Postdoctoral position in Critical Infrastructure

Description of the workplace

The Department of Building & Environmental Engineering consist of nine divisions, ranging from building physics, fire engineering, water resource management to risk management, and employs about 150 people in a stimulating and international environment consisting of PhD students, postdocs, teachers and researcher from many parts of the world. The work environment is characterized by commitment, collaboration, creativity and personal responsibility and that all shall be given the opportunity to grow personally and professionally.

The position is at the Division of Risk Management and Societal Safety, conducting research and education in societal safety, crisis management, and critical infrastructure. The division has a total of over 20 researchers/teachers and doctoral candidates employed, with a diversity of disciplinary backgrounds. The applicant will also be part of the Centre for Critical Infrastructure Research (CenCIP) at Lund University. The centre focuses on research related to critical infrastructure from a resilience, governance, and interdependency perspective. There will also be possibilities to be affiliated to the profile areas “The Energy Transition” and “Water” at the Faculty of Engineering, providing important research networks at Lund.

The PostDoc position is directly connected to a bi-lateral agreement between Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (DHS CISA), and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) under the project Joint Exchange of Data and Information on Critical Infrastructure (JEDI-CI). The project aims to share knowledge on modelling, simulation and analysis to support national cross-sector resilience management and policy planning related to the intersection of critical infrastructure and vital societal functions and is led by Jonas Johansson on the Swedish side.

Subject description

The research area is Critical Infrastructure Resilience, which includes understanding, analysing, managing, and reducing risk and vulnerabilities of physical and cyber infrastructures from a cross-sector perspective. This includes aspects of modelling, simulation, data classification, confidentiality concerns, and analysis capability in relation to conceptual areas such as critical infrastructure, complexity, systemic risks, decision making, interdependencies, and cascading effects.

Work duties

The main duties involved in a post-doctoral position is to conduct research. Teaching may also be included, but up to no more than 10% of working hours. The position includes the opportunity for three weeks of training in higher education teaching and learning. The purpose of the position is to develop the independence as a researcher and to create the opportunity of further development.

You will have the responsibility for developing a modelling and simulation approach of national interdependent critical functions and applying it in case studies both in Sweden and the US, in collaboration with the Swedish project leader, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) and US counterparts. The work will be an extension of and part of ongoing work within CenCIP. There will be project meetings requiring traveling to the US (1-2 times per year, about 1 week long visits) and dissemination of results at scientific conferences (1-2 per year), in addition to contributing to scientific journal publications. As part of the position you would also take part in teaching, mainly the masters course (second cycle) “Critical Infrastructure Resilience” (VRSN45) and opportunities for supervision of master student thesis writing and taking part in PhD-student supervision.

Qualification requirements 

Appointment to a post-doctoral position requires that the applicant has a PhD, or an international degree deemed equivalent to a PhD, within the subject of the position. The certificate proving the qualification requirement is met, must be received before the employment decision is made. Priority will be given to candidates who have graduated no more than three years ago before the last day for application. Under special circumstances, the doctoral degree can have been completed earlier.

Additional requirements:

• Very good oral and written proficiency in English.
• Ability to conduct research work independently and systematically in a collaborative environment.
• Knowledge and experience of the research field of critical infrastructure.

Assessment criteria 

This is a career development position primarily focused on research. The position is intended as an initial step in a career, and the assessment of the applicants will primarily be based on their research qualifications and potential as researchers. Particular emphasis will be placed on research skills within the subject.

For appointments to a post-doctoral position, the following shall form the assessment criteria:

• A good ability to develop and conduct high quality research.
• Teaching skills.

Other qualifications:

• Knowledge of technical infrastructures (such as electric power, telecommunications, water or transport systems) as well as cross-sectoral connections, interdependencies, cascading effects, and governance and management of complex systems.
• Knowledge and experience of programming, for example linked to engineering approaches, GIS, complex systems, supply chain management.
• Knowledge and experience in modelling and simulation of critical infrastructure and experience in relevant programming environments, such as Matlab, Python or ArcGIS.
• Knowledge and experience of crisis and disaster risk management at regional or (inter-)national levels.
• Academic or professional experience of the policy context in the US or Europe linked to critical infrastructure. 

Consideration will also be given to how the applicant’s experience and skills complement and strengthen ongoing research within the department and LTH, and how they stand to contribute to its future development.

We offer

Lund University is a public authority which means that employees get particular benefits, generous annual leave and an advantageous occupational pension scheme. Read more on the University website about being a Lund University employee Work at Lund University. 

Further information

This is a full-time, fixed-term employment of 2 years. The period of employment is determined in accordance with the agreement “Avtal om tidsbegränsad anställning som postdoktor” (“Agreement on fixed-term employment as a post-doctoral fellow”).

How to apply

Applications are to be submitted via the University’s recruitment system. The application should include a CV, including list of publications, and a personal letter justifying your interest in the position and how it matches your qualifications. The application should also include a degree certificate or equivalent and any other document to which you would like to draw attention (copies of grade transcripts, details of referees, letters of recommendation, etc.)” 

Welcome to apply!