The TU/e Department of the Built Environment is one of the key drivers behind the newly created Urban Development Initiative (UDI) in the Brainport region Eindhoven. One of the programs within UDI is the Digital City Program. Building on the region's existing digital backbone (i.e. fiber optic  network, 5G and sensors), vibrant ecosystem and disruptive  start-ups and research, this program focuses on developing digital solutions for integrated, sustainable city planning.

The Digital City Lab runs the research activities of the UDI Digital City Program and focuses on questions related to the development and enhancement of tools for evidence-based decision making and citizen engagement that will support smart and sustainable transformation of cities. These tools cover 3D/4D urban digital twins, virtual reality solutions and urban big data analytics, and are used at varying levels such as street, district, city and region. The UDI Digital City Lab collaborates with TU/e Eindhoven Artificial Intelligence Systems Institute (EAISI) and its Digital Twin Lab, and with external parties such as municipalities and companies.

For the UDI Digital City Lab we are looking for an outstanding postdoctoral researcher with expertise in developing 3D/4D urban digital twins and/or realistic immersive virtual urban environments.



Within the Digital City Lab, you are expected to:

• Conduct research activities on one or more of the fields for real-world problems: 3D city modeling, GIS, urban big data analytics, virtual reality;
• Publish and (co-)author papers for leading scientific journals and conferences;
• Assist the Digital City Lab research group with writing funding applications;
• Assist the Digital City Lab research group in supervising graduate students;
• Be a collaborative and independent researcher who is forward thinking in your creative and research agenda;
• Enthusiastically engage with public and private partners of research program to look for opportunities to focus on specific datasets and problems.

The Digital City Lab is part of the UDI Digital City Program of the Brainport Eindhoven Region. Founders of the UDI are City of Eindhoven, City of Helmond, TU/e, Brainport Development and the Fraunhofer Research Institute. UDI aims to address urban challenges by focusing the innovation agenda on the existing and potential urban problems in order to develop a systemic urban planning approach that integrates different sectoral approaches. The Digital City Program aims at:

1. Building an ecosystem that drives digital innovation trends.
2. Kick-starting projects towards user friendly and adaptive digital solutions for the flagship showcases in the Brainport Region that offer actionable insights for complex and integrated urban challenges, based on big urban data and open standards. 

We are looking for a candidate who meets the following requirements:

• Computational affinity and a PhD degree in geographical information science, urban planning, computer science, geomatics, or another relevant field of study;
• Prior research experience on one or more of the fields: 3D city modeling, virtual reality in urban planning and design, GIS, and urban big data analytics & urban informatics;
• Affinity for applying research to real-world problems;
• Excellent scientific skills, as demonstrated by peer-reviewed publications or other forms of output (i.e. software);
• Able to develop prototypes and software (i.e. 3D visualization and interaction (web/AR/VR), urban simulations);
• Excellent communication skills and competence in written and spoken English;
• Experience with collaborating with external private and/or public partners in field lab settings;
• Value open science such as open data and reproduceable research;
• Team player who enjoys working in multidisciplinary teams.

• A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university with the possibility to present your work at international conferences.
• A full-time employment for two years.
• You will have free access to high-quality training programs for research and valorization, professional development and didactical courses of the TEACH training program.
• A gross monthly salary and benefits in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities.
• Additionally, an annual holiday allowance of 8% of the yearly salary, plus a year-end allowance of 8.3% of the annual salary.
• A broad package of fringe benefits (including an excellent technical infrastructure, moving expenses, and savings schemes).
• Family-friendly initiatives are in place, such as an international spouse program, and excellent on-campus children day care and sports facilities.