Postdoc Behaviour-Aware Dispatch and Cycling Safety in Urban Logistics

This postdoctoral position focuses on behaviour-aware optimisation for urban cycling logistics.

Job description

Platform-mediated cycling logistics has become a structural component of urban freight in the Netherlands, yet the coordination between platform operations and municipal safety planning remains underdeveloped. The PROSPER project, funded under TKI Dinalog, develops decision-support methods to improve this coordination, in collaboration with platform, municipal, and academic partners. This postdoctoral position constitutes the methodological core of the project.

The work combines empirical analysis of courier movement data, spatial modelling of urban risk exposure, and simulation-based evaluation of routing and policy strategies. The successful candidate will lead the technical research, contribute to publications in leading journals in transportation and operations research, and help shape the translation of the resulting methods into outputs developed with the project's industrial and municipal partners.

The position is hosted by the ORBIT Lab (Operations Research and Behavioural Informatics in Transportation) at the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, under the supervision of Dr. Yousef Maknoon.

Job requirements

• A PhD in operations research, transportation, applied mathematics, computer science, or a closely related quantitative field.
• Strong research background in mathematical optimisation, simulation, or behavioural modelling for mobility or logistics.
• Fluent in Python, comfortable with geospatial data and large movement datasets.
• First-author publications in international peer-reviewed journals.
• Able to communicate technical results clearly to industrial and municipal partners.

Valued

• Prior work on routing, dispatch, or last-mile logistics.
• Experience with discrete choice or stated-preference modelling.
• Familiarity with cycling safety or platform-mediated work.
• Track record of turning research into working tools.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)

TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world-class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in areas including energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society.

Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management

The Faculty of TPM provides an important contribution to solving complex technical-social issues, such as energy transition, mobility, digitalisation, water management and (cyber) security. TPM does this with its excellent education and research at the intersection of technology, society and policy. We combine insights from both engineering and social sciences as well as the humanities. TPM develops robust models and designs, is internationally oriented and has an extensive network of knowledge institutions, companies, social organisations and governments.

Conditions of employment

• Duration of contract is 10 months Temporary.
• An excellent pension scheme via the ABP.
• The possibility to compile an individual employment package every year.
• Discount with health insurers on supplemental packages.
• Flexible working week.
• Every year, 232 leave hours (at 38 hours). You can also sell or buy additional leave hours via the individual choice budget.
• Plenty of opportunities for education, training and courses.
• Partially paid parental leave.
• Attention for working healthy and energetically with the vitality program.