Postdoc in Applied Planning and Scheduling under Uncertainty

Overcome uncertainty in planning and scheduling to help make offshore wind farms a reality.

Job description

This post-doctoral position makes fundamental advances in infrastructure planning and scheduling under uncertainty.  These advances will be applied to modelling of supply chain scenarios for offshore wind farm installation, including optimised planning schemes.

Researchers at TU Delft have developed design approaches that account for many different perspectives in major infrastructure projects including offshore wind farms.  These perspectives include manufacturing of parts, storage and transport capacity limitations, port congestion and strong dependence on weather conditions.  You will further develop and push towards application such approaches, to support the development of supply chain scenarios for wind farm installation.  You will lead optimisation of planning schemes for several practical cases, including the development of decision rules for the mitigation of disruptions.

Relevant approaches or experience may include planning and scheduling under uncertainty, reinforcement learning, (distributionally) robust optimisation, uncertainty quantification, multi-objective optimisation, and evolutionary algorithms.

The successful applicant will join the STAR Lab at the Faculty of Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, working with Sequential Decision Making group in the same faculty, and be connected to researchers in the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences.

This research is part of the project ‘Efficient From Fabrication to Installation of Large Offshore Assembled Turbines’ funded by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).  As part of the project, you will work with industrial partners including Boskalis.

Job requirements

When you start this postdoc position:

•  You hold a PhD degree or have submitted your PhD dissertation.
•  You are excited to make and apply fundamental advances in (AI) algorithms.
•  You want to lead research and define approaches to the challenges in the project.
•  You are able to work independently and also as part of a team with other researchers.
•  You are able to communicate with diverse stakeholders including industrial partners.
•  You have fluency in written and spoken English.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology) 

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context. 

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration. 

Challenge. Change. Impact! 

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science 

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) brings together three scientific disciplines. Combined, they reinforce each other and are the driving force behind the technology we all use in our daily lives. Technology such as the electricity grid, which our faculty is helping to make completely sustainable and future-proof. At the same time, we are developing the chips and sensors of the future, whilst also setting the foundations for the software technologies to run on this new generation of equipment – which of course includes AI. Meanwhile we are pushing the limits of applied mathematics, for example mapping out disease processes using single cell data, and using mathematics to simulate gigantic ash plumes after a volcanic eruption. In other words: there is plenty of room at the faculty for ground-breaking research. We educate innovative engineers and have excellent labs and facilities that underline our strong international position. In total, more than 1000 employees and 4,000 students work and study in this innovative environment. 

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science. 

Conditions of employment 

• Duration of contract is 24 months.

• A job of 36-40 hours per week. 

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. 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
If you would like more information about this vacancy or the selection procedure, please contact Dr. N. Yorke-Smith or Prof.dr. M.T.J. Spaan, via n.yorke-smith@tudelft.nl or m.t.j.spaan@tudelft.nl.

Application procedure
Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than April 6, 2025 via the application button and upload the following documents:

• CV
• Motivational letter

You can address your application to Dr. N. Yorke-Smith.

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.