Assistant or Associate Professor, Water Quality Management

Job Description

Aalto University is where science and art meet technology and business. We shape a sustainable future by making research breakthroughs in and across our disciplines, sparking the game changers of tomorrow and creating novel solutions to major global challenges. Our community is made up of 16 000 students and 5 200 employees, including 446 professors. Our campus is in Espoo, Greater Helsinki, Finland. Diversity is part of who we are, and we actively work to ensure our community's diversity and inclusiveness. This is why we warmly encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds to join our community.

The Department of Built Environment looks for practical solutions for a society whose functioning requires sustainable asset management, efficient water and waste management, sufficient water resources, reliable and safe transportation as well as valid geographic data. Through intelligent spatial planning, we create built environments that effectively meet the requirements of habitation, business, and mobility.

We invite applications for the position of Assistant or Associate Professor in Water quality management (tenure track)

We are seeking a motivated and enthusiastic person for a full-time tenure track position in the field of freshwater quality management in natural and built environments, within the water and environmental engineering discipline.

This Assistant or Associate Professor position will be part of the Aalto University tenure track system: Tenure track career path | Aalto University.

The position is open in the Aalto University's Water and Environmental Engineering Research Group under the Department of Built Environment in the Aalto School of Engineering. The research group seeks to find solutions towards a more sustainable future and to tackle environmental degradation and resource scarcity from local to global level. The group's research and teaching focus on water resources management, environmental hydraulics, water and development, water governance, and water and wastewater engineering. We have state-of-the-art research infrastructure, including high-grade water quality and environmental hydraulics laboratories staffed by professionals.

The position

This professorship position on water quality management is situated in the field of water engineering, with focus on engineering applications and environmental planning particularly in the northern conditions. The position responds to the need to strengthen our research, education, and societal impact on the management of freshwater quality as well as related risks and solutions.

Freshwater quality and its management in natural and built environments links with water security, water services and water infrastructures and is of key importance in sustainable functioning of societies. Climate change, urbanization, land use changes, and environmental pollution related risks are challenges threatening clean water, ecosystems, food production, and human wellbeing. Water quality management provides solutions to cope with a broad range of drivers and triggers affecting critical functions of society, including natural hazards, floods, conflict-related threats, aging infrastructures, emerging pollutants, decreasing carrying capacity of ecosystems, and accumulation of pollutant, nutrient and sediment loads. Technological breakthroughs in observation systems, data science, modelling and planning processes provide improved information to support water quality management and aid in the transformation toward more sustainable use of water resources.

Relevant research methodologies on water quality management may cover for example risk analyses, data science, and simulation modelling as well as new measurement technologies from remote sensing to sensor data. The engineering approach solves wicked problems and supports planning through combining data and computational tools for impacts assessment and risk management, contributing to sustainable freshwater governance.

Your experience and ambitions

A doctoral degree in a relevant field such as water resources management, civil engineering, environmental engineering, physical geography is a prerequisite for the position. Well-demonstrated collaboration skills and an excellent command of English are essential. The evaluation of applicants will be based on their current and potential excellence in scientific research, teaching, and societal impact (potential is emphasised more in Assistant Professor position). Additionally, the applicant's connections and engagement with national, European, and global stakeholders and the international science community will be considered.

A successful candidate should have a strong background in research related to freshwater quality and its management, preferably with close linkages to hydrology, planning and engineering. This expertise should include one or more of the following areas: advanced water quality monitoring techniques (e.g., remote sensing and sensor technologies); computational modelling and simulation of water quality processes; planning and impact assessment processes; policy integration and governance; and/or solutions for water quality changes in response to environmental and anthropogenic drivers.

Our Water and Environmental Engineering Research Group includes over 80 experts with varying backgrounds, and we work together in our Water Building at Aalto University's campus. We therefore value openness for collaboration as well as multi- and interdisciplinary research skills.

Teaching experience, pedagogical studies, student supervision, and cooperation with industry, public sector and civil society are considered as merits. Similarly, experience in acquiring and applying for academic competitive funding as well as scientific awards and recognitions are considered important advantages.

