Postdoctoral position in techno-economic analysis of resilient urban energy systems

Do you want to develop and evaluate concepts for how a brand-new urban district can be supplied with both heat and electricity robustly, even when something unexpected happens, and see your analyses used as decision support by the municipality that will build it? Welcome with your application.

The position is part of a collaboration between KTH, Uppsala University and Uppsala Municipality on the energy system in Uppsala’s south-eastern districts. This is one of Sweden’s largest urban development projects, with 21,500 homes planned by 2050. You will work on a real question in a live setting, where your results directly affect how a district is built.

Two postdocs are being recruited in parallel to work closely together: one at KTH (this position) and one at Uppsala University. Part of the working time is spent at Uppsala Municipality, which gives direct access to planning documentation, stakeholders and the questions that are current during implementation. The project is part of the research area STandUP for Energy.

Job description

The position aims to generate and evaluate concepts for the energy supply of Uppsala’s south-eastern districts, and to analyse them techno-economically as decision support for the municipality.

Duties include:

• developing, modelling and comparing concepts for a flexible low-temperature heating system
• techno-economically evaluating a flexible electricity microgrid
• analysing the heating system and the electricity microgrid as an integrated multi-energy system
• quantifying the socio-economic value of the energy system’s resilience
• analysing the security of supply of the heat and electricity systems during disruptions, and how concept and sizing choices affect recovery time and outage costs
• developing scenarios for the district’s build-out, connection rates, energy demand, technology rollout and system configuration
• carrying out techno-economic analyses of the integrated system
• analysing business models and implementation models for both systems
• translating the results into decision support
• publishing results in scientific journals and presenting them at conferences
• taking part in applications for external research funding, nationally and within the EU

Qualifications

Requirements

• A PhD in energy technology, energy systems, mechanical engineering or equivalent, or a foreign degree deemed equivalent. The degree must be completed no later than when the employment decision is made.
• Documented experience of modelling, optimization and analysis of energy systems, preferably integrated or multi-energy systems
• Experience of techno-economic analysis, investment planning, infrastructure sizing or operational optimization
• Knowledge of thermal energy systems, for example district heating, heat pumps or thermal storage
• Understanding of energy markets and policy instruments, for both heat and electricity
• Programming skills and experience developing or applying computational models for energy system analysis
• The ability to express yourself in English, orally and in writing, as English is used daily in the project

Personal skills

• Good collaboration skills and the ability to communicate research results to stakeholders outside academia
• Goal-oriented and self-driven approach to work

Preferred qualification

• A doctoral degree or an equivalent foreign degree, obtained within the last three years prior to the application deadline
• Experience in low-temperature heating systems, waste heat recovery, thermal storage or other distributed energy resources
• Experience in modelling, optimization or sector coupling of integrated energy systems
• Experience in resilience or reliability analysis of energy systems, security of supply, or valuation of outage costs
• Experience in energy economics/business models, or collaboration with municipalities, authorities or industry
• Commitment to and awareness of gender equality, diversity, and equal opportunities.
• knowledge of Swedish, or willingness to learn it, for the work with the municipality

Great emphasis will be placed on personal skills.

Join us at KTH

KTH shapes the future through education, research and innovation. As a leading international technical university, we play an active role in advancing the transition towards a sustainable society. At KTH, you have the opportunity to grow and develop in a creative and dynamic environment, with good working conditions and attractive benefits. Equality, diversity and equal opportunities are essential to quality and form an integral part of KTH’s core values as a university and public authority.

Learn more about our benefits and what it's like to work and grow at KTH.

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To apply for the position

Log into KTH's recruitment system to apply for this position. You are responsible for ensuring that your application is complete according to the instructions in the ad.

The application must include:

• CV including relevant professional experience and knowledge.
• Copy of diplomas and grades from your previous university studies. Translations into English or Swedish if the original documents have not been issued in any of these languages.
• Brief account of why you want to conduct research, your academic interests and how they relate to your previous studies and future goals. Maximally two pages long.

Your complete application must be received at KTH no later than the last day of application, midnight CET/CEST (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).

About the employment

The position offered is for, at the most, two years.

A position as a postdoctoral fellow is a time-limited qualified appointment focusing mainly on research, intended as a first career step after a dissertation.

Other information

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It may be the case that a position at KTH is classified as a security-sensitive role in accordance with the Protective Security Act (2018:585). If this applies to the specific position, a security clearance will be conducted for the applicant in accordance with the same law with the applicant's consent. In such cases, a prerequisite for employment is that the applicant is approved following the security clearance.

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Disclaimer: In case of discrepancy between the Swedish original and the English translation of the job announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.

Anställningsform: tidsbegränsad anställning | Anställningens omfattning: heltid | Antal lediga befattningar: 1 | Sysselsättningsgrad: 100 % | Ort: Stockholm | Län: Stockholms län | Land: Sweden | Referensnummer: PA-2026-3737 | Kontakt: Björn Laumert , Björn Laumert , | Publicerat: 2026-10-30 | Sista ansökningsdag: 2026-11-27