Postdoc Position in Artificial Intelligence and Sensor Development for Chemical Processes

Updated: about 1 year ago
Deadline: 31 Jan 2023

Postdoc Position in Artificial Intelligence and Sensor Development for Chemical Processes
Postdoc Position in Artificial Intelligence and Sensor Development for Chemical Processes
Published Deadline Location
today 31 Jan Delft

We are seeking a highly motivated Posdoc to work on artificial intelligence for digital twins of chemical industrial processes.
Job description

Artificial intelligence (AI) promises great advances for the modeling and operation of chemical industrial processes. We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoc to work on AI methods and applications for digital twins of chemical industrial processes.

In this postdoc project, you will develop novel tools for the operation of chemical processes with AI. The project is the beginning of a long-term collaboration with industrial partners that provide operational data and process information. Also, you will get access to a pilot plant that will facilitate the development of AI methods and new inline sensor development. You will use the operational data and process topology information to develop a digital twin for optimal operation. The process of interest is a spray drying process. Spray drying is one of the most applied methods in the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries to continuously transform liquid-solid mixtures (slurries) into solid particles.

In the project, you will combine chemical engineering knowledge with data-driven approaches in an effective way. The methods that you will develop and apply can potentially include hybrid modeling, graph neural networks (GNNs), physics-informed neural networks (PINNs), recurrent neural networks (e.g., LSTMs), semantic technologies, and much more. We are happy to provide you with more technical details about our vision in a personal interview. We also expect you to develop new or used already available sensors, to test, to improve to facilitate the data collection, using a pilot spray drier

We support you to become a future leader in AI in chemical engineering. This project will prepare you for a future career in academia and industry. You will be responsible for the full project. This includes scientific research (e.g., method development and application) as well as project organization and collaboration with the industry. You will supervise a team of graduate students and potentially co-supervise PhDs. Theirs, but also your work will be divided over practical as well as computational work at the university as well as at the industrial partner. Moreover, you will be involved in teaching activities (e.g., a course on AI in chemical engineering) and funding acquisition. We facilitate collaborations and provide many opportunities to connect to the academic and industry communities. Finally, your work will contribute to the transition to sustainable chemical systems and you will have the opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary environment and interact with world-class collaborators.


Specifications
  • 36—40 hours per week
  • €2960—€4670 per month
  • Delft View on Google Maps

Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)


Requirements

We are looking for candidates that meet the following criteria:

  • Hold a Ph.D. degree in STEM (preferably in Chemical Engineering or computer science)
  • Prior expertise in machine learning and data models
  • Excellent programming skills in Python are essential. Knowledge of other programming languages is desired.
  • Experience with relevant Python libraries (TensorFlow/PyTorch, the python scientific stack) is necessary
  • Familiarity with version control, for example, git
  • Prior knowledge of chemical process modeling
  • Not be afraid to do practical work in labs or pilot plant
  • Ability to work in a team and mentor other students
  • Ability to communicate scientific results
  • Excellent oral and written English with good presentation skills.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with continuous integration and testing pipelines.
  • Experience with knowledge graphs and semantic web technologies
  • Experience in sensor development

Conditions of employment

Fixed-term contract: 2 years (1 year initial + 1 year after review).

This position is a 2 years assignment, starting with a 1-year contract.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, a discount on health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

For international applicants we offer the Coming to Delft Service and Partner Career Advice to assist you with your relocation. An International Children's Centre offers childcare and there is an international primary school.


Employer
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!


Department
Faculty Applied Sciences

With more than 1,000 employees, including 135 pioneering principal investigators, as well as a population of about 3,400 passionate students, the Faculty of Applied Sciences is an inspiring scientific ecosystem. Focusing on key enabling technologies, such as quantum- and nanotechnology, photonics, biotechnology, synthetic biology and materials for energy storage and conversion, our faculty aims to provide solutions to important problems of the 21st century. To that end, we train students in broad Bachelor's and specialist Master's programmes with a strong research component. Our scientists conduct ground-breaking fundamental and applied research in the fields of Life and Health Science & Technology, Nanoscience, Chemical Engineering, Radiation Science & Technology, and Engineering Physics. We are also training the next generation of high school teachers and science communicators.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Applied Sciences.


Additional information

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. Artur Schweidtmann , or Dr.ir Gabrie Meesters


Working at TU Delft

Join the oldest and largest technical university in the Netherlands. Work on clever solutions for worldwide challenges, to change the world and make an impact. Ready to bring your energy to our research?


Challenge, change, impact!

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Application procedure

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply before 31-01-2023 via the application button and upload:

  • A motivation letter (max 1 page);
  • A CV (max 3 A4 pages)
  • Your BSc and MSc academic records (including courses and grades);
  • The names and contact details of two references.

A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.

You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.Acquisition in response to this vacancy is not appreciated.

The available position will be filled as soon as possible (i.e. once a suitable candidate is found). This means that the selection of candidates will already start before the application deadline.



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