PhD in SAR-Based Earth Observation Foundation Models for Environmental Monitoring in the Danish Realm

The Department of Electronic Systems at The Technical Faculty of IT and Design invites applications for a PhD stipend in the field of machine learning and earth observation within the general study programme Electrical and Electronic Engineering; as per December 1 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter. The duration of the position is three years.

In electronic engineering Aalborg University is known worldwide for its high academic quality and societal impact. The Department of Electronic Systems employs more than 200 people of which about 90 are PhD students and about 40 % of all employees are total it has more than 600 students in its BSc and MSc programs which are based on AAUs problem-based learning model. The department leverages its unique research infrastructure and lab facilities to conduct world-leading fundamental and applied research within communication networks control systems AI sound cyber security and robotics. The department plays an active role in transferring inventions and results into applications in close collaboration with industrial partners worldwide. You can read more about the department at .

Your work tasks

• Advance self-supervised learning methods that leverage the unique properties of SAR data.
• Develop a foundation model pre-trained on large Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) datasets.
• Demonstrate the practical utility of the foundation model by fine-tuning it for selected use cases

Your competencies

The PhD candidate is expected to have:

• A masters degree (120 ECTS points) or enrolled within Electronic Engineering Computer Engineering Mathematical Engineering Computer Science or equivalent.
• A strong background with machine learning and data science.
• A strong background with remote sensing and earth observation.
• Hands-on experience with Python and deep learning frameworks.
• Excellent analytical problem-solving and experimental skills.
• High-levels of motivation and innovation.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English

Qualification requirements
PhD stipends are allocated to individuals who hold a Masters degree. PhD stipends are normally for a period of 3 years. It is a prerequisite for allocation of the stipend that the candidate will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Technical Doctoral School of IT and Design in accordance with the regulations of Ministerial Order No. 1124 of September 19 2025 on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions. According to the Ministerial Order the progress of the PhD student shall be assessed at regular points in time.

Who we are
This PhD stipend is funded by the National Center for Climate Research at the Danish Meteorological Institute. The Nationalt Center for Climate Research conducts independent research and communication on climate change with a focus on extreme weather polar climate impacts and global warming tipping points. The Centre supports governmental climate advisory efforts and produces widely used climate data.

The PhD student will be affiliated with the Machine Learning research group at Aalborg University. The group is dedicated to advancing machine learning methods and developing applications for various signals and data. The goal is to provide advanced AI solutions to real-world problems. The group specializes in creating machine learning and deep learning methods for speech audio and multimodal data. Currently we are particularly focused on self-supervised learning a learning paradigm that does not require labels but instead derives supervisory signals automatically from the unlabeled data itself and and on deploying models pre-trained with it.

How to apply
Your application must include the following:

• Application stating reasons for applying and qualifications in relation to the position
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Diplomas (bachelor and masters degree diploma)
• Other relevant documents

The application must be submitted via Aalborg Universitys recruitment system which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aalborg Universitys website.

Aalborg University wants to reflect the surrounding society and has diversity as a core value. Therefore everyone regardless of personal background and orientation is encouraged to apply for the position.

Do you have any questions
If you have any questions about the position you are more than welcome to contact us. You will find contact persons at the bottom of the jobpost.

Further information
We recommend that you save a copy of the job posting as it will be removed once the application deadline has passed.

The assessment of candidates for the position will be carried out by qualified experts.
Shortlisting will be applied. This means that after the application deadline the head of the department with the assistance of the hiring committee will select the applicants to be assessed. All applicants will be informed whether they have been shortlisted for assessment or not.

The hiring process at Aalborg University may include a risk assessment as a tool to identify potential risks associated with new hires ensuring the safety compliance and integrity of the workplace.

Read more about The Technical Doctoral School of IT and Design

Salary and terms of employment
The employment is in accordance with the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities (the Appointment Order) and the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (in Danish) and protocol on certain terms of employment of academic staff at universities (in Danish).

Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with the collective agreement between the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations and the state (AC collective agreement) (in Danish) and protocol on certain terms of employment of academic staff at universities (in Danish).

Aalborg University - Knowledge for the world
Aalborg University is an international workplace with more than 3700 employees. We offer real-world-oriented education and create world-class research results through collaboration between researchers students and public and private companies. This is how we achieve insights new solutions to societal problems and knowledge that changes the world. Our main campus is in Aalborg but we also have campuses in Esbjerg and Copenhagen.