Postdoctoral Candidate on the European Battery Sustainability Modelling Platform (EBATS)

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NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You can find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

About the job

The postdoctoral position is a temporary position where the main goal is to qualify for work in senior academic positions. This is a 3-4 year postdoctoral position with combined research and teaching opportunities and duties within the Department of Energy and Process Engineering (EPT)

The postdoctoral position`s research component will be within the Industrial Ecology Programme (IndEcol) and supervised by Professor Anders Hammer Strømman. IndEcol is well-recognized for its work in several areas, including climate change mitigation and life-cycle assessment, as evidenced by numerous publications and international prizes. Key faculty staff currently serve or have recently served as members of the IPCC, the UNEP Resource Panel, and UNEP/SETAC task forces. 

The postdoctoral position`s teaching component will be with the Sustainable Energy System Group and Professor Odne Burheim. This group focuses on research and teaching related to various energy technologies and applications, particularly within the fields of energy supply and use in buildings, including indoor climate, and e-fuels covering batteries, hydrogen, and bioenergy. Professor Burheim is co-leading FME Battery.

The position will be financed by NTNU in relation to FME Battery.

Duties of the position

• Advancement, Application and Maintenance of the European Battery Sustainability Modelling Platform (EBATS)
• Advancements in terms of expanding and improving the modeling framework (e.g., wrt, recycling, in-use characteristics, and more) in accordance with project deliverables and in dialogue with project partners and supervising professors
• Applications in terms of using the framework to perform analysis of peer-reviewed scientific publications and presentation of results at conferences in accordance with project deliverables and in dialogue with project partners and supervising professors
• Maintenance in terms of managing the git repository, general revision cycles, and updates to ensure the joint functionality of the user group in dialogue with partners and supervising professors
• Contribute to research proposal development for funding, consolidating, and supporting the above activities
• Teaching FENT2011 Energy Storage 1 throughout the duration of the position, in general accordance with the established curriculum and course plan and in coordination with Professor Burheim

Required selection criteria

• You must have completed a Norwegian doctoral degree or corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian PhD in sustainable battery engineering, industrial ecology, or similar. If you can document that the PhD thesis has been submitted, your application can be assessed even if you have not yet defended your thesis. Documentation of the obtained doctoral degree must be presented before you can take up the position.
• Solid programming skills in Python 
• Experience with simulations integrating battery production processes, their costs and life cycle assessments
• Demonstrate strong analytical skills and capabilities
• Excellent written and oral English language skills
• Experience with Lecturing at the University Level
• Competence in Energy Storage according to the curriculum of FENT2011 Energy Storage 1

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as Postdoctoral Fellow, PhD Candidate, Research Assistant and specialist candidate.

Preferred selection criteria

• Competencies in Cost Assessment
• Competencies in Battery Recycling
• Competencies in Life Cycle Assessment
• Experience with co-supervision of Master`s students

Personal characteristics

• Self-driven with a strong ability to work independently when required while also willing to take inputs and direction when given
• Motivated to work in a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural team, with an interest in cross-disciplinary learning
• Motivated for teaching and supervision

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

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

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK 615 700 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 - 4 years.

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.

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.

Publications and other scientific work must accompany your application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above and that all required documentation is included as follows:

• CV and certificates
• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor's, Master's and PhD degrees. If you have not yet completed your PhD, you must provide written confirmation of the date of your PhD defence, or written confirmation that your doctoral thesis has been submitted
• A copy of the doctoral thesis. If you are close to submitting, or have recently submitted your thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed doctoral degree must be presented before taking up the position
• Academic works - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment
• Research plan
• Name and contact information of three referees

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. 

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, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, 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 

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.

The city of Trondheim has a population of 200,000. It is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene and is known as the innovation capital of Norway. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is among the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is widely accessible, as is children`s education (including international schools). Trondheim has clean air quality and low crime rates, and offers the possibility of enjoying nature, culture and family life. 

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 reserve 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 reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Odne Burheim odne.s.burheim@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Megan Norris, megan.norris@ntnu.no

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