PhD Position Explainable AI for Learning and Verification for High-tech Greenhouses Delft • TU Delft

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High-tech greenhouses play a crucial role in ensuring sustainable, affordable, and reliable local food production. The construction and operation of high-tech greenhouses is therefore expected to grow significantly over the next decade, but this increase is not matched by a commensurate increase in the number of growers capable of effectively managing them. Achieving high resource-use efficiency of the greenhouse, e.g., maximizing the kg of food produced per unit of energy, requires growers to consider a complex relationship between the short- and long-term consequences of each operational decision. These factors have led to a significant interest in autonomous systems for greenhouse management.

Although autonomous greenhouse systems have achieved remarkable improvements in performance over the last couple of years, the current technology cannot be scaled to the entire greenhouse industry as current methods require either enormous amounts of operational data or high fidelity simulators. In addition, current autonomous greenhouse control systems focus almost entirely on the highest level of decision making, while ignoring the lower control layers that actually implement these high-level decisions. This approach leads to a control architecture that is poorly integrated and lacks flexibility in responding to short term perturbations, thereby producing suboptimal performance in terms of profits, resource efficiency, and carbon footprint.

This PhD position is a part of the LEAP-AI project that will address these challenges in autonomous greenhouse control. The project team includes PhD students and researchers at TU Delft, Wageningen University and Research, and Erasmus University Rotterdam, as well as industrial partners that specialize in machine learning, climate control, and computer vision for high-tech greenhouses. The goal of the LEAP-AI project is to collaborate with this team to design the next generation of autonomous greenhouse control systems and will culminate with several large-scale experiments including both research trials as well as validation/demonstration of the new autonomous greenhouse control system in an actual high-tech greenhouse.

In this PhD project, you will explore the use of formal methods from computer science (program synthesis and probabilistic programming) and control systems analysis approaches to derive human understandable strategies from data-driven strategies discovered by employing AI techniques. You will derive techniques to determine what long-term strategies AI-based controllers pursue, connect their short-term actions to long-term effects, and explain them to growers in a suitable way. The ultimate goal is to use these insights to design alternative growth control strategies of current autonomous greenhouse systems to improve both the flexibility and explainability of the system. To this end you will work closely with other PhDs and researchers in the project both at the Computer Science Department (Dr. Sebastijan Dumančić) and Delft Center for Systems and Control (Dr. Manuel Mazo) of TU Delft, the Erasmus University, and with our industrial partners and professional growers.

Applicants should have:

• Completed (or in the process of completion) a relevant MSc degree in computer science, systems and control, engineering, applied mathematics, or a related field.
• A strong background or interest in formal methods in computer science (program synthesis, probabilistic programming), systems and control, machine learning, and biological systems.
• Some experience conducting, designing, and/or managing experiments for physical/biological systems is a plus, but not required.

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) brings together three scientific disciplines. Combined, they reinforce each other and are the driving force behind the technology we all use in our daily lives. Technology such as the electricity grid, which our faculty is helping to make completely sustainable and future-proof. At the same time, we are developing the chips and sensors of the future, whilst also setting the foundations for the software technologies to run on this new generation of equipment – which of course includes AI. Meanwhile we are pushing the limits of applied mathematics, for example mapping out disease processes using single cell data, and using mathematics to simulate gigantic ash plumes after a volcanic eruption. In other words: there is plenty of room at the faculty for ground-breaking research. We educate innovative engineers and have excellent labs and facilities that underline our strong international position. In total, more than 1000 employees and 4,000 students work and study in this innovative environment.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science.

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met. 

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities , increasing from Promovendus gross per month, from the first year to the fourth year based on a fulltime contract (38 hours), plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.  

As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills. 

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.  

Will you need to relocate to the Netherlands for this job? TU Delft is committed to make your move as smooth as possible! The HR unit, Coming to Delft Service, offers information on their website to help you prepare your relocation. In addition, Coming to Delft Service organises events to help you settle in the Netherlands, and expand your (social) network in Delft. A Dual Career Programme is available, to support your accompanying partner with their job search in the Netherlands.  

If you would like more information about this vacancy or the selection procedure, please contact Dr. Sebastijan Dumančić at via de button "Solliciteer nu" op deze pagina..  

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than 5 October 2025 via the application button and upload the following documents:

• A curriculum vitae (CV) that states your education and relevant working experience.
• A motivation letter stating why the proposed research topic interests you (no more than 1 page).
• One or two research-oriented documents written by the application (e.g., MSc thesis, journal/conference publication). If you are in the process of completing your MSc studies, send a drat of your MSc thesis or a summary (3-5 pages)
• Transcript for your MSc degree including grades for courses. 

You can address your application to Dr. Sebastijan Dumančić.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements. 

Please note:

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post. 
• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• For the final candidates, a knowledge security check will be part of the application procedure. For more information on this check, please consult Chapter 8 of the National Knowledge Security Guidelines. We carry out this check on the basis of legitimate interest.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.