Post-Doctoral Researcher – UCC

Applications are invited for the post of postdoctoral/senior postdoctoral researcher in power systems engineering at the MaREI Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine, based at University College Cork (UCC). The postdoctoral researcher will work on the modelling and analysis of future electricity grids, investigating the operation and planning of future power systems with massive integration of variable renewable energy sources and electrified transport and heating loads. The successful applicant will develop new approaches to enable more decentralised and autonomous management of distributed energy resources and validate these approaches using realistic models of Irish electricity networks. Access to electricity grid data and industry expertise will be available through UCC and MaREI’s industry partners, which include major energy companies in Ireland such as ESB Networks and EirGrid. The postdoctoral researcher will also have access to advanced electrical energy research and computing infrastructure including a 90 kVA laboratory microgrid and Opal-RT real time simulation tools. 
 
Post Duration: 18 months
 
Salary: Post-Doctoral Researcher: €42,031 – €48,427 p.a. (IUA PD1 Salary Scale), Senior Post-Doctoral Researcher: €49,790 – €54,154 p.a. (IUA PD2 Salary Scale)
 
Project Title: SFI Centres Program 
 
For an information package including further details of the post see https://ore.ucc.ie/.  
 
Informal enquiries can be made in confidence to Dr. Barry Hayes, Senior Lecturer in Power Systems Engineering, Email: ei.ccu@seyah.yrrab.
 
Applications must be submitted online via the University College Cork vacancy portal (https://ore.ucc.ie/). Queries relating to the online application process should be referred to ei.ccu@tnemtiurcer, quoting the job-title and project name.
 

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will hold a PhD in power systems engineering or a related discipline, and will have significant experience of modelling power systems using industry standard software tools. The candidate should have a track record of research excellence and should have existing publications (or be able to demonstrate the ability to publish) in the top international journals in the field, including IEEE PES Transactions. Experience of carrying out research projects in collaboration with industry partners and grant proposal writing would also be an advantage.

Working Location

The successful applicant will be based in UCC’s Ellen Hutchins Building in the Environmental Research Institute (ERI) (https://www.ucc.ie/en/eri/), which is an internationally-recognised institute for environmental research dedicated to the understanding and protection of our natural environment and to developing innovative technologies, tools and services to facilitate a transformation to a zero-carbon and resource-efficient society. Overlooking a protected natural reserve and the River Lee, the ERI is a welcoming, diverse and modern workplace.
 

MaREI

The MaREI Centre of Energy, Climate and Marine (www.marei.ie) is the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) centre of excellence in Energy, Climate and Marine research in Ireland.  The MaREI Centre includes 13 Universities, Third Level Institutes and Research Organisations, has 103 industrial partners and has research funding of approximately €60m.  It combines the expertise of a wide range of research groups and industry partners, with the shared mission of solving the main scientific, technical and socio-economic challenges across the energy, climate and marine domains.  Researchers in the MaREI Centre have over 30 years of experience in conducting fundamental and applied research supported by competitively won national and international funding, and commercial contracts with government agencies and industry.  MaREI’s strengths lie in the multi-disciplinary nature of its research teams, allowing it to combine insights across areas such as Marine Renewable Energy Technologies, Materials & Structures, Observations & Operations, Coastal & Marine Systems, Bioenergy, Circular Economy, Energy Policy & Modelling, and Renewable Energy Management.

Further Information

The successful applicant will work under the supervision of Dr. Barry Hayes, Senior Lecturer in Power Systems Engineering and a Funded Investigator in the MaREI Centre at UCC. The successful candidate will join a vibrant and international MaREI research community of more than 220 multi-disciplinary researchers and will take full part in MaREI Centre events including industry and research seminars, the MaREI Annual Symposium, as well as outreach and public engagement activities. The postdoctoral/senior postdoctoral researcher contract will be for 18 months, with the possibility of extension beyond this period, depending on available projects and research funding applications.
 
Candidates should apply, in confidence, before 12 noon (Irish Local Time) on Friday the 22nd of September 2023. 
No late applications will be accepted.
 

Meet the Team

All MaREI Team Members
Barry Hayes
Lecturer