegian FME Research Centre on Zero Emission Neighborhoods in Smart Cities (ZEN) as well as in various national and international projects, e.g. IEA Tasks or EBC Annexes. The group is responsible for the HVAC laboratory at the department.

The Postdoctoral Fellow will be supervised by Professor Natasa Nord at NTNU.

Duties of the position

• Simulation of district heating system considering heat prosumers and thermal storages
• Building energy simulation in IDA-ICE considering different loads and control strategies and their contribution to the component sizes
• Develop methods for flexibility assessment for thermal storing and different pricing models
• Be strongly engaged into the EU ARV project and coordinate and help on the ARV deliverables
• Contribute to teaching activities such as laboratories and project-based assignments
• Supervise project and master students
• Write at least six high quality journal papers
• Develop research proposal for the national and international projects.

Required selection criteria

• You must have completed a Norwegian doctoral degree or corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian PhD.
• Excellent knowledge about thermodynamic and modelling of thermal systems.
• Good mathematical knowledge and analytical skills. A good understanding of energy use in buildings, building monitoring systems, and district heating system.
• High-level knowledge and skills to use relevant tools for the building performance modelling and simulation (e.g. Modelica, IDA-ICE or EnergyPlus).
• Experience with and good knowledge of measurements, optimization and control, control platforms, and energy management.
• Experience with generic computational tools, such as, MATLAB, MATLAB/Simulink, Python. Experience with statistical methods would be an advantage.
• High motivation to write research proposals and work strategically to increase his/her research network.
• The ability to guide Master and PhD students in relevant topics.
• Excellent knowledge of written and spoken English. Fluent Scandinavian written and spoken language is an advantage.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Ph.D Candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate (in Norwegian). 

Preferred selection criteria

• A high level of personal responsibility, initiative, and ability to work in a project team and independently.
• Excellent communication skills with both technical and administrative staff.
• Ability to adopt and work in different work environment.
• Devoted and internally motivated person to work within research and academy.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal suitability, in terms of the qualification requirements specified in the advertisement.

Personal characteristics

• Highly responsible and focus on completing the assignments
• Analytical, respectful, and excellent at thinking «out-of-the-box»
• Motivated, ambitious, and eager to «walk new paths»
• Collaborative, open-minded and able to take initiatives, able to work independently and in team, with high degree of personal responsibility
• Excellent communication skills, both written and orally
• Eager to disseminate knowledge, both nationally and internationally 
• Very good skills on multidisciplinary collaboration
• Have good communication skills in scientific writing and oral presentations.

We offer 

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

Salary and conditions

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK 584 700 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. 

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants (in Norwegian), 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.

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

About the application 

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English (ta stilling til dette) 

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.  

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result. 

The relevant applicants must include the following documents:

1. motivation letter describing the motivation for this position,
2. CV,
3. grade transcripts for the education relevant to take the PhD degree translated to English,
4. 4) a project description with a career plan on maximum 10 pages,
5. 5) publications and other relevant academic works,
6. 6) a brief description of his/her contribution to the attached publications, and
7. 7) other enclosures such as recommendation letters. Only candidates with the complete application documentation will be considered for evaluation.

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well. 

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 and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

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 

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is a strength. We want our faculty and staff to reflect Norway’s culturally diverse population and we continuously seek to hire the best minds. This enables NTNU to increase productivity and innovation, improve decision making processes, raise employee satisfaction, compete academically with global top-ranking institutions and carry out our social responsibilities within education and research. NTNU emphasizes accessibility and encourages qualified candidates to apply regardless of gender identity, ability status, periods of unemployment or ethnic and cultural background.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality. 

EPT has established EPT Women in Science. The group is focused on supporting female PhD Candidates, Postdoctoral Fellows and permanent academic employees currently within the Department. This support aims to help develop the careers of female PhD Candidates and Postdocs and is also made visible to our student body to encourage them to consider an academic path. As part of the EPT Women in Science initiative we are building an international network, inviting prominent female academics within and beyond the field of Engineering to speak at our events.

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. 

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to remove yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the request is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Natasa Nord, email: natasa.nord@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Emmy Høiseth, e-mail: emmy.a.hoiseth@ntnu.no.

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation. 

Application deadline: 01.03.2023

NTNU

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 Energy and Process Engineering

We conduct research and teaching covering the entire energy chain, from resources to the end-user. We look at how energy is produced and used by humans and machines in a sustainable way with regard to health, climate change and the resource base. The Department of Energy and Process Engineering is one of eight departments in the Faculty of Engineering.

Deadline 1st March 2023
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipalit Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service