PhD Position Reinforcement Learning for Sustainable Logistics

This PhD position focuses on algorithmic design to support online decision-making.  You will develop data-driven reinforcement learning approaches to match transport loads and resources in multi-modal supply chains.

The platform economy is on the rise, exemplified by popular booking platforms in the airline and hospitality industries.  These platforms favour synchronization and matching between supply and demand, thereby offering better capacity utilization.  In a similar fashion, freight transport services could be matched to transport requests, consequently enhancing sustainability, agility, and resilience of supply chains.

However, deploying such platforms is complex, due to the variety of transport modes and cargo features, conservative business models, and rigid mindsets that limit the opportunities for interconnected networks and visibility of transport options.  Thus, there are many hurdles to overcome to design successful platforms for the freight transport sector.

You will develop algorithms to dynamically respond to shifting demand and supply, as well as events such as delays.  You will advance a combination of reinforcement learning, approximate mechanism design and multi-agent system modelling to support a well-functioning freight transport platform.

TU Delft performs world-leading research in transport and logistics and in reinforcement learning.  The successful applicant will join the STAR Lab at the Faculty of Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science.

This PhD research is part of the project “It’s a cargo match!” funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO).  You will work with industrial partners in the logistics sector, with researchers at the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management of TU Delft, and with researchers at Faculty of Behavioural Management and Social Sciences of the University of Twente.  There is the opportunity for regular visits to Twente.     

You are self-motivated and intellectually capable.  When you start this PhD position:

• You hold a masters degree in a quantitative subject such as machine learning, industrial engineering, operational research, computer science, mathematics, economics or behavioural science.
• You are able to work independently and also as part of an inter-disciplinary team.
• You have experience in at least one of reinforcement learning, optimisation and/or agent-based simulation.
• You are able to communicate with diverse stakeholders including industrial partners.
• You are excited to collaborate with researchers in management and social sciences.
• You have solid software development skills in Python.
• You have fluency in written and spoken English.
• Command of the Dutch language is helpful, but not required.   

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2770 per month in the first year to € 3539 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged. 

For international applicants, TU Delft has the Coming to Delft Service. This service provides information for new international employees to help you prepare the relocation and to settle in the Netherlands. The Coming to Delft Service offers a Dual Career Programme for partners and they organise events to expand your (social) network.

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!

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.