Research Fellow (Machine Learning for Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Flexibility/DriVe2X project)

Opportunity:

Salford Business School boasts a vibrant international community. We are pioneers in redefining education and its role in shaping the future and world around us. Industry collaborations, knowledge transfer partnerships, research partnerships, international exchanges, student opportunities, outreach activities - these are just some of the ways we connect and work together. We have recently launched our Centre for Sustainable Innovation (CSI) which is a catalyst for collaboration between academia, policymakers and industry, helping empower businesses to overcome new and existing challenges facing them in today’s dynamic business landscape.

We are looking for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to join our team to work on an externally funded project on advanced machine learning techniques in the area of energy systems with a specific focus on bidirectional electric vehicles and their role in local energy communities.

The role:

To develop and implement the Machine Learning (ML) tools of the project (e.g. a transferable ML for Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) flexibility forecasting) with a focus on designing a robust and scalable ML tool that can be deployed across our various pilot sites in the EU and the UK. The Research Fellow will work with and report to the Project Lead. The post-holder will be required to develop, lead and deliver research projects and tasks assigned and build partnerships. The post-holder will be expected to undertake simulation, data-driven analysis fieldwork, conduct secondary analysis and publish research findings in a variety of outlets both academic and non-academic.

• To provide support to the Project Lead to deliver the DriVe2X Project.
• To manage research projects and contribute to projects delivered by others in the team as required.
• To manage and undertake data collection and analysis activities as required.
• To develop, build and nurture partnerships with a range of academic, international, community and industry stakeholders.
• To work across disciplines in the development and delivery of projects with internal, external, domestic and international partners.
• To present the findings and to publish research findings in high-quality academic and non-academic outputs
• Perform any other duties as may be required from time to time by the Project Lead.

We hope you will bring:

• Experience of undertaking research in developing and deploying ML models (including regression, classification, multi-agent reinforcement learning, and deep learning, and explainable AI (xAI)).
• Strong knowledge of sustainable energy systems, particularly V2G technology and flexibility markets, proficiency in programming in Python, with experience in ML libraries (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit-learn, SHAP), demonstrated ability to handle large datasets, perform feature engineering, and evaluate model performance.
• Academic concepts and theory relating to advanced AI, ML, xAI, and optimization for sustainable energy systems analysis and forecasting and being familiar with large language models, cloud platforms and distributed computing environments.
• Experience of undertaking high quality research in an academic environment.
• Experience of working with the public and/or private sector.
• Project management skills and capability and willingness to undertake administrative tasks.

What’s in it for you?

Competitive Salary and excellent pension scheme.

An impressive 32 days leave, plus bank holidays, additional time off at winter break, and the opportunity to buy even more!

Flexible Working – we support a culture of flexible and agile working, to help you find the right balance.

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