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Aalto University is where science and art meet technology and business. We shape a sustainable future by making research breakthroughs in and across our disciplines, sparking the game changers of tomorrow and creating novel solutions to major global challenges. Our community is made up of 16 000 students and 5 200 employees, including 446 professors. Our campus is in Espoo, Greater Helsinki, Finland.  Diversity is part of who we are, and we actively work to ensure our community’s diversity and inclusiveness. This is why we warmly encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds to join our community.

The School of Engineering drives science and innovation in industrial and built environment technologies. We are committed to educating a new generation of experts who combine technical excellence with a deep understanding of sustainable development in shaping societies. Our research focuses on sustainable built environment, mechanics and materials, multidisciplinary energy technology, and design and implementation of technical systems. The strength of our school lies in close collaboration with stakeholders across research and education. About 45 doctoral candidates and 350 master’s students graduate from the school every year. The school is home to 700 staff members, including 70 professors. To learn more, please visit eng.aalto.fi.

We are now looking for a

Doctoral Researcher in Water Network Condition Modelling

Are you interested in developing data-driven methods that improve how water utilities understand, manage, and prioritise their buried infrastructure?

We are now looking for a Doctoral Researcher in water network condition modelling at Aalto University. In this position, you will contribute to research that advances water supply network asset management through condition prediction. Your work will help utilities make better use of existing data and improve their understanding of the network’s condition under limited information.

Water supply networks are critical infrastructure, but their condition is often only partially known. Utilities must make decisions on inspection, rehabilitation, and renewal under uncertainty, while large amounts of operational and historical data remain underused in systematic asset management. In this doctoral research project, you will develop and assess methods for using existing data sources, such as pipe burst records, acoustic inspection data, and flow and pressure data, to support condition prediction and decision-making in water supply systems.

The project is particularly relevant in the Finnish context, where water supply systems contain extensive lengths of small-sized plastic pipes. In such systems, direct condition information is often sparse, failures may be relatively infrequent, and conventional inspection approaches may be difficult or costly to apply at scale. Your research will address these challenges by combining data analysis, predictive modelling, and asset management thinking.

Your role and goals

In this role, you will:

• develop methods for using existing network condition and operation data to predict water pipeline condition
• analyse and combine different data sources, such as pipe burst records, acoustic inspection data, and flow and pressure data from network districts
• examine how predicted conditions can support asset management and risk-based decision-making
• study how condition data collection can be optimised in a plastic-dominated water supply system
• evaluate how different data sources and modelling choices affect predictive performance and practical usefulness
• contribute to scientific publications and doctoral thesis work in the field of water infrastructure asset management
• work in close collaboration with researchers in the project and within the research group

Your network and team

You will work in the Water and Wastewater Engineering Research Group, which is part of Aalto University’s WAT research group in the Department of Built Environment at the School of Engineering. You will be supervised by Associate professor Anna Mikola and join an active research environment in water treatment, infrastructure and asset management.

You will join a research environment focusing on water and wastewater systems and asset management. In your work, you will be part of the subgroup working on water and wastewater engineering research, and you will contribute to ongoing research activities within WAT.

Your experience and ambitions

To succeed in this role, you have:

• strong programming skills in at least one of the following: Python, R, or MATLAB, and willingness to work across these environments as needed for data analysis, modelling, and method development
• good analytical and problem-solving skills, and the ability to work independently in a structured manner
• good written and oral communication skills in English, with readiness to contribute to scientific writing, reporting, and collaborative project work
• the ability to work well in a multidisciplinary research team and to take a proactive and responsible approach to research

The following are considered advantages:

• prior experience with water and wastewater networks, including their operation, data, or infrastructure-related research
• familiarity with machine learning and statistical modelling, especially in the context of prediction, data analysis, or decision support
• basic knowledge of engineering asset management, such as infrastructure condition assessment, inspection planning, risk-based prioritisation, or long-term rehabilitation planning
• Finnish language skills

You are motivated to pursue doctoral studies and to contribute to high-quality research with practical relevance for water utilities and infrastructure management.

What we offer

We offer you an opportunity to work on an important and relevant doctoral research topic at Aalto University. Your work will contribute to improving the scientific and practical basis for asset management in water supply networks.

The salary for the position is 2960 € per month gross at the start of the employment, and it will increase as you progress in your doctoral studies. We value work-life balance and well-being in all aspects of life. We work in a hybrid model, with the primary workplace located at the Otaniemi Campus in Espoo, Finland. Life on the revitalised campus is vibrant, featuring stunning architecture, tranquil nature, and a variety of cafes, restaurants, and services, all complemented by excellent public transportation connections.

Join us!

To apply, please share your application with us through our recruitment site ("Apply now!”) at the latest by the 30th of April 2026. Applications submitted by email will not be accepted. We encourage you to apply early, as we will start reviewing candidates immediately.

Please submit your application through Aalto University’s recruitment system and attach the required application documents as a single PDF file. The PDF should include:

• Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Motivation letter
• Contact information for two referees
• Copy of your Master’s degree certificate
• Transcript of records for the Master’s degree

Applicants who are in the final year of their Master’s studies are welcome to apply, but the expected graduation date must be clearly stated in the application. The Master’s degree must be completed before employment starts.

Please note: Aalto University’s employees should apply for the position via our internal HR system Workday (Internal Jobs) by using their existing Workday user account (not via the external webpage for open positions). If you are a student or visitor at Aalto University, please apply with your personal email address (not aalto.fi) via Aalto University open positions.

For more information about the role, please contact Sina Masoumzadeh Sayyar (sina.masoumzadehsayyar(at)aalto.fi). For questions related to the application process, please contact HR Advisor Sanni Sievänen (sanni.h.sievanen(at)aalto.fi).

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About Finland

Finland is a great place for living with or without family – it is a safe, politically stable and well-organized Nordic society. Finland is consistently ranked high in quality of life and was listed again as the happiest country in the world:

For more information about living in Finland: Aalto Careers for International Staff.

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