Research Assistant - Building Demand Flexibility Irish Building Stock Observatory (IBSO) – SEAI project (Fixed term part-time for up to 2 Years) (Reference: 435/2026)

Technological University Dublin; Ireland; On-site; EUR 31,000 - 38,000; Part time

Job summary

Technological University Dublin invites applications for a part-time Research Assistant role (20 hours per week) within the Irish Building Stock Observatory (IBSO) project. The post is fixed-term for up to 2 years and funded under the SEAI programme.

You will work under Dr Ciara Ahern and contribute to demand flexibility research across national building stock. The role focuses on WP5 activities, collaboration with a dedicated research team, and opportunities for professional development and

Responsibilities

• Support IBSO in advancing research on demand flexibility in the built environment.
• Work as part of a focused research team under the supervision of Dr Ciara Ahern.
• Contribute to understanding how Irish buildings can participate in demand flexibility mechanisms.
• Assist with stakeholder engagement, reporting and dissemination output.

Job description

Organisation/Company Technological University Dublin Department Human Resources Research Field Engineering › Civil engineering Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Bachelor Positions Application Deadline 13 Nov 2026 - 17:00 (Europe/Dublin) Country Ireland Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Part-time Hours Per Week 20 Offer Starting Date 1 Feb 2027 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Other EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Applications are invited for the following post:

Research Assistant - Building Demand Flexibility Irish Building Stock Observatory (IBSO) – SEAI Project (Fixed term part-time for up to 2 Years) (Reference: 435/2026)

Demand flexibility within the IBSO

WP5 examines the grid-interactive potential of Ireland’s buildings and their capacity to provide demand-side flexibility. As heating and transport electrify through heat pumps, electric vehicles, rooftop solar and battery storage, buildings are becoming active participants in the electricity 3 4 system. Understanding when, where and by how much buildings can shift, reduce or store electricity demand is central to Ireland’s transition to an electrified, grid-integrated building sector. The post holder will help build the evidence base, tools and methods that the IBSO uses to assess this potential across the national building stock. This work draws on, and feeds into, other work packages: the dwelling archetypes of WP3, the commercial, public and industrial archetypes of WP4, the energy infrastructure mapping and cyber-physical system modelling of WP6, and the retrofit trajectory tracking and forecasting of WP2.

Role Description

The Research Assistant will support the IBSO in advancing research on demand flexibility in the built environment. Working as part of a focused research team under the supervision of Dr Ciara Ahern, the post holder will contribute to understanding how Irish buildings can participate in demand flexibility mechanisms, supporting Ireland’s transition towards an electrified, gridintegrated building sector. The post holder will work primarily within WP5 of the IBSO’s SEAIfunded research programme.

This part-time post (20 hours per week) is designed to enable engagement with strategic research priorities within the IBSO programme while allowing the post holder to advance parallel research and professional development activities. The post holder will benefit from mentorship and guidance from the wider IBSO research team. The candidate will also contribute to stakeholder engagement activities, reporting and dissemination output

Hours of Work: This is a part-time post of 20 hours per week (based on a 37-hour fulltime working week). Working hours can be reviewed by collective agreement with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. Having regard to the nature of the work, attendance outside these hours may be required from time to time

Location:The post will be based at one of the TU Dublin Campuses i.e. Aungier Street, Bolton Street, Grangegorman, Blanchardstown or Tallaght. Regular attendance at other sites will be required.

Salary:The successful candidate will be appointed at point (01) of Research Assistant salary scale i.e. €34,130 gross per annum, pro rata for 20 hours per week. Remuneration may be adjusted from time to time in line with Government pay policy. Incremental credit may apply in line with University policy.

Closing Date:5pm (Irish Time) on Friday, 13th November 2026. Late applications will not be accepted.

It is anticipated that interviews for this post will take place in week beginning 7th December 2026. The interview assessment will be 30 minutes in length and will include a presentation of 5 minutes duration. The topic of this presentation will be as follows:

‘Drawing on the IBSO work programme described in this brief, outline how buildings in Ireland’s residential and commercial stock could provide demand flexibility to the electricity grid, and how your skills and experience would help the IBSO assess and communicate that potential.’

The University currently does not reimburse interview related travel expenses

TU Dublin is an equal opportunities employer.