Expectations

The successful candidate is expected to:

• Carry out high-quality research in one or more areas within the broader theme of freshwater quality management in water and environmental engineering settings.
• Initiate research projects on water quality management, with relevant themes such as impacts of nutrient and pollutant loads to surface and ground waters, micropollutants in storm waters and freshwaters, and anthropogenic change induced water quality changes and influence on freshwater resources.
• Lead their own research team, educate doctoral students, and produce novel, high-quality research published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
• Develop and contribute to teaching at bachelor, master's and doctoral levels particularly in the following areas: water quality management in natural and built environments, water quality with relevant chemical, biological, ecological, and/or hydrological processes and risks, water quality engineering, ecohydrology and watershed management, and advanced water quality monitoring and modelling techniques.
• Contribute to the progress of the school, department and research group (i.e., faculty), including enhancing our scientific and societal impact as well as international visibility.
• Actively collaborate with different stakeholders and colleagues both at Aalto University and across the global scientific community.

What we offer

Aalto University offers the opportunity to work within a well-resourced learning community, where students are highly motivated and researchers work in a multi-and interdisciplinary setting across Aalto's six Schools. According to our strategy, Aalto University shapes a sustainable future through research-based knowledge, creativity, and an entrepreneurial mindset. Our values are responsibility, courage, and collaboration (Our purpose, values and way of working | Aalto University).

Salary will be defined according to Aalto University's payroll system, considering the applicant's experience and qualifications. In addition to the salary, Aalto University provides its employees with excellent occupational healthcare services and retirement benefits. Also, a starting package can be negotiated with the Dean.

Finland offers a safe and healthy environment for living, with excellent state-subsidized services including affordable day care, healthcare, and free schools that are ranked among the best in the world. Finland has been ranked as the happiest country in the world for seven consecutive years. Further, we are one of the world's most reliable and stable nations, with a high level of safety. With significant investments in R&D, a strong innovation culture, open data, and advanced digitalization, Finland is a nation of innovation and entrepreneurship.

The Nordic values of equality and cooperation are deeply rooted in our society. Gender equality, flexibility, and low hierarchy form the core of our Nordic working environment. For more information about living and working in Finland, please visit: For international staff | Aalto University.

Ready to apply?

If you want to join our community, please submit your application (in English) through our recruitment system by July 31th, 2026 (before midnight Finnish time, UTC+3). Please, note that the application deadline has been extended until end of July.

The application material for the position must consist of the following documents:

• Cover Letter - including a summary of merits, most important achievements, motivation for this position, as well as your own justification for the level of the position (assistant or associate level) (max 2 pages).
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) - following the structure given by Finnish Advisory Board on Research Integrity: Template for researcher's curriculum vitae | Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK. CV should also include: i) applicant's contact information, ii) a brief statement of the applicant's role in the three most significant publications attached to the proposal, and iii) names and contact information of 3 referees. Also include as an Annex your full List of Publications, with up to then most important publications marked.
• Research Portfolio - including short summary of the ongoing research as well as a plan for future research in the position (3-5 pages)
• Teaching Portfolio - prepared according to Aalto University guidelines (Teaching-competence-assessment_Guidelines-for-a-candidate_2024_Aalto-University.pdf)
• Three most significant publications by the applicant as one combined pdf-file

The general instructions, including guidelines for compiling the application material, are given online: Interested in joining our tenure track? | Aalto University.

The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is strongly discouraged when preparing the application documents, and the application documents may be checked against the use of AI.

A link to the recruitment system can be found at the end of this job advertisement via the text "Apply now". If you are already an employee at Aalto, please apply using your existing Workday user account via our internal system Workday -> Find Jobs.

Aalto University will use external reviewers to support the evaluation of applicants during the recruitment process. We may also use a leadership assessment for shortlisted candidates.

Based on the application materials and external evaluations, the Departmental Committee will select the most suitable applicants for a site visit to Aalto University to deliver teaching demonstration and research presentation, and to attend interviews.

For more Information

For additional information, please contact Associate Professor Marko Keskinen, [email protected]. For questions related to the recruitment process, please contact HR Partner Sanni Mero, [email protected].

Aalto University reserves the right for justified reasons to leave the position open and to extend the application period.