Duration: 3.5 years, full-time.

Starting date: 1st April 2024, or as soon as practically possible afterwards.

Deadline submission: 1st April 2024 is foreseen as application deadline. However, we will review applications continuously and continue the search until a suitable candidate is found. We encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible.

About the Research topic:

The successful candidate will address the following topics :

• Analyzing climate scenarios from global circulation models and dynamically downscale them to the Belgian offshore wind farms to reduce uncertainties;
• Benchmarking GPU based models for microscale and regional weather models;
• Development and benchmarking of wake models on wind turbine and wind farm scales;
• Pilot cases on current and near-future Belgian offshore wind farms (including air-sea interactions, and context specific challenges like artificial islands and environmental aspects);
• Support the overarching activities of the team, including collaboration with eg. research master or short term students.

Requirements:

You are a highly motivated and enthusiastic person with a passion for scientific research. You are self-organized and can work independently, but also operate well in a team (e.g. you proactively help others or seek advice when you are stuck). You are strongly interested in fluid dynamics, meteorology, machine learning, HPC, renewable energy, and wind energy specifically. You have manifested these skills through a good educational record and/or a highly graded MSc thesis.

You have

• An MSc in mechanical or aerospace engineering, computational (fluid) physics, applied mathematics, meteorology, machine learning or a related field;
• Strong programming skills, for example in Python, MATLAB, or Fortran;
• A good command of the English language, both spoken and written (at least B2);
• A growth mindset, willing to develop yourself on multiple technical & (inter)personal skills;

We encourage any candidate meeting these basic requirements to apply.

Furthermore, experience in any of the following fields is a strong advantage:

• Wind turbine wake modeling, e.g., with large eddy simulation or engineering wake models
• Use of mesoscale numerical weather prediction models such as WRF
• Data assimilation in numerical models
• High-performance parallel computing
• Development of and experience with CFD solvers (e.g. in-house codes or OpneFOAM)
• Notion of the renewable energy technology, market & policy trends, especially in the field of wind energy
• Notion or proficiency in Dutch or French
• Ability to translate your message to different target audiences (academic, industrial, science communication)

Benefits:

• Employed by the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics in one of the most attractive areas of central Europe in the neighborhood of Brussels.
• Work at the internationally renowned von Karman Institute in a key role advancing technologies for future energy systems.
• Work in close collaboration with Belgian universities as well as an industry network.
• Become part of the VKI network with global access to industry experts and academics in the field of fluid dynamics, aerospace, propulsion, and energy conversion.
• Experience the unique international workshop character of the VKI working environment.
• Access to specialized seminars and lecture series and to world-unique facilities

Eligibility Criteria

As the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics maintains an equal opportunities and diversity policy, everyone who meets the eligibility criteria below is encouraged to apply for this position.

• meet the requirements for the duties concerned.
• be a citizen of one of the VKI partner countries (see link): https://www.vki.ac.be/index.php/home-v16/eligibility

von Karman Site Location: Close to Brussels @ Rhode-Saint-Genèse (Flemish-Brabant)

Contact information: For further information, please contact Wim Munters (sr. research engineer) at wim.munters@vki.ac.be

How to apply

Applications must contain a CV, motivation letter, publication list, contact information of two referees, copy of the Degree and Master title. Further, also a piece of technical writing (e.g. from a paper or your master thesis), should be uploaded in the system. CV must clearly indicate the exact dates of (1) each position held in the past, and (2) countries of residence in the last 5 years.

Important: do NOT send your application by email but apply online.