Job opportunity in a multidisciplinary research project at the Department of Architecture, Aalto ARTS (a postdoctoral researcher or an almost finished doctoral student)

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 Architecture at Aalto University is an internationally renowned education and research unit (within app. top 2% in the world of architecture). With Finland’s esteemed architectural heritage, we search for new solutions to the challenges of sustainable development. To us, architecture is an art form that requires practical skills and individual artistic development, as well as knowledge on sustainability relevant to design and planning. We educate critical thinkers who accept their responsibility to research and design a socially, culturally, and ecologically sustainable built environment. The Department of Architecture offers degree programs in architecture, landscape architecture, and interior architecture. For more information, please see http://architecture.aalto.fi/en/.

We are now looking for a postdoctoral researcher or an almost finished doctoral student.

We are seeking a researcher with a doctoral degree (or almost that)  in building or interior architecture to join an EU-funded research project concerning interior architecture and textiles at Aalto University’s Department of Architecture. In this position, you will have the opportunity to contribute to the transformation of the interior textile industry by leveraging design as a driver of sustainable competitiveness.

This practice-led material innovation project addresses interior textiles, which amount to 30% of all textile production. By changing the colouration process early in production, the use of water and chemicals could be reduced by 50%. To implement this change though mayor barriers need to be overcome. We propose system-level changes across design, decision-making, business ecosystems, and policy in the interior textiles sector. The project will equip designers and industry decision-makers with a comprehensive set of guidelines for design, aesthetics, production, and business models.

The work is part-time and requires working from Finland also when in remote mode: 40% workload (2 days per week) for the first 1,5 years (August 2026 – January 2028) and 10% workload (0,5 day per week) for the second 1,5 years (February 2028 – July 2029). The work should start on the 26th of August latest, if not agreed otherwise. The starting salary for an entry-level postdoc is approximately 4150€ per month (for 100% work).

Your role and goals

The role combines high-level analytical responsibility with collaborative engagement in design-led research processes, ensuring integration between academic rigor and practice-based innovation,

• analyzing and benchmarking built interior design examples that successfully incorporate sustainable textile practices
• synthetizing findings from textile manufacturing heritage research to interior design
• documenting the aesthetic dimensions of sustainable transitions, as well as applying life cycle assessment, cradle-to-cradle thinking, and material circularity indicators to the project
• participating to create an approach for esthetic acceptance, emotional durability, and aesthetics of imperfection shaping aesthetic paradigms and current values
• producing aesthetic and technical guidelines for interior designers enabling them to make informed and more sustainable fabric selections
• participating creating a design-business-marketing transformation framework
•  identifying and recommending industry standards and policies: contributing to integrated recommendations together with industry partners
• producing expert insight presentations to professional audiences
• disseminating the results and communicating the project especially with video-based knowledge resources through relevant platforms and publications throughout the interior textile industry
• participating to develop the concept for a spatial demonstration of the findings of the project
• …and supporting professors Katrin Greiling and Antti Ahlava in other parts of the project

Your network and team

Aalto's multidisciplinary team includes prof. Antti Ahlava and assistant prof. Katrin Greiling from the Department of Architecture. The leader of the whole project is prof. Maarit Salolainen from Aalto's Dept. of Design. Your supervisor would be Katrin Greiling. Other schools from Aalto include SCI (assist. prof. Lauri Saarinen), and BIZ (PoP Antti Vassinen). The partners from the textile industry cover all relevant parts of the interior textile value chain from fiber production and yarns to fabrics. 

Your experience and ambitions

Qualified candidates for the postdoctoral position should hold a doctoral degree (or almost that) and have sufficient research experience and interest in fields and themes relevant to the position. Adequate skills in qualitative and/or artistic research methods are required, and ability for multidisciplinary research is considered to be highly advantageous. Excellent English language skills are required. You need to have a genuine interest in interior textiles.

Selection process

The evaluation will be based on the assessment of the candidate’s relevant past research and creative/artistic background and achievements, as well as their potential for contributions to the proposed research. Applications will be reviewed by a team of researcher-practitioners, and shortlisted candidates will be invited for an online interviews.

What we offer
Meaningful and inspiring environment. We are proud of our purpose to shape a sustainable future. We spark the game changers of tomorrow, and renew society with research-based knowledge, creativity and an entrepreneurial mindset.

• Culture that inspires and includes everyone. All our work is guided by the values of the university: responsibility, courage, and collaboration. It’s the people that create Aalto. We want to be an open community where equality and inclusion enable curiosity, innovation, collaboration, and wellbeing.
• Responsible and meaningful role with impact in our university’s and school’s success, and in the end, in the wellbeing and development of our society.

We value work-life balance and well-being in all aspects of life. We work in a hybrid model, with the primary workplace located at the Otaniemi Campus in Espoo, Finland. Life on the revitalized campus is vibrant, featuring stunning architecture, tranquil nature, and a variety of cafes, restaurants, and services, all complemented by excellent public transportation connections.

How to apply:  

Please upload your PDF application including your cv, motivation letter and a brief overview of your research projects, to our recruitment site.

Please note: Aalto University’s employees should apply for the position via our internal HR system Workday (Internal Jobs) by using their existing Workday user account (not via the external webpage for open positions). If you are a student or visitor at Aalto University, please apply with your personal email address (not aalto.fi) via Aalto University open positions.

The deadline for submitting your application is 21st of June 2026 at 23:59 (Eastern European time UTC +2).

Applications will be reviewed by a team of researcher-practitioners, and shortlisted candidates will be invited for interviews.

For more information about the role please contact Assistant Professor Katrin Greiling (Interior Architecture) +358 50 453 1453 / katrin.greiling@aalto.fi or Professor Antti Ahlava (Emergent Design Methodologies) +358 50 324 1179 / antti.ahlava@aalto.fi.    

For questions related to the application process, please contact HR Partner Enni Ailoranta, hr-arch@aalto.fi.

Want to know more about us and your future colleagues? You can watch these videos:  

This is Aalto University! 
Aalto University – Towards a better world  
and Shaping a Sustainable Future. 

Read more about working at Aalto: https://www.aalto.fi/en/careers-at-aalto and check out our new virtual campus experience: https://virtualtour.aalto.fi  
 

About Finland 

Finland is a great place for living with or without family – it is a safe, politically stable and well-organized Nordic society. Finland is consistently ranked high in quality of life and was listed again as the happiest country in the world: World Happiness Report 2025 

For more information about living in Finland: Aalto Careers for International Staff. 

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