PhD Position: "Multi-Agent Cyber-Physical Systems for Smart Building Control"

Karlstad University; Louvain; Sur place; EUR 60 000 - 80 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

A prestigious university in Leuven is seeking a PhD candidate for research in multi-agent cyber-physical systems for smart building control. The successful applicant will develop a PhD proposal, conduct research, and assist in teaching activities. A Master's degree in Informatics or related fields and a strong background in control systems engineering are essential. The position offers full-time employment for 1 year with opportunities for funding for a 4-year PhD program.

Qualifications

• You must have no more than 18 months of research experience after graduation.
• Experience in scientific writing and presenting is a plus.
• You are capable of working independently and collaborating in a team.

Responsabilités

• Develop a PhD proposal for the given topic.
• Conduct research on multi-agent cyber-physical systems.
• Assist in teaching activities.

Connaissances

Control systems engineering

Building physics

IoT integration (MQTT)

Machine Learning applications (TensorFlow, Keras)

Agent development (LangGraph, CrewAI, OpenAI Swarm)

Analytical thinking

Communication skills (English)

Formation

Master’s degree in Informatics, Engineering Sciences, or Construction-related fields

Outils

Building energy simulation tools (Modelica, IDA-ICE, EnergyPlus)

Description du poste

PhD Position: "Multi-Agent Cyber-Physical Systems for Smart Building Control"

KU Leuven is an autonomous university. It was founded in 1425. It was born of and has grown within the Catholic tradition.

The Building Physics and Sustainable Design group in the Department of Civil Engineering at the Ghent Campus has the following research lines:

• Energy performance of buildings and indoor climate: Interaction building and HVAC systems
• Circular and bio-based construction
• Collective renovation
• Building Information Modelling (BIM)

This job vacancy is situated within the 4th research line.

This PhD project investigates the development of a multi-agent cyber-physical system (CPS) -conceptualized as a digital twin - for intelligent building control. The research aims to design a distributed AI framework where autonomous agents manage various building subsystems (e.g., lighting, HVAC, shading) in real time, responding to dynamic environmental and occupant contexts. The system will leverage Building Information Modeling (BIM) as a semantic backbone for spatial and system-level coordination, enabling agents to interpret and act upon operational data. By integrating sensor networks, predictive models, and adaptive control strategies, the project seeks to improve energy efficiency and system resilience in smart buildings. The outcome will be a scalable, context‑aware control framework that enables autonomous building operations through intelligent agent collaboration. The PhD student will prepare a PhD‑proposal for the given topic, conduct research, and assist in teaching activities.

Profile

• You hold a Master’s degree in Informatics, Engineering Sciences, or Construction‑related fields
• You were awarded a distinction or equivalent
• You must have no more than 18 months of research experience after graduation
• You have a strong background in control systems engineering
• You have a solid understanding of building physics
• You have IoT integration experience with MQTT
• You are well‑versed with Machine Learning and Deep Learning applications (TensorFlow, Keras)
• You have agent-development experience (LangGraph, CrewAI or OpenAI Swarm) with context memory, human‑in‑the‑loop supervision, and knowledge‑graph integration
• Experience with building energy simulation tools (e.g., Modelica, IDA‑ICE, EnergyPlus) is an advantage
• You demonstrate strong analytical thinking and the ability to synthesize complex information effectively
• You have excellent communication skills, both written and oral, and a good command of English. Experience in scientific writing and presenting is a plus
• You are capable of working independently, while also being a collaborative team player who takes initiative and shows enthusiasm for research

Offer

We start with a 100% employment for 1 year. In order to obtain funding for the full PhD period of 4 years, the candidate is expected (with the support of the supervisors) to develop an application PhD fellowship for strategic basic research at FWO (see https://www.fwo.be/en/support-programmes/all-calls/phd/phd-fellowship-strategic-basic-research/).

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Clara‑Larissa Lorenz, mail: [e-mail]

KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.