Postdoctoral Researcher – Urban Verticality and Geospatial Observatory

About the role

The CEAT research community at EPFL is recruiting a full-time postdoctoral researcher in urban verticality, Earth Observation, environmental modelling and geospatial data science. The position is part of Vertical Africa (VERTICAF), a four-year interdisciplinary project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, which studies how African cities expand both horizontally and vertically. The postdoc contributes to measuring urban verticality and its environmental impacts (WP1) and coordinates the geospatial, modelling and digital observatory components (WP4). The contract lasts 48 months, starts in February 2027, and includes fieldwork in Kigali, Dakar and Luanda.

Key responsibilities

• WP1: Develop and harmonise Earth Observation workflows (Sentinel-1/2, Landsat, MODIS, GHSL, Open Buildings 2.5D, OpenStreetMap, Copernicus) to characterise urban morphology, verticalisation and land-surface change.
• Derive and analyse indicators such as building height, density, built volume, vegetation, imperviousness, albedo, land surface temperature, flood hazard and exposure, and assess urban heat and flood risks.
• Coordinate field measurements and model validation along urban transects, and develop spatial, statistical and predictive models and baseline-to-2050 scenarios.
• WP4: Coordinate the scientific and geospatial development of the digital observatory, integrate data and models, and work with African partners to make it sustainable and locally appropriate.
• Programme automatic ingestion of Sentinel-2 imagery, develop automated geospatial workflows, and coordinate 2D/3D visualisation and digital-twin tools.
• Support design fiction workshops, restitution workshops, video capsules and podcasts, and supervise a PhD student on WP1.

Required profile

• PhD in geography, urban planning, spatial data science, geomatics, environmental sciences or a related field, obtained or close to completion.
• Solid experience in remote sensing, satellite image processing, GIS and spatial modelling, and a proven publication record.
• Field experience in data-scarce contexts; experience in Sub-Saharan Africa is an asset.
• Excellent English and French; knowledge of Portuguese or Kinyarwanda is an asset.

Required skills

• At least one programming language for geospatial analysis: Python (rasterio, geopandas, scikit-learn), R or Google Earth Engine.
• Open-source tools (QGIS, GRASS GIS, GDAL) and spatial databases.
• Urban heat island analysis and/or flood risk modelling, and experience with web-based geospatial platforms are assets.

What we offer

• A salary based on the SNSF and EPFL postdoctoral scales.
• Integration into an interdisciplinary team with EPFL, the University of Geneva and three African partner universities.
• Fieldwork in Kigali, Luanda and Dakar and access to EPFL computing resources, including the Excellence in Africa Center.
• A central role in the project's flagship deliverable, the digital observatory.

Applications (in English or French) must include a cover letter, a CV with publications, two publications and two academic references, submitted through the online portal; applications by email are not accepted.