Postdoc: AI-driven Urban (Re)Design for Health

Utrecht University; Netherlands; On-site; EUR 41,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

8% holiday pay

8.3% year-end bonus

Pension scheme

Flexible terms of employment

Job summary

Utrecht University is seeking a collaborative postdoctoral researcher to lead the development of an AI-enabled recommender system for urban (re)design within the transdisciplinary ELEVATE project. You will combine street-view imagery, GIS and mobility data with qualitative insights, fine-tune state-of-the-art models, and design context-sensitive recommendations that promote active mobility.

You will work with municipalities, planners, designers and residents, and publish findings and contribute

Qualifications

• PhD in computer science, AI, data science, urban analytics, geoinformatics or related field.
• Experience with foundational AI model development and fine-tuning.
• Strong written and verbal communication and academic writing skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of an AI-enabled recommender system for urban (re)design.
• Integrate multi-source datasets: street-view imagery, GIS, mobility data, qualitative insights.
• Apply state-of-the-art foundational AI models with fine-tuning for ELEVATE.
• Design geographically context-sensitive urban design recommendations promoting active mobility.
• Evaluate and improve model performance with local data; ensure explainability and robustness.
• Collaborate with municipalities, urban planners, designers, and residents; co-create and validate.
• Contribute to an interactive web interface for the recommender system.
• Publish in international journals and present at conferences.

Skills

AI model development

Multimodal ML

Geospatial data handling

Research collaboration

Education

PhD in computer science / AI / data science / urban analytics

Job description

Offer Description

Do you want to use artificial intelligence, geospatial data science, and urban analytics to create healthier and more equitable cities? Are you excited about developing innovative AI systems that translate scientific evidence into practical urban design solutions?

Your job

At Utrecht University, you will be part of the transdisciplinary ELEVATE project: Healthy living environments create healthy physical activity-related habits. As a postdoctoral researcher, you will lead the development of an innovative AI-enabled recommender system for urban (re)design. The system will combine street-view imagery (SVIs), geospatial data, mobility data, and qualitative insights to generate evidence-based recommendations for policymakers, planners, and researchers to create healthier urban environments. You will work closely with a transdisciplinary team, including social and industrial partners.

Your main responsibilities include:

• developing an AI-powered recommender system for healthy urban (re)design;
• integrating multi-source datasets, including street-view imagery, GIS data, smartphone mobility data, and qualitative insights;
• applying and adapting state-of-the-art foundational AI and machine learning models (e.g., multimodal AI, large language/world models) with specific finetuning for ELEVATE;
• designing geographically context-sensitive urban design recommendations that promote active mobility (e.g., walking, cycling) related physical activity;
• finetuning, evaluating, and improving model performance using local data and ensuring explainability, fairness, and robustness of the model outputs;
• collaborating with municipalities, urban planners, designers, and residents in model co-creation and validation workshops;
• contributing to the development of an interactive, publicly accessible web interface (e.g., with a chat facility) for the recommender system;
• publishing high-quality scientific articles in international journals;
• presenting findings at conferences and stakeholder events;
• contributing to the supervision of MSc students and collaborating within the broader ELEVATE consortium.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and collaborative researcher with a strong technical background and an interest in societal impact. You have:

Must have criteria:

• a PhD in computer science, artificial intelligence, data science, computational social science, urban analytics, geoinformatics, or a related field;
• experience with foundational AI model development/fine-tuning and machine learning and/or deep learning;
• strong communication and academic writing skills;

Good to have criteria:

• experience working with geospatial or image-based data;
• an interest in urban health, mobility, public space, or sustainable cities;
• the ability to work independently as well as collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams.

Additional Information

We offer:

• a position 1.0 FTE for 12 months. After a positive evaluation, the position can be extended to 29.5 months;
• a working week of 36 - 40 hours and a gross monthly salary between € 3.706 and €5.760 in the case of full-time employment (salary scale 10 under the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU));
• 8% holiday pay and 8.3% year-end bonus;
• a pension scheme, partially paid parental leave and flexible terms of employment based on the CAO NU.

In addition to the terms of employment laid down in the CAO NU, Utrecht University also offers a range of its own schemes for employees. This includes arrangements for professional development , various types of leave, and options for sports and cultural activities . You can also tailor your employment conditions through our Terms of Employment Options Model. In this way, we encourage you to keep investing in your personal and professional development. For more information, please visit Working at Utrecht University .

Selection process

At Utrecht University, we strive to be a place where everyone feels at home. We value colleagues with different backgrounds, perspectives and identities, including differences in culture, religion or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, disability and age. We are committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive and contribute. Read more about our commitment to diversity and inclusion. If you have any questions about accessibility, for example regarding your workplace Vening Meineszgebouw A , the application process or your work, please contact us via our HR contact page.

Knowledge security screening can be part of the selection procedures of academic staff. We do this, among other things, to prevent the unwanted transfer of sensitive knowledge and technology.

For more information, please contact Marco Helbich (PI) at [e-mail] or SM Labib at [e-mail]

Candidates for this vacancy will be recruited by Utrecht University.