Postdoctoral Scholar Opening in Indoor Air Quality — EPFL

Full description

Mission

EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) is seeking applications for a postdoctoral researcher position in indoor air quality within the School of Architecture, Civil, and Environmental Engineering. The successful candidate will join the Human-Oriented Built Environment Lab (HOBEL), based at EPFL's Fribourg campus in the city of Fribourg, Switzerland.

HOBEL conducts research at the intersection of indoor air quality, human exposure, and the built environment. Through this position, we aim to advance our understanding of indoor air pollutants and their implications for human exposure, with particular interest in indoor aerosols and ultrafine particles (UFPs).

Main duties and responsibilities

The successful candidate will have considerable freedom to shape their research within the broader scope of the laboratory. Potential research directions include:

• Sources and emissions of indoor air pollutants, with particular interest in ultrafine particles and indoor aerosols;
• Concentrations, dynamics, and transformations of indoor pollutants, including physical and chemical processes occurring after emission;
• Human inhalation exposure to indoor air pollutants and factors influencing exposure;
• Experimental characterization of indoor aerosols and other air pollutants, including source-resolved measurements;
• Modeling of indoor pollutant emissions, transport, transformation, and exposure, ranging from mechanistic or mass-balance approaches to more advanced computational models; and
• Related topics in indoor air quality, aerosol science, exposure science, and healthy buildings.

Projects may combine controlled laboratory experiments, measurements in real-world buildings, data analysis, and modeling. Candidates with complementary expertise who are interested in developing new research directions within the broader field of indoor air quality are also encouraged to apply.

Profile

Strong candidates will have

• A PhD degree, or a PhD nearing completion, in environmental, civil, chemical, mechanical, or architectural engineering, aerosol science, atmospheric science, exposure science, or another closely related field;
• Demonstrated research expertise in one or more areas relevant to the position, such as indoor air quality, aerosol science, ultrafine particles, air pollution, exposure science, environmental measurements, or pollutant modelling;
• A strong aptitude for experimental and/or computational research;
• Experience with quantitative data analysis and proficiency in one or more programming or scientific computing environments, such as Python, R, or MATLAB;
• A strong publication record appropriate to the candidate’s career stage;
• The ability to work both independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary research environment; and
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.

We offer

The successful candidate will join an international and interdisciplinary research team working on questions related to indoor air quality, human exposure, and healthy built environments. The position offers opportunities to:

• Develop and lead high-quality research projects;
• Publish in leading peer-reviewed journals and present research at international conferences;
• Collaborate with academic and industrial partners in Switzerland and internationally;
• Work with state-of-the-art research infrastructure and facilities available at EPFL in Fribourg and Lausanne;
• Contribute, where appropriate, to teaching and other academic activities; and
• Develop an independent research profile within a collaborative and intellectually stimulating environment.

Informations

Start date: flexible with preference for early appointment.

Application deadline: 15 October 2026.

The contracts are given on an annual basis, however, we are seeking for a multi-year appointment (minimum 2 years). The position offers a competitive salary and benefits in accordance with EPFL regulations. The successful candidate will be based primarily at EPFL’s Fribourg campus, with access to EPFL facilities and research infrastructure in both Fribourg and Lausanne.

Additional information

For more information about HOBEL: https://www.epfl.ch/labs/hobel/

For more information about Prof. Dusan Licina: https://people.epfl.ch/dusan.licina

For more information about EPFL: https://www.epfl.ch/en/

For more information about Smart Living Lab, see: https://smartlivinglab.ch

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