Research Fellow in Digital Urban Systems and Data Integration

ABOUT THE ROLE

Working as part of a multidisciplinary research team, you will contribute to the delivery of a Horizon Europe‑funded project focused on the development of digital infrastructures and evaluation frameworks to support sufficiency‑driven transformation of the built environment.

The role will focus on the development and integration of the Neighbourhood Information Platform (NIP), a cloud‑based decision‑support ecosystem that integrates spatial datasets, digital building information, environmental indicators, and social sensing data to support evidence‑based urban planning and policy development.

You will contribute to research activities in urban data integration, semantic data infrastructures, and digital platform development, including the design of data ingestion and harmonisation pipelines, interoperability frameworks, and ontology‑based data models. You will also support the development of analytical and decision‑support tools, including spatial analytics, scenario modelling, and visualisation components for sustainable urban planning.

The postholder will work closely with a consortium of 17 European partners across academia, industry, and public authorities, contributing to technical development, research outputs, project deliverables, and dissemination activities.

In addition to research activities, there will be opportunities to contribute to the wider activities of the School of Architecture and Built Environment, supporting its academic mission and collaborative research environment.

This is a fixed‑term position for 30 months, funded through a Horizon Europe project.

The role is based within the School of Architecture and Built Environment at Northumbria University. The School, part of the Faculty of Engineering and Environment, is internationally recognised for research and teaching in architecture, construction project management, civil engineering, urban planning, and digital construction. It has a strong research profile in digital built environments, smart cities, data‑driven design, building information modelling, and sustainable infrastructure, actively participating in major UK and European research programmes, including Horizon Europe projects.

Research within the School is highly interdisciplinary and externally engaged, working closely with industry, local authorities, and international academic partners to address global challenges in urban transformation, sustainability, and digital innovation.

Applicants should hold a PhD (or be near completion) in Computer Science, Urban Informatics, Data Science, GIS, Civil Engineering, Architecture, or a closely related discipline.

You will have specialist knowledge and/or experience in areas such as digital urban systems, geospatial data, BIM/CIM, data integration, semantic data modelling, or development of digital platforms and decision‑support systems. Experience working with heterogeneous datasets and/or interoperability frameworks in the built environment is highly desirable.

You should also have experience working in collaborative, interdisciplinary research environments and be comfortable engaging with international research partners.

For an informal discussion about the role, contact Dr Omar Doukari at om