PhD Position Application of eXtended Reality for City Logistics

Help shape the future of sustainable urban mobility with immersive XR solutions. Join our team to design innovative solutions for smarter, more inclusive city logistics.

Job description

Cities across Europe are rethinking how people and goods move through urban space. eXtended Reality (XR) technologies offer powerful ways to engage citizens, design inclusive interventions, and support data-driven decisions. At the department of Transport and Planning, you will play a central role in exploring and testing XR-supported mobility solutions within real-world pilot projects deployed in European cities.

In this position, you will develop VR-based immersive environments to test and evaluate urban mobility interventions (e.g., mobility hubs). You will design experiments to capture behavioural, cognitive, and physiological insights that deepen our understanding of how mobility users experience and respond to these interventions. A central part of the research will be to develop XR methods for incorporating diverse citizen perspectives into mobility design and planning, ensuring accessibility, inclusivity, and user acceptance.

You will also explore innovative AR applications to support intuitive navigation in redesigned urban spaces, such as bicycle parking. An AR-supported parking system will be developed and tested to provide users with real-time information on available spots, while also offering incentives for responsible parking behavior to improve efficiency and user experience.

Your home base will be the department of Transport & Planning and Mobility in eXtended Reality Lab, at the faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences. Our diverse team of PhDs, postdocs, project managers and professors all share the ambition to develop smart, sustainable, and equitable mobility systems. Our unique 12 collaborative labs develop and deploy the latest technology, including sensing, data analytics, modelling, simulation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, and function as dynamic hubs where innovative scientific research is translated into real-world impact. Ours is an open, inspiring and friendly team, where we share knowledge and help each other. And you will get all the support and training you need to develop and grow in your career.

This PhD position is part of the EU-funded NEXTLOGIC project. NEXTLOGIC provides a collaborative and digitally empowered framework, offering a comprehensive suite of solutions to address current challenges in urban mobility. The project leverages advanced technologies and sustainable practices to promote the EU’s climate neutrality goals and support smart city initiatives. Its primary objective is to guide cities in their transition toward net-zero transport emissions by reallocating urban space, redesigning infrastructure, and optimizing the movement of people and goods through innovative resource planning, management, and real-time monitoring technologies for new mobility and logistics services.

Job requirements 

We are looking for an enthusiastic and ambitious candidate with the following qualifications, knowledge, and skills:

• A master’s degree (or equivalent) in computer science, human-computer interaction, traffic engineering, or related fields.
• A solid background and interest in XR technologies and skills in developing XR applications using Unity/Unreal game engine.
• Demonstrable experimental skills, including experiment design, experiment setup, conducting experiments, and data collection. 
• Proficiency in using programming tools (e.g., Python, C#) and statistics to support your work.
• An open-minded personality with a curiosity-driven mindset, positive attitude towards methodological and interdisciplinary research, and willingness to learn from different fields, including transportation, human-computer interaction, and urban planning.
• Good communication and writing skills in English. 
• Experience in serious game development or prior research related to XR or urban mobility are considered advantages.

Conditions of employment 
Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met. 

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities , increasing from Promovendus gross per month, from the first year to the fourth year based on a fulltime contract (38 hours), plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.  

As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills. 

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.  

Will you need to relocate to the Netherlands for this job? TU Delft is committed to make your move as smooth as possible! The HR unit, Coming to Delft Service, offers information on their website to help you prepare your relocation. In addition, Coming to Delft Service organises events to help you settle in the Netherlands, and expand your (social) network in Delft. A Dual Career Programme is available, to support your accompanying partner with their job search in the Netherlands.  

Additional information
For more information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. Yan Feng (y.feng@tudelft.nl).     

Application procedure

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than 12 October 2025 via the application button. Please include in your application:

• A motivation letter (max. 1 page) covering your research interest and relevant experience in relation to the position;
• CV (1-2 page);
• One-page summary of your MSc thesis;
• Transcripts of academic qualifications (BSc and MSc) including list of courses and marks;
• A writing sample, such as a chapter from your Master’s Thesis or a (forthcoming or published) article or presented conference paper;
• Names and contact information of at least two references.

We expect to hold the job interviews in October 2025.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements. 

Please note:

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post. 
• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• For the final candidates, a knowledge security check will be part of the application procedure. For more information on this check, please consult Chapter 8 of the National Knowledge Security Guidelines. We carry out this check on the basis of legitimate interest.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.