Postdoctoral researcher in Geospatial Machine Learning for Predicting Land Use Dynamics

At the Technical Faculty of IT and Design of the Department of Sustainability and Planning, Copenhagen, a position as Postdoctoral researcher in Geospatial Machine Learning for Predicting Land Use Dynamics under Compound ClimateImpacts is open for appointment from the 1 February 2026 or soonthereafter. The position is available for a period of 18 months with possibleextensionproviding a successful performance and contributions to the research activities of the Geoinformatics and Earth Observation (GEO) research group.

The department of Sustainability and Planning wasestablished in 1975, and is located in twobeautifulharbour-front locations in both Aalborg and Copenhagen. We have more than 250 employees and approximately 1,200 students across the twocities.

Our research and study programmes arerooted in sustainability and the green transition. This meansweconduct research in areassuch as the circulareconomy, technology, urban, energy, and environmentalplanning, as well as sustainable transition and design. Sustainability is central to ourwork in environmentalassessment and marine management. In surveying and land use, sustainability is reflected in ourefforts in nature restoration and climate adaptation.

As society continues to developdigitally, wealsofocus on responsibletechnologicaldevelopment, addressing real-lifechallenges. Our problem-oriented approach and closecollaboration with businesses and public organisations form the foundation of all ourstudy programmes. Additionally, ourengineering programmes areamong the best in Europe.

Job description
The task is primarilylinked to a cross-disciplinarityprojectcalled DK-FUTURE-Probabilistic Geospatial Machine Learning for Predicting Future Danish Land Use under Compound ClimateImpacts. The project is funded by Villum Foundation under the Villum Synergyscheme in which 2 postdoctoral researchers willberecruited to workcloselyacross the two AAU departments of Sustainability and planning (PLAN) and Computer Sciences (CS). The project’smethodological PI is Associate Professor Andres Masegosa (arma@cs.aau.dk), Department of Computer Science. (please see: https://andresmasegosa.github.io/ . The project’s domain PI is Professor Jamal Jokar Arsanjani (jja@plan.aau.dk), Department of Sustainability and Planning https://vbn.aau.dk/en/persons/jja

This position is specificallyaboutmodellingcascading and compound impacts of climatechange on future Danish land use in which spatial data analytics, earth observation, climatechange, machine learning expertise, land use science, and spatial modellingskillsareneeded. The other position willbemainlyfocusing on adjusting and transferring probabilisticmachine learning models for spatio-temporal data whilequantifyinguncertaintiesassociated with climateprojection data and models. Therefore, it is important to have twocomplementary profiles to workclosely and have synergiccollaborationeffects.

Weexpect a motivatedearlycareer researcher with stronginterest and experience with GIS/earth observation/climateprojection data as well as machine learning models for predictivemodelling and large foundation models for earth systems.

Skillsetssuch as programming in Python/R, Google Earth Engine, JavaScript, database management environments, Geographical AI, and machine learning workflows areimportant. The task canbeexpanded by contributing to other research projects of the Geoinformatics and Earth Observation (GEO) group, for example on GIS for positive energydistrictsplanning, 15min city mobilityanalysis, and marine spatial planning, amongothers.

Limited teachingwithin the areacanbeexpected, but also in otherstudy programmes at the University.

Youmayobtainfurther professional information from Prof. Jamal Jokar Arsanjani, jja@plan.aau.dk. 99403183.

Youcanread more on TECH as a workplacehere .
Youcanread more on Department of Sustainability and Planning here.

Qualification requirements
Appointment as postdoc requires academic qualifications at PhD level.

How to apply
Your application must include the following:

• Application, stating reasons for applying, qualifications in relation to the position, and intentions and visions for the position
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Diplomas (master's degree diploma and PhD diploma)
• List of publications, with an indication of the attached publications that you wish to be taken into account in the assessment. You may attach a maximum of five publications. If you are applying for a position at The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH), you must submit a co-author statement, see template for co-author statement
• Documentation of teaching qualifications. Depending on which faculty you are applying for employment, please see guidelines for teaching portfolio at The Technical Faculty of IT and Design, The Faculty of Engineering and Science and The Faculty of Medicine or guidelines for teaching portfolio at The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. If this is not enclosed, the applicant must enclose the reasons for this .
• Dissemination qualifications, including participation on committees or boards, participation in organisations etc.
• Additional qualifications in relation to the position
• References/recommendations

You can read more about the requirements for your application here .

The application must be submitted via Aalborg University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aalborg University's website.

Aalborg University wants to reflect the surrounding society and has diversity as a core value. Therefore, everyone, regardless of personal background and orientation, is encouraged to apply for the position.

Do you have any questions?
If you have any questions about the position, you are more than welcome to contact us. You will find contact persons at the bottom of the jobpost.

Further information
Read more about our recruitment process here

The appointment process at Aalborg University involves a shortlisting process. You can read more about the shortlisting and appointment process here .

The hiring process at Aalborg University may include a risk assessment as a tool to identify potential risks associated with new hires, ensuring the safety, compliance, and integrity of the workplace.

Salary and terms of employment
The employment is in accordance with the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities (the Appointment Order) and the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (in Danish) and protocol on certain terms of employment of academic staff at universities (in Danish) .

Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with the collective agreement between the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations and the state (AC collective agreement) (only in Danish) and protocol on certain terms of employment of academic staff at universities (only in Danish).

Aalborg University - Knowledge for the world
Aalborg University is an international workplace with more than 3,700 employees. We offer real-world-oriented education and create world-class research results through collaboration between researchers, students, and public and private companies. This is how we achieve insights, new solutions to societal problems, and knowledge that changes the world. Our main campus is in Aalborg, but we also have campuses in Esbjerg and Copenhagen.

Contacts

• Jamal Jokar Arsanjani: +4599403183, jja@plan.aau.dk
• HR Support: +4599403031