PhD Candidate in “prospective LCA of post-harvest technological pathways” for the Sustainability in Biosystems Program

We are looking for a PhD Candidate to join the Sustainability in Biosystems Program team, based in Torre Marimon (Caldes de Montbui, Barcelona). We offer the opportunity to be part of an organization with a dynamic, collaborative work environment focused on professional development.

This position will focus on conducting research and innovation activities related to the challenges of assessing novel post-harvest technologies, products and strategies, deploying tools such as Prospective LCA, as well as eco-efficiency and circularity indicators.

The successful candidate will be working on an exciting and stimulating international project on post-harvest technologies applied to fruits and vegetables. Production of fresh fruit and vegetables is a large contributor to EU socio-economics with the production value of fresh fruit and vegetables increasing to a value of close to 71 billion Euro in 2024. However, EU farmers face major business challenges from volatile and low prices, and increasingly unpredictable harvests; while environmental and climate regulations require substantial investments and create significant risks. The HYPOSAVE project will improve farmers’ income in the horticultural value chain by transforming on-farm postharvest operations. It will develop and disseminate modular, state-of-the-art technologies for packaging, storage, and processing of economically important fruit and vegetable crops.

The objectives of the successful candidate will focus on overcoming the challenges of Prospective LCA in agri-food contexts, and to integrate economic and environmental analyses into meaningful eco-efficiency indicators.

Head of the Program: Dr August Bonmatí

Program’s key researcher/s for this position: Dr Angel Avadí

Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Define the prospective LCA framework in collaboration with relevant project partners
• Develop the inventory data collection templates for technology-developing partners and oversee collection of primary LCI data from pilot, demonstration and industrial-scale activities.
• Model and assess the environmental impacts of baseline and improved postharvest/processing scenarios for representative crops and value chains identified in the HYPOSAVE project, using conventional and prospective LCA methods.
• Develop and apply eco-efficiency metrics through integration of LCA and techno-economic results from project partners
• Perform sensitivity, uncertainty and scalability analyses to test the robustness of LCA and eco-efficiency conclusions under different assumptions: scale-up, energy mix, data gaps, market prices, technology performance and regional conditions.
• Translate results into decision-support material for partners and dissemination: dashboards, summary tables, figures, policy/practitioner briefs, scientific manuscripts and inputs to exploitation workshops.
• Interact with public and private partners of the HYPOSAVE project.
• Support knowledge transfer and research dissemination to the sector, relevant public decision makers, large public, and the scientific community.
• Contribute to the teamwork and team-spirit in the Sustainability in Biosystems research program, fostering collaboration and integration activities.

Required qualifications and experience

• Master in Environmental Sciences, Environmental Engineering, Agriculture Sciences, or a related discipline.
• Experience in LCA, LCA software, and agrifood LCI databases.
• Dissemination skills: presentation/communication skills, and technical writing.
• Proficiency in English both spoken and written.
• Strong teamwork skills, ability to adapt to multidisciplinary environments and a focus on professional growth and development.

Desirable requirements

• Research skills: literature review, data analysis, scientific article writing.
• Knowledge of Prospective, Consequential, Input/Output or other LCA variations.
• Skills in using advanced stats software and programming languages (R, Python).
• Familiarity with LCA environment Brightway.
• Experience in developing LCA metrics or other tools that require upscaling and simplification.
• Well-developed interpersonal skills, including ability to work as part of an international team, and capacity to work independently.
• Catalan and Spanish are valued.

Advantages of joining our team:

• Contract: 4 years
• Salary: The financial remuneration for the PhD Candidate contract will be 19,656,35€/gross per annum and for the first and second years. For this third year, it will be €21,060,37€/gross per annum and for the fourth year it will be €26,325,47€/gross per annum which will be subject to the corresponding withholdings, pursuant to prevailing regulations, and to the collective employment agreement of IRTA. IRTA will also pay the fees of the doctoral school when receiving the enrolment.
• 37.5 hour workweek, with Friday afternoons off
• Intensive work schedule from 15/06 to 15/09
• 23 vacation days
• 3 days of family & work conciliation
• 45 hours of personal days
• Remote work 6 workdays per month
• Flexible Schedule for a good work-life balance.
• Continuous training and professional growth opportunities.

Please know that if you are the chosen candidate and you are from a country which does not belong to the UE, IRTA’s People Department will support you to get the residence and working permits.

Instructions to Apply

If you wish to be considered for this position and believe you meet the requirements, please send your CV and motivation letter.

Equal treatment and equal opportunities are guaranteed for all candidates in the selection process, avoiding stereotypes, bias or barriers linked to gender, sexual orientation, origin, ideology, or any other potentially discriminatory condition. The organization also ensures inclusion commitment toward vulnerable groups, and the first round of the selection process is reserved for candidates with functional diversity.

Timings in the Recruitment Process

Curricular assessment: The candidate’s qualifications and merits will be evaluated according to the criteria established in the job offer.

Interview(s): These will be conducted by a Selection Committee to assess the candidate’s suitability in terms of professional experience and competencies.

Additional tests (if applicable): Depending on the position profile and the needs of the process, specific competency-based tests and/or a psychometric test may be included in order to more accurately assess the suitability of the candidates.

Start of contract: January 2026 (approximately)

(1) The financial remuneration of the PhD Candidate contract may not be less than 56% of the salary established for the category of Research Collaborator F of the Collective Agreement of the IRTA during the first two years, 60% in the third year and 75% in the fourth.