EdtlB.21-DECivil/2026/BIPD/FIRECELL

University of Aveiro; Portugal; On-site; EUR 19,000 - 23,000; Full time

Job summary

A Universidade de Aveiro, através do Departamento de Engenharia Civil, encontra-se a recrutar para uma bolsa de Pós-Doutoramento no âmbito de projetos FIRECELL e COMPETE2030. O(a) candidato(a) fará investigação em engenharia civil, com foco em modelos de ML para prever o comportamento de vigas em condições de fogo e otimização de estruturas.

É exigido Doutoramento em Engenharia Civil e há preferência por experiência em métodos computacionais avançados e técnicas de aprendizado de máquina.

Qualifications

• Doutoramento comprovado em Engenharia Civil.
• Experiência com métodos computacionais avançados e ML.
• Preferência por quem tenha trabalhos com estruturas sob fogo.

Responsibilities

• Estudar o comportamento ao fogo de vigas celulares em edifícios industriais.
• Desenvolver e validar modelos de ML para cenários de fogo e distribuições de temperatura.
• Utilizar métodos como CFD e modelos de elementos finitos para avaliação de desempenho.

Skills

Métodos computacionais

Machine learning

Education

Doutoramento em Engenharia Civil

Tools

CFD

Job description

Organisation/Company University of Aveiro Department Civil Engineering Department Research Field Engineering » Civil engineering Other Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions Postdoc Positions Application Deadline 4 Dec 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon) Country Portugal Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

A tender is hereby opened for the award of one Postdoctoral Fellowship(s) (PDF) in the scope of R&D projects FIRECELL: Structural Performance Optimization of Steel Cellular Beams under Fire Conditions, COMPETE2030-FEDER-00833500 under the following conditions:

1. Scientific Area: Civil Engineering.

3. Admission Requirements: Doctor Degree in Civil Engineering. 2

4. Other Requirements: Preference will be given to candidates with the following skills: i) experience in applying advanced computational methods to determine the behaviour of structures under fire conditions; and ii) experience in applying machine learning techniques.

5. Eligibility: Applicants are eligible if they comply with paragraph b) of nos.1 and 2 of article 2, of the Research Fellow Statute as amended by Decree-Law no. 123/2019, of August 28th, as well as in article 7 of the Research Grant Regulations of the Foundation for Science and Technology. PDFs can only be granted provided the following requirements are met cumulatively:
a) The doctorate has been obtained within the three years prior to the date of submission of the application for the grant;
b) The postdoctoral research is carried out in a host entity different from the entity where the research work leading to the doctoral degree was carried out;
c) the research activities do not require postdoctoral experience;
d) the research activities have a time frame for development and implementation of three years or less;
e) The fellow does not exceed, with the conclusion of the grant contract in question, including possible renewals, an accumulated period of three years in that type of grant, consecutive or interpolated.

6.Work plan: The work to be carried out during the research grant will focus on the study of the fire behaviour of cellular beams incorporated into industrial buildings. The aim is to develop and validate Machine Learning models to develop efficient tools for: (i) defining natural fire scenarios in industrial buildings; (ii) determining non-uniform temperature distributions in cellular beams resulting from natural fire scenarios; and (iii) assessing the fire resistance of cellular beams subjected to non-uniform temperature distributions.
The Machine Learning models are expected to be based on results obtained using advanced computational methods, namely: two-zone models and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models, for the simulation and characterisation of different fire scenarios; and finite element models: (i) solid element models, to determine temperature distributions in cellular beams; and (ii) shell element models, to assess the load-bearing capacity of cellular beams subjected to different temperature distributions.

7. Applicable legislation and regulations: Statute of Scientific Research Grant Holder, as amended by Decree-Law no. 123/2019, of August 28th; Regulation no. 950/2019, of November 29th, published in Diário da República, no. 241, Series II, of December 16th (FCT, I.P. Research Grants Regulation); Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of August 16th (Legal regime for recognition of academic degrees and diplomas of higher education awarded by foreign higher education institutions).

8. Workplace: The work will be carried out at Civil Engineering Departament / CERIS-Aveiro of the University of Aveiro, under the scientific supervision of Professor/Doctor Nuno Filipe Ferreira Soares Borges Lopes e do Doutor Carlos André Soares Couto.

9. Duration of the grant(s): The grant duration will be 12 months, starting in February of 2027, and may be renewed for additional periods of one month up to the maximum funding approved, and may under no circumstances exceed the limits defined in the Regulations for the type of grant in question, in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation No. 950/2019, of November 29th, published in the Diário da República, No. 241, Series II, of December 16th (FCT, I.P. Research Grants Regulation)

10.Amount of monthly maintenance allowance: The amount of the grant corresponds to €1.901,00 according to the table of monthly maintenance allowance amounts set out in Annex I of Regulation no. 950/2019, subject to any updates that may be applicable, under the terms of no. 2 of article 18 of Regulation no. 950/2019, of November 29th, published in Diário da República, no. 241, Series II, of December 16th (Research Grants Regulation of FCT, I.P.). The fellow may also be reimbursed for the amount corresponding to the Voluntary Social Security, in case of adherence to this plan

11. Selection methods: The selection methods to be used will be the following: Curriculum vitae assessment, with the option of an assessment interview if the selection panel considers itself insufficiently qualified to make a decision based solely on the curriculum assessment. The Curriculum Assessment (100%) will focus on the following aspects: A1) academic qualifications and curriculum vitae; and A2) motivation letter, with the respective value of of 75% and 25%, respectively, expressed quantitatively in values between 0 and 20.
If the selection panel deems it necessary, the three (3) highest-ranked candidates will be invited to an interview, either in person or by videoconference. If an interview is conducted, the final assessment will be weighted as follows: 70% for the Curriculum Assessment and 30% for the Interview
The selection committee reserves the right not to award the scholarship if none of the candidates achieves a minimum final score of 12 points (out of 20).

12. Composition of the Selection Jury: Chair of the Selection Jury: Associate Professor with Habilitation Nuno Filipe Soares Borges Lopes of the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Aveiro; Permanent members: Assistant Researcher Carlos André Soares Couto and Associate Professor with Habilitation Hugo Filipe Pinheiro Rodrigues, both of the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Aveiro; Alternate members: Full Professor Romeu da Silva Vicente e Assistant Professor Inês Osório de Castro Meireles, both of the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Aveiro.

Obs:
The models of the grant contract and of the final report to be prepared by the grant holder and the supervisor are available at Research fellows - sgrh - Universidade de Aveiro (ua.pt).

Requirements

Research Field Engineering » Civil engineering Education Level PhD or equivalent

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available 1 Company/Institute Universidade de Aveiro - Civil Engineering Department Country Portugal State/Province Aveiro City Aveiro Postal Code 3830-193 Street Campus Universário de Santiago Geofield