Job Purpose

You will contribute to a project entitled DIGITAL TWINS FOR NET ZERO (DTs4Net0) working with Professor Fiona Bradley and the energy modelling software development company IES.

The EPSRC IAA project that you will work on aims to develop and enhance Building Energy Management techniques in combination with Digital Twin (DT) technology to improve the utilisation of real-time energy and environmental sensor data. This will significantly improve data analysis accuracy and usability, ultimately enabling the creation and validation of more targeted and efficient energy-saving building operation strategies.

Presently, energy consultancy firms and facilities departments in large public buildings are tending to focus primarily on advancing data analysis techniques in combination with the development of Digital Twin software. DTs4Net0 will focus instead on data quality and data safety and techniques to interpret, manage, enhance and analyse preliminary IoT data quality.

Digital platforms such as Building Management Systems (BMS) are complex and operational efficiency is totally dependent on the quality of data that is gathered from IoT sensors as well as the control and algorithm settings within the BMS software. It is therefore vital that an additional step in the process occurs between data gathering and analysis ie that gathered raw data is accurately examined and enhanced prior to processing. This project will therefore examine and develop data cleaning, processing and analysing algorithms and involve coding development to improve data acquisition, automate data processing and enhance analysis in order to provide customised, reliable energy-saving solutions.

The successful candidate will also be expected to contribute to the formulation and submission of research publications and research proposals as well as help manage and direct this complex and challenging project as opportunities allow.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Perform the following activities in conjunction with and under the guidance of the Principal/Co Investigator:

1.             Plan and conduct assigned research individually or jointly in accordance with the project deliverables and project/group/School/College research strategy.

2.             Document research output including analysis and interpretation of all data, maintaining records and databases, drafting technical/progress reports and papers as appropriate.

3.             Develop and enhance your research profile and reputation and that of The University of Glasgow/School/Research Group, including contributing to publications of international quality in high profile/quality refereed journals, enhancing the research impact in terms of economic/societal benefit, and gathering indicators of esteem.

4.             Contribute to the presentation of work at international and national conferences, at internal and external seminars, colloquia and workshops to develop and enhance our research profile.

5.             Contribute to the identification of potential funding sources and to assist in the development of proposals to secure funding from internal and external bodies to support future research.

6.             Collaborate with colleagues and participate in team/ group/ meetings/ seminars/ workshops across the research Group/School/College/University and wider community.

7.             Contribute to the organisation, supervision, mentoring and training of undergraduate and/or postgraduate students and less experienced members of the project team to ensure their effective development.

8.             Perform administrative tasks related to the activities of the research group and School, including Budgets/Expenditure.

9.             Carry out modest Teaching activities (e.g. demonstrating etc) and associated admin as assigned by the Head of School and in consultation with Principal Investigator.

10.         Keep up to date with current knowledge and recent advances in the field/discipline.

11.         Engage in continuing professional development activities as appropriate.

12.         Undertake any other reasonable duties as required by the Head of School/Director of Research Institute.

13.        Contribute to the enhancement of the University’s international profile in line with the University’s Strategic Plan: World Changers Together

Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Knowledge and Qualifications

Essential:

A1 SCQF Level 10 in a directly relevant Civil or Mechanical Engineering or subject or a very closely associated cognate specialism relating to Digital Twin technologies and energy efficiency enhancement within the Built Environment.

A2 Knowledge and skills in creating and utilising performance Digital Twin models utilising advanced energy modelling software including IESVE

A3 A thorough and detailed knowledge of Building Services and energy supply within the Built Environment – specifically the building sector.

A4 a comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge of the wider subject area and subject specialism

Desirable:

B1 An awarded PhD in subject specialism or equivalent

Skills

Essential:

C1 Experience in contributing expertise to multi-disciplinary teams tacking complex operational issues within campus settings.

C2 Significant data and engineering analysis skills

C3 Research creativity and cross-discipline collaborative ability as appropriate

C4 Excellent communication skills (oral and written), including public presentations and ability to communicate complex data/concepts clearly and concisely

C5 Excellent interpersonal skills including team working and a collegiate approach

C6 Appropriate workload/time/project/budget/people management skills

C7 Extensive IT and data analysis/interpretation skills as appropriate

C8 Self-motivation, initiative and independent thought/working

C9 Problem solving skills including a flexible and pragmatic approach

Experience

Essential:

E1 Sufficient relevant research experience (or equivalent) appropriate to an early career researcher

E2 Experience in working within Facilities management, energy management teams and IT specialists.

E3 Experience in developing and utilising performance Digital Twin software within Buildings.

Significant data and engineering analysis skills

E4 Experience in data pre-processing and cleaning techniques and statistical analysis methodologies.

E5 Experience of scientific writing

E6 Proven ability to deliver quality outputs in a timely and efficient manner

E7 Evidence of an emerging track record of publications in a relevant field

Closing date:  16 March 2025

Terms and Conditions

Salary will be Grade 6, £33,482 - £37,174 per annum.

This post is full time, and has funding for up to 12 months

The University of Glasgow has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.  If you require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the UK, you will be required to meet the eligibility requirements of the visa route to be assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship.

Please note that this post may be eligible to be sponsored under the Skilled Worker visa route if tradeable points can be used under the Skilled Worker visa rules. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.