PhD Position Simulating Airspace : Fleet & Network Optimization Air

Design the simulation models that will help airlines fly future aircraft types profitably and sustainably before they take off!

Research and industry are increasingly investing in new aircraft concepts, such as those powered by batteries, hydrogen, and other alternative energy sources. These aircraft promise to reduce aviation’s climate impact but have fundamentally different performance characteristics, requiring airlines to rethink operations before such aircraft enter service. This PhD project will help make this transition possible.

The primary focus is the development of new methods and models that efficiently couple new aircraft designs with fleet allocation and schedule decisions, enabling airlines to minimize fleet‑wide emissions when new aircraft types are introduced. The resulting models will form part of a larger simulation environment that evaluates future airspace.

• Model development: characterising key performance differences between current and future aircraft models.
• Evaluating how these differences affect fleet assignment and network planning.
• Optimising airline operations—fleet composition, scheduling, routing—based on new aircraft capabilities.
• Assessing the resulting fleet‑wide economic and climate impact.
• Facilitating future expansion to incorporate other domain models (e.g., noise) in collaboration with other departments of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering.

• MSc degree in Aerospace Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Operations Research, Applied Mathematics, or a related field.
• Strong programming skills in Python and experience building simulation environments.
• Experience with fleet planning, airline network scheduling, and/or optimisation methods.
• Genuine interest in sustainable aviation.
• Proactive, problem‑solving attitude, strong communication and academic writing skills in English, and a team‑work orientation.

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4‑year period of employment in principle, through two employment contracts: an initial 1½‑year contract with a formal assessment after 15 months, followed by a second contract covering the remaining 2½ years upon satisfactory performance.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities: €3 059 – €3 881 gross per month, increasing over the four years on a full‑time (38‑hour) basis, plus 8 % holiday allowance and an end‑of‑year bonus of 8.3 %.

PhD candidates are enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School, which offers a supportive research environment, a doctoral education programme, and a flexible compensation package including discounts on health insurance and a monthly work‑costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

As part of a diverse and collaborative ecosystem, the PhD candidate will work within the Dutch Aviation Systems Analysis Lab (DASAL) at TU Delft, collaborating closely with experts at the Dutch Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. The candidate will join a team of twelve PhD candidates and three postdocs from across the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive and welcoming workplace, supported by our Diversity & Inclusion team, offering tangible assistance such as funding for family and caregiving responsibilities, mentoring programmes, and initiatives that promote cultural exchange.