Research Fellow in Urban AI Full-time

Research Fellow In Urban AI

The Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) is recruiting a Research Fellow in Urban AI to contribute to an Innovate UK-funded collaborative project – “Increasing EV charging capacity on the strategic road network”. The project aims to develop an intelligent buffered ultra-rapid EV charging solution for grid-constrained motorway service areas. The role will focus on developing data-driven AI and spatial modelling approaches to understand and predict EV charging demand, particularly to optimise charging and energy management, and to assess the potential transferability of the solution across England's Strategic Road Network. Working within the UCL research team and in close collaboration with industry partners, the research fellow will integrate large-scale EV charging, energy, transport, grid, and geospatial data to develop and validate models at both the charging-session and site/network scales. The research will contribute to a proof-of-concept AI-driven energy management solution and provide evidence to support the future planning, operation and deployment of buffered ultra-rapid charging infrastructure.

The Research Fellow in Urban AI will: undertake research and analysis using EV charging, energy, transport and geospatial data to support the objectives of the project; undertake data acquisition, processing and integration, working with EV charging, energy, mobility and geospatial datasets from multiple sources; develop and test deep reinforcement learning or alternative AI-based approaches for intelligent charging and energy management; explore innovative approaches to intelligent charging and energy management that account for user behaviour and activity patterns. The post is available from 1st January 2027 and is funded until 31st December 2027 in the first instance. Starting salary offered will be £46,261- £51,246 per annum, inclusive of London Allowance, due to limited amount of funding available. Please note: Appointment at Grade 7 is dependent upon PhD award. If not yet awarded, initial appointment will be at Grade 6B (£39,807 – £42,891 per annum, inclusive of London Allowance), with backdating to Grade 7 upon submission of PhD thesis. This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Research and Professional Services Staff. Please visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/human-resources/conditions-service-research-teaching-and-professional-services staff for more information. Find out about the UCL Ways of Working: www.ucl.ac.uk/ways-of-working. We will consider applications to work on a part-time, flexible and job share basis wherever possible. For any queries about the role please contact Prof Chen Zhong (c.zhong@ucl.ac.uk).