Researcher in water reuse and nature-based solutions (SbN). (Ref. 30277510001)

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)- BarcelonaTECH; España; Presencial; EUR 34.000 - 41.000; Jornada completa

Descripción de la vacante

Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)- BarcelonaTECH in Barcelona, Spain, invites applications for a postdoctoral position to support a Horizon Europe project focused on decentralized and integrated water treatment and reuse systems. The role includes planning monitoring activities, coordinating with international partners, and analyzing water quality data to evaluate system performance.

You will contribute to environmental and techno-economic assessments and help prepare project

Formación

• Knowledge of water treatment and reuse: operation and evaluation of decentralized and integrated systems, nature-based solutions (NBS) and constructed wetlands.
• Regulatory framework for water reuse in Europe and Spain for agricultural and urban uses.
• Sustainability assessment: LCA, LCC, social LCA and sustainability indicators.
• Techno-economic evaluation: cost analysis and economic viability of water treatment systems.

Responsabilidades

• Plan and coordinate monitoring and demonstration activities for water treatment systems.
• Coordinate with operators, administrations and international partners.
• Analyze monitoring data and time series to develop indicators of operation and reliability.
• Contribute to environmental life cycle analysis (LCA) and life cycle cost analysis (LCC).
• Prepare technical reports, protocols and project deliverables.
• Disseminate results through publications and conferences.

Descripción del empleo

Organisation/Company Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)- BarcelonaTECH Research Field Environmental science Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Positions Postdoc Positions Application Deadline 23 Nov 2026 - 23:00 (Europe/Madrid) Country Spain Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 37.5 Offer Starting Date 1 Jan 2027 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe Reference Number 30277510001 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Mission:

Provide scientific and technical support to the project aimed at demonstrating and evaluating decentralized and integrated water treatment and reuse systems.

Functions to be developed:

• Plan and coordinate the monitoring and demonstration activities of the water treatment and regeneration systems of the Granollers demonstrator.
• Coordinate with facility operators, administrations and international project partners.
• Evaluate compliance with the regulations applicable to water reuse, especially for agricultural irrigation, urban irrigation and road cleaning.
• Supervise field work, sampling and monitoring of the physicochemical and microbiological quality of water.
• Evaluate the performance of constructed wetlands and regeneration processes through the analysis of operational data and analytical results.
• Analyze monitoring data and time series and develop indicators to evaluate the operation and reliability of systems.
• Participate in the evaluation of the benefits of agricultural reuse based on the results of the project's agronomic trials.
• Contribute to the environmental and economic evaluation of the solutions developed, including data collection for environmental life cycle analysis (LCA) and life cycle cost analysis (LCC).
• Analyze the feasibility and replicability of solutions and support the evaluation of public-private collaboration models.
• Prepare technical reports, protocols, databases and contributions to project deliverables.
• Contribute to the scientific and technological dissemination of results through publications, conferences and other knowledge transfer activities.
• Treatment and analysis of experimental data: time series, statistical analysis and interpretation of results.
• Water quality: physicochemical and microbiological parameters (BOD, COD, N, P, TSS, E. coli), sampling protocols, quality control (QA/QC) and evaluation of system performance.
• Monitoring and data analysis: sensorization, telemetry, time series processing, statistical analysis, data modeling and visualization (Excel, Python, MATLAB).
• It will be assessed:
  • Have obtained grants for postdoctoral recruitment in competitive calls.

Knowledge:

• Water treatment and reuse: operation and evaluation of decentralized and integrated systems, nature-based solutions (NBS), constructed wetlands and hybrid treatments.
• European and Spanish regulatory framework applicable to water reuse, especially for agricultural, urban and road cleaning uses.
• Evaluation of the performance of water treatment and regeneration systems and compliance with the regulations applicable to different reuse uses, especially agricultural and road cleaning.
• Sustainability assessment: knowledge of environmental life cycle analysis (LCA), life cycle cost analysis (LCC), social life cycle assessment (S-LCA), sustainability indicators and feasibility and replicability studies.
• Techno-economic evaluation: knowledge of cost analysis and economic viability of water treatment and reuse systems.
• Have obtained grants for postdoctoral recruitment in competitive calls.

Professional Experience:

• In research and development in environmental engineering:experience in water treatment, regeneration and reuse through Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), constructed wetlands and hybrid technologies on a pilot or demonstration scale.
• In operation, sampling and experimental monitoring: planning and execution of sampling campaigns, monitoring of the physicochemical and microbiological quality of water and application of quality control protocols.
• In environmental, techno-economic and social assessment: development of feasibility, replicability and social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) studies applied to water treatment technologies.
• In data processing and technical writing: statistical analysis of experimental data and time series, development of performance indicators and preparation of technical reports, deliverables and scientific publications.
• In project management and teamwork:participation in competitive national and international R&D&I projects, coordination with public administrations, operators and multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience in functions similar to those described will be valued, specifically in the development of research activities, both in the university and industrial environment.

Other requirements to consider:

• Previous experience in research and innovation projects funded by the European programs Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe will be valued.

Languages CATALAN Level Basic

Languages ENGLISH Level Good

Languages SPANISH Level Good

Research Field Environmental science Years of Research Experience 1 - 4

Additional Information

€37,316.64 gross per year (for a full-time position)

Eligibility criteria

All the candidates who cannot prove the required academic degree will be immediately withdrawn from the selection process.

The CVs will be assessed according the following general criteria:

• The maximum score for the candidates who accomplish all the eligibility criteria stated in the job offer will be 10 points.
• Threshold: 5 points.
• The maximum score (10 points) will be distributed as follows:
• 1 point for required speciality.
• 2 points for required academic training.
• 2 points for technic competences.
• 1 point for organisational competences.
• 3 points for professional experience.
• 1 point for any aspect of the candidate’s professional profile to be determined as specially relevant by the Selection committee.

If the selection committee decide to include a personal interview as additional step of the selection process, only the candidates scored 5 or above for their CV will be retained for the interview step.

The interview will be assessed according the following criteria:

• Threshold: 3 points.
• The maximum score will be distributed according the following criteria:
• 2 points for adequacy to functional competences of the job.
• 2 points for adequacy of professional experience.
• 1 point for any aspect of the candidate’s professional profile to be determined as especially relevant by the Selection committee.

The eligible candidates will be ranked from highest to lowest score, being this the selection criteria.

Selection process

The planned selection process is as follows:

• The members of the selection committee will decide for each case what the selection process will be, if an assessment is made only for the curriculum vitae or any other procedure is planned: interview, tests, etc ...
• Each phase of the selection process will be reported on the website where the offer is published. If applicable, indicate your request.
• Finally, the name of the person selected will be published on the same website where the offer is published.

Additional comments

Remember that the resume should not include any personal data or photographs.

Number of offers available 1 Company/Institute Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DECA) Country Spain State/Province Barcelona City Barcelona Postal Code 08019 Street Av. Eduard Maristany, 16 Geofield