Three PhD Positions on “Power and Energy Systems”

The Power and Energy Systems Group at Aalto (A!PES) from Aalto University is seeking talented candidates in power system research. The PhD positions will be focused on:

• DC3) Developing and applying new tariff models to end-users,
• DC4) Developing flexibility quantification methods to enhance DSO and TSO interaction,
• DC5) Integrated community energy systems

These positions are linked with FITNESS (GA.101168796) project funded by the Horizon Europe programme under the call for proposals MSCA Doctoral Networks 2023 - HORIZON-MSCA-2023-DN-01 (https://fitness-project.eu/research/).

A!PES Group is located at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation, School of Electrical Engineering, Aalto University (https://www.aalto.fi), Espoo, Finland.

Eligibility, experience, and ambitions:

• Candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Finland for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date.
• These positions require mobilities to other partner universities and partner industries, with the details discussed later.   
• The candidate must comply with this condition - Not having been awarded a title of PhD (Applicants who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible.)

The candidates will be expected to have:

1. A master’s degree in electrical engineering, computer science or similar.

2. Knowledge of power systems operation, planning, and economics.

3. Strong skills in mathematical programming, optimization, and game theory. 4. Strong programming skills in implementing optimization problems using programming languages such as GAMS (or MATLAB, AMPL, Python, Julia).

5. Good understanding of optimization solvers like CPLEX, Gurobi, and Xpress.

In addition,

• Demonstrated proficiency in English is required.
• If you are chosen for this position, you should apply for the study right in doctoral studies at Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering. Thus, please see the student information and admission criteria at https://www.aalto.fi/en/study-options/aalto-doctoral-programme-in-electrical-engineering.

What we offer

When pursuing your doctoral studies at Aalto you will receive:

• Meaningful and inspiring environment. We are proud of our purpose to shape a sustainable future. We spark the game changers of tomorrow, and renew society with research-based knowledge, creativity and an entrepreneurial mindset.
• Culture that inspires and includes everyone. All our work is guided by the values of the university: responsibility, courage, and collaboration.  It’s the people that create Aalto, now and in the future. We want to be an open community where equality and inclusion enable curiosity, innovation, collaboration and wellbeing.
• Responsible and meaningful role with true impact in our University’s/ School’s success, and in the end, in the wellbeing and development of our society.
• Support, coaching and sparring when you feel you need it.
• Great possibilities for competence development and learning. We constantly keep learning to find the most impactful ways to empower – and invest in – our people.
   

Position (priority, duration, start time, and salary):

• You can apply for min. 1 and max. 3 of the open positions. You will be asked to prioritize your choices, using the position codes (DC3, DC4 or DC5)
• The position has a flexible start date between 1st April 2025 to 30th September 2025 and is fully funded for 3 years.
• The salary will be based on both the job requirements, place of work and the employee’s personal performance in accordance with the salary system of Finnish universities. The gross starting salary for a PhD student at Aalto University is approximately 3000 EUR per month and will be adjusted according to the eligible allowances; the family allowance will be clarified with the selected candidate once their situation is defined.

How to apply:

To apply for the position, please send the documents indicated below (in English, compiled in a single PDF) using our online recruitment system. To access the recruitment system, please use the “Apply now!” link below.

Please send your application by 31.3.2025 at the latest. We cannot unfortunately consider applications sent to us via email.

The required documents are:

• Application letter describing briefly your background and motivation to join the Power and Energy Systems Group (max. 1 page)
• Curriculum Vitae (with your contact details), with names and contact information of at least two references to provide recommendations
• List of publications, if any, with the most relevant peer-review articles highlighted and described
• Description of MSc thesis project - maximum 1 page
• Master and Bachelor degree certificates, or equivalent, transcript of study records during all the previous university degrees with English translations, if they are in another language than English. Finnish and Swedish certificates are also accepted.

Please note that our recruitment system allows max 5 attachments, so please combine the copies of certificates and transcripts in one PDF, if necessary.

We will consider the applications on arrival and may contact suitable candidates for an interview already during the application period. We aim to have a transparent and equal recruitment process, so feel free to ask us for feedback.

Aalto University reserves the right for justified reasons to leave the position open, to extend the application period, reopen the application process, and to consider candidates who have not submitted applications during the application period.

Further information

For further details, please contact Prof. Mahdi Pourakbari (Mahdi.Pourakbari[at]aalto.fi). For submission related queries, contact HR at hr-elec@aalto.fi.

About Aalto and Department of Electrical Engineering and automation:

Aalto University is where science and art meet technology and business. We shape a sustainable future by making research breakthroughs in and across our disciplines, sparking the game changers of tomorrow and creating novel solutions to major global challenges. Our community is made up of 13 000 students, 400 professors and close to 4 500 other faculty and staff working on our dynamic campus in Espoo, Greater Helsinki, Finland. Diversity is part of who we are, and we actively work to ensure our community’s diversity and inclusiveness. This is why we warmly encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds to join our community. 

 The Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation is an ecosystem where scientists and engineers from different fields interact and work together by crossing over traditional boundaries to solve the most challenging scientific and technological problems, to provide excellent education, and to produce wellbeing for the society. Our academic community has approximately 250 employees and 23 professors. The Department is part of the Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering (Aalto ELEC) with world-class research facilities and instruments.

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