Postdoc in Design Generation and Evaluation for the Mobility DesAIgn Lab

Curious about how AI can shape the future of mobility system design, and do so in an equitable way? Join us at the Mobility DesAIgn Lab and be part of the innovation!

Job description
The global urbanization and growth of cities lead to a significant increase in mobility and logistics while the amount of space available is scarce. IT technology and mobility services in cities are evolving rapidly, and there are many public and private stakeholders involved in the design, and management of mobility and transport systems. To keep areas accessible and liveable there is a pressing need for advanced design methodologies that are capable of dealing with increasingly complex design problems such as location choice of mobility hubs, the number of shared vehicles offered at hubs and the number of parking spaces on different locations in a city.

Current urban mobility planning and design makes use of predictive digital twins based on classical traffic and transport models, in which a group of stakeholders interacts with a visual dashboard. In this approach, the stakeholders propose several designs, and transport models are used to assess the expected impacts of those designs on the modal-split, network performance, accessibility and other indicators. A substantial disadvantage of this approach is that only a limited number of designs can be considered. Another disadvantage is that only a small group of stakeholders decides about the designs, creating the risk that they unconsciously introduce bias towards specific population groups, areas and/or types of solutions.

The Mobility DesAIgn Lab focuses on novel ‘prescriptive’ digital twins that are based on AI and optimisation techniques and studies the ethical, legal, societal, and economic implications of using these prescriptive digital twins for urban mobility and spatial system design and management, enabling stakeholders to start using these prescriptive digital twins responsibly.

In this role you will be responsible for the generation and evaluation of the designs and management strategies that can be explored in the digital twin. The process of generating designs is steered by AI techniques, while the evaluation of designs is performed using existing transport models. These models simulate behaviour of travellers to compute a variety of indicators, such as modality choices, travel times, and accessibility measures, for different population groups. The indicators can be used to explore, compare and eventually choose designs in the use cases. You will collaborate closely with a fellow postdoc as well as with researchers from TNO, the university of Leiden, and with several public and private partners.

Key responsibilities include:

• Make an inventory of population groups and indicators that should be considered in the design and evaluation, based on three different use cases: sustainable mobility, car-restrictive interventions, and future traffic management with connected automated vehicles.
• Develop AI-based design generation methods.
• Develop and apply transport models such that the selected indicators can be computed for different designs.
• Collaborate with researchers and consortium partners in the Mobility DesAIgn Lab.

More information on the project (and a 2nd PostDoc vacancy within the project) can be found at its website: Mobility DesAIgn Lab

Job requirements

• PhD in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Computer Science, Transport (Engineering), Urban Mobility, or a related field.
• Proven expertise in digital twins, and urban mobility modelling.
• Strong programming skills.
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams.

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 Civil Engineering and Geosciences
The Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences (CEG) is committed to outstanding international research and education in the field of civil engineering, applied earth sciences, traffic and transport, water technology, and delta technology. Our research feeds into our educational programmes and covers societal challenges such as climate change, energy transition, resource availability, urbanisation and clean water. Our research projects are conducted in close cooperation with a wide range of research institutions.
CEG is convinced of the importance of open science and supports its scientists in integrating open science in their research practice. The Faculty of CEG comprises 28 research groups in the following seven departments: Materials Mechanics Management & Design, Engineering Structures, Geoscience and Engineering, Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Transport & Planning, Hydraulic Engineering and Water Management.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences.

Conditions of employment

• Duration of contract is 2 years. Temporary.
• A job of 38-40 hours per week.
• Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.
• An excellent pension scheme via the ABP.
• The possibility to compile an individual employment package every year.
• Discount with health insurers on supplemental packages.
• Flexible working week.
• Every year, 232 leave hours (at 38 hours). You can also sell or buy additional leave hours via the individual choice budget.
• Plenty of opportunities for education, training and courses.
• Partially paid parental leave
• Attention for working healthy and energetically with the vitality program.

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 Maaike Snelder M.Snelder.tudelft.nl.
For more information on the Mobility DesAIgn Lab, see Mobility DesAIgn Lab

Application procedure
Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than 30 January 2026 via the application button and upload the following documents:

• Cover Letter
• Motivational letter
• A proof of scientific writing (e.g. a summary of your PhD thesis or a conference/journal paper).

You can address your application to Maaike Snelder.

Please note:

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• As part of knowledge security, TU Delft conducts a risk assessment during the recruitment of personnel. We do this, among other things, to prevent the unwanted transfer of sensitive knowledge and technology. The assessment is based on information provided by the candidates themselves, such as their motivation letter and CV, and takes place at the final stages of the selection process. When the outcome of the assessment is negative, the candidate will be informed. The processing of personal data in the context of the risk assessment is carried out on the legal basis of the GDPR: performing a public task in the public interest. You can find more information about this assessment on our website about knowledge security.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.