Job title
PhD Position in Ocean Dynamics and Climate Impacts from High-Resolution Models and Observations.
Company
Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) – Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Department of Geoscience and Remote Sensing, in collaboration with Alfred Wegener Institute (Germany).
Description of the job
A fully funded 4-year PhD position is now open at TU Delft in collaboration with the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI, Germany). The successful candidate will use cutting-edge high-resolution climate models and observations to uncover how Arctic Ocean circulation will evolve in the coming decades, and what this means for climate at lower latitudes.
Over the past decades, the Arctic Ocean circulation has changed significantly, in part due to a large reduction in sea ice extent in the Northern hemisphere. The resulting ocean currents risk delivering a greater amount of fresh waters to the sub-Arctic regions, with potential impact on the sinking of North Atlantic Deep Waters and the global overturning circulation. This project will use global simulations with refined resolution over the Arctic Ocean to investigate the evolving interactions between ocean, atmosphere and sea ice in these regions, and consequences for key processes setting the climate at lower latitudes.
What you will do:
- Analyze simulations that use spatially variable mesh refinement to explicitly resolve mesoscale eddies in the Arctic Ocean over decadal time scales under a realistic climate-emission scenario.
- Investigate how ocean eddies shape the transport of heat and salinity under past, present, and future climate conditions.
- Combine cutting-edge high-resolution climate models and observations (gliders, CTDs, remote sensing).
- Work with observational datasets from the Fram Strait, including ocean gliders, moored instruments, and satellite-based products.
- Opportunity to participate in a research cruise in the Arctic Ocean (if desired).
What you will gain:
- Deep knowledge in climate science.
- Processing and deriving interpretation from large datasets.
- Combining climate models and observations.
- Seagoing experience (if desired).
- Working with leading scientists in The Netherlands and Germany.
Working environment:
- Join the Geoscience & Remote Sensing department (GRS) working closely with fellow PhD researchers, postdocs, and professors in an open and collaborative environment.
- Full support and training to grow in your career.
- Enrollment in the TU Delft Graduate School with access to the Doctoral Education Programme.
Conditions of employment:
- 4-year period of employment: initial 1.5 year contract with go/no go assessment within 15 months, followed by 2.5 years contract.
- Salary increasing from €2,901 to €3,707 gross per month (full-time, 38 hours).
- 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
- Customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and monthly work costs contribution.
- Flexible work schedules can be arranged.
- Relocation support through Coming to Delft Service.
- Dual Career Programme available for accompanying partners.
Requirements
- Master's degree in Earth sciences, physics, applied mathematics, engineering, computer science or related discipline.
- Demonstrated interest in climate, oceanography, atmospheric science, or the cryosphere.
- Prior programming experience (e.g. Python, Matlab, C).
- Good organizational and communication skills.
- Ability to work independently as well as within a team.
- Good command of written and spoken English.
Location
Delft, Netherlands.
Salary
€2,900 – €3,700 gross per month.
How to apply
Apply online no later than 21 January 2026 via the application button and upload the following documents:
- Curriculum vitae.
- Motivation letter detailing: (1) your interest in the research topic and (2) your experience in conducting research.
- Transcripts from your BSc and MSc degrees.
- Contact details for two or three referees.
- If available, a copy of your MSc thesis will be appreciated.
Address your application to Mukund Gupta. For more information about this vacancy, contact Mukund.Gupta@tudelft.nl. Applications sent by email and/or post will not be processed.
Deadline
21/01/2026.
Disclaimer
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