Postdoctoral Fellow in Hydropower Technologies

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About the position

The Norwegian Research Centre for Renewal of Hydropower Technology, RenewHydro has a vacancy for a Postdoctoral Fellow. RenewHydro is hosted by the Department of Energy and Process Engineering at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway, and it is funded by the Research Council of Norway and the Norwegian hydropower industry. The research is both theoretical and experimental and it is mainly focused on hydropower technology. However, the market, environmental impact and social acceptance is also part of the research.

Are you ready to take your research career to the next level? We offer an exciting 3-year postdoctoral position that gives you the opportunity to develop a strong profile as researcher. You will also gain valuable experience that might be relevant for your further career. The purpose of a postdoctoral position is for the employee to build up a researcher profile and competence that qualifies the person to apply for a position as associate professor. The position may also provide other competence with relevance for the postdoctoral fellow's further career. Become part of our research environment and take the next step in your career with us.

The position reports to Professor Ole Gunnar Dahlhaug at the Department of Energy and Process Engineering.

About the project 

The objective of the project is to Improve the lifetime and reduce the environmental impact of hydro power plants in sediment laden rivers. This will be achieved by optimizing turbine designs to better manage high sediment loads and large sediment sizes, as well as improving the flow dynamics and sediment transport through hydraulic structures. The research includes hydropower technology through innovative approaches, including Francis- and Pelton turbines. In collaboration with researchers from the civil engineering disciplines, the sediment settlement basin at the inlet to the tunnels needs to be modified. In collaboration with researchers from the biology discipline, the life in the river downstream the power plant will be investigated to ensure that more sediments passing the turbine will mitigate the environmental impact from stopping sediments upstream the power plant. There will be collaboration between researchers from Kathmandu University, ETH Zürich and NORCE. 

Duties of the position

• Carry out research of good quality
• Academic publications and popular science disemination
• Participate in the research group RenewHydro 
• Apply for research funding and write applications and report on progress to funding sources 
• Participate in international activities such as EERA JP Hydropower, IEA Annexes,  conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions 
• Mentoring students, helping them with their research projects, and advising on methodology and academic writing 

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background applied physics, mechanical engineering, fluid mechanics or equivalent education 
• You must have completed a doctoral degree, or be in the final phase of your doctorate. If you are in the final phase of your doctorate and can document that the thesis has been submitted or that the defense date has been confirmed, your application can be considered even if you have not defended. NOTE: Documentation of the obtained doctorate must be presented before you can take up the position.
• Programming skills in LabView, MATLAB, Python, or similar
• Strong theoretical background in fluid mechanics, mathematics and physics
• Experience from laboratory work and/or prototype experiments on hydro turbines
• Good oral and written presentation skills in English. 

PLEASE NOTE: For detailed information about what the application must contain, see paragraph “About the application”.

If you cannot document skills in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish at level A2 upon employment, you must complete Norwegian courses corresponding to at least 15 credits before the end of the employment period. NTNU will facilitate this.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations for the Universities and Colleges Act (university and colleges regulations) and Regulations for the degrees philosophiaedoctor (ph.d.) and philosophiaedoctor (ph.d.) in artistic development work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) for general criteria for the position.

Preferred selection criteria

• Experience from the evaluation and analysis of numerical and measurement data from hydropower technology.
• Experience from laboratory work and/or prototype experiments on hydropower technology.
• Good oral and written presentation skills in Norwegian/Scandinavian language.

Personal characteristics

Working as a Postdoctoral fellow requires that you

• Work independently 
• Work structured, set goals and make plans to achieve them 
• Present and discuss your research with other professionals 
• Engage and contribute constructively with feedback 
• Work constructively under pressure or in the face of adversity  
• Show curiosity and a strong motivation for the subject 
• Analyze data, assess different perspectives and draw well-founded conclusions  
• Are flexible and open to adjusting the plan for the project as needed
• Personal skills like a positive and friendly attitude, and contributing to a sustainable social environment will also be valued.

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

We offer 

• An exciting job with an important social mission
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment 
• Career guidance throughout the postdoctoral program and together with you we will prepare a career plan, which contains the skills and knowledge you will acquire
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues  
• Favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Diversity

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population's collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals.

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education.

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

At NTNU we want to increase the proportion of women in scientific positions. We have a number of measures to promote equality. 

The Department of Energy and Process Engineering (EPT) has established EPT Women in Science. The group is focused on supporting female Research Assistants, PhD Candidates, Postdoctoral Fellows and permanent academic employees within the Department. This support aims to help develop the academic careers of female employees, and is also made visible to our student body, to encourage them to consider an academic path. As part of the EPT Women in Science initiative we continue to build on our international network, inviting prominent female academics within and beyond the field of Engineering to speak at our events.

Salary and conditions

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK 615 700 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is minimum 3 years, depending on whether there is a need to include Norwegian courses and/or courses within educational competence.

The position is conditional on external funding.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important to keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and to adapt to them. 

For the necessary professional and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to be in conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed. 

About the application 

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in English. 

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above.

The application must include:

• Research plan: Candidates are required to submit a one-page sketch on how they plan to use their scientific background and research ambitions to address the research challenges of this position.
• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor's-, Master's- and PhD degrees. If you have not yet completed your PhD, you must provide confirmation on your estimated date for the doctoral dissertation, or confirmation that your PhD thesis has been submitted. Documentation of a completed doctoral degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• CV
• A copy of the doctoral thesis. If you are close to submitting, you can attach a draft of the thesis. 
• Academic works - published or unpublished(up to 10 items)
• Possible recommendation letters
• Name and contact information of three referees

If all or parts of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

If you have had leave or another break in your career, it is important that this is stated in your application so that the selection committee can take this into account and that the amount of your research may be reduced as a result.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal qualities. Motivation, ambitions and potential for research will also be emphasized in the assessment of the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and is committed to follow evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment DORA and the obligations in CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU's social mission).

General information 

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt from entry on the public list of applicants, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the exemption is not granted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Ole Gunnar Dahlhaug telephone +47 91897609, e-mail: Ole.G.Dahlhaug@ntnu.no. 

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR-consultant Ingrid Wiggen, email: ingrid.wiggen@ntnu.no.

If you find this position interesting, and in accordance with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.

Application deadline: 01.04.2025

For practical information about working at NTNU, please visit this webpage. 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the tech capital of Norway with a population of 200,000.The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.