PhD Position Learning and Control for Complex Large-Scale Systems with Applications in Greenhouses

Location: Delft, Netherlands. Relocation to the Netherlands is expected for this job.

Salary: €3059–€3881 gross per month from the first to the fourth year on a full-time 38-hour contract.

Company

hirify.global is an international university focused on engineering education and research in areas including energy, climate, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, and smart mobility.

What you will do

• Develop reduced-order hybrid models of greenhouse airflow, CO2 levels, temperature, and humidity using microclimate sensor and CFD simulation data.
• Design hybrid data-driven and model-based control algorithms for ventilation and online greenhouse decision-making.
• Develop predictive control methods for controlled PDEs using Koopman operators and/or sparse identification of nonlinear dynamics.
• Optimize ventilation, heating, artificial lighting, screens, sensor placement, and actuator placement based on crop performance and fluctuating energy prices.
• Use large-scale optimization, high-fidelity numerical simulations, and greenhouse demonstrators to implement and validate the developed methods.
• Collaborate with PhD students, researchers, and industrial partners across the GreenControl consortium.

Requirements

• Completed MSc degree in systems and control, applied mathematics, engineering, or a related field.
• Strong background or interest in systems and control, applied mathematics, and machine learning.
• Affinity with biological systems applications.
• English proficiency sufficient for communication, English-taught doctoral courses, scientific articles, and the PhD thesis.

Nice to have

• Experience conducting, designing, or managing experiments for physical or biological systems.

Culture & Benefits

• Four-year doctoral employment period in principle, structured as an initial 1.5-year contract followed by a 2.5-year contract after a go/no-go assessment.
• Enrollment in the hirify.global Graduate School with supervision, mentoring, and a doctoral education programme.
• 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• Customisable compensation package, health insurance discounts, and a monthly work costs contribution.
• Flexible work schedules can be arranged.
• Relocation support and a dual-career programme are available through the Coming to Delft Service.

Hiring process

• Submit a CV, motivation letter, research-oriented documents, and BSc/MSc transcripts by 30 September 2026.
• Selected applicants will be invited to an interview and asked to provide two references with their consent.
• A knowledge-security risk assessment takes place during the final recruitment stages.