PhD Fellow in Railway Resilience and Operational Decision Support

The position A PhD position is available at the Department of Building, Energy and Material Technology (IBEM), Faculty of Engineering Science and Technology (IVT).

The candidate will work in Building, Energy and Material Technology (BEaM) research group. The research group conducts applied research in fields such as sustainable buildings, renewable energy technologies, material technology, environmental sustainability, resilience and vulnerability and decision support systems.

The position is for a period of four years. The nominal length of the PhD programme is three years. The fourth year is distributed as 25 % each year and will consist of teaching and other duties. The objective of the position is to complete research training to the level of a doctoral degree. Admission to the PhD programme is a prerequisite for employment, and the programme period starts on commencement of the position.

The workplace is at UiT in Narvik. You must be able to start in the position within a reasonable time after receiving the offer.

The project The proposed PhD project addresses a critical challenge in modern railway systems: maintaining operational stability under increasing environmental stress, aging infrastructure, and growing traffic demand. In Norway, railway infrastructure operates under demanding climatic conditions, due to subzero temperatures. This PhD project aims to develop an integrated, risk-informed and resource-aware framework that links infrastructure robustness, environmental vulnerability, and operational decision-making. The project is grounded in the concept that railway performance is not only determined by asset condition, but by the interaction between hazard exposure, infrastructure response, and the ability to manage and recover operations under resource constraints.

The research is structured around three closely connected components: (a) hazard-driven vulnerability and exposure mapping; (b) resource-aware resilience and operational impact modelling and (c) risk-informed decision support for control-room environment. The project will be carried out in close collaboration with relevant stakeholders in the railway sector, and results will be validated in operational.

The project is expected to deliver both scientific advancements and practical contributions to the railway sector for implementation to achieve robust and resilient railway operations regardless disruptions due to extreme weather or human factors.

The applicant must submit a short proposal (max 2 pages) describing his/her understanding of the problem and proposal to solve the problem.

Qualifications Required qualifications & educational background

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in civil engineering, industrial engineering, transport/railway engineering, mechanical engineering, systems engineering, or other relevant disciplines.
• Strong academic record and demonstrated ability for independent research and analytical work.
• Solid foundation in quantitative methods (e.g. statistics, modelling, optimisation, or system analysis).
• Background in one or more of the following areas: • Infrastructure or transport systems
• Risk, reliability, or resilience analysis
• Data analysis and computational modelling / programming (e.g. Python, MATLAB, R or similar)
• Ability to develop and apply models of complex systems, simulation and stochastic modelling, optimisation under constraints

Desirable skills and training in one or more will be advantageous

• Knowledge of transport or railway systems.
• Familiarity with risk-informed decision-making frameworks and ability to translate analytical results into practical decision-support insights.
• Ability to apply system-level thinking, linking infrastructure performance, environmental conditions, and operations.
• Experience with data-driven modelling or machine learning.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively, including engagement with external stakeholders.
• Previous publication(s) on a relevant topic is meritorious.

The application must include documentation of all training, knowledge, skills and GPA (grade point average). If the documents are not in English, translation rules for the European Standardized Character System must be followed. Applicants must document fluency in English and be able to work in an international environment. Nordic applicants can document their English capabilities by attaching their high school diploma. Working knowledge of Norwegian or a Scandinavian language will be preferred.

We are looking for candidates who has good communication skills and contributes to a team and working environment.

As many people as possible should have the opportunity to undertake organized research training. If you already hold a PhD or have equivalent competence, we will not appoint you to this position.

Admission to the PhD programme For employment in the PhD position, you must be qualified for admission to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Engineering Science and Technology and participate in organized doctoral studies within the employment period.

Admission normally requires:

• A bachelor's degree of 180 ECTS and a master's degree of 120 ECTS, or an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS.
• A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 30 ECTS for a master's degree of 120 ECTS.
• A master's thesis with a scope corresponding to at least 20 ECTS for an integrated master's degree of 300 ECTS.

In order to gain admission to the programme, applicants with a background from a Norwegian institution should have a minimum grade of C on their master thesis and a weighted grade average of 3.0 for the last two years of their master programme. A more detailed description of admission requirements can be found here.

If you are employed in the position, you will be provisionally admitted to the PhD programme. Application for final admission must be submitted no later than two months after taking up the position.

Applicants with a foreign educati