At the Faculty of Engineering and Science, Department of the Built Environment (BUILD), a 3-year position as Assistant Professor in Urban and Regional Science is open for appointment in the Division of Town, Housing and Property in Copenhagen from 1 October 2026 or as soon as possible hereafter. The assistant professor will contribute to high-quality research on regional development and urban change, with a strong emphasis on advanced quantitative methods, survey research and spatial analysis.

Your work tasks

In this position, you will conduct independent and collaborative research at a high international level within urban and regional science. You will work with regional development in Denmark, including regional migration patterns, residential preferences, urban change and neighbourhood dynamics, as well as the evaluation of interventions in urban areas. A central part of your research will be the use of advanced quantitative methods, including causal inference, large-scale survey data and spatial analysis.

You will design and implement large-scale surveys, manage data collection and cleaning, and carry out rigorous statistical analysis of survey data. You will apply and further develop causal analysis methods, for example to assess the effects of specific policy initiatives in cities and regions. You will conduct spatial analyses in Geographic Information Systems and present results in clear and accessible maps and figures that can inform both academic debates and practice.

The position includes a central role as data manager for BUILD’s servers at Statistics Denmark. In this role, you will handle user administration for new researchers on the servers, support colleagues in accessing and using register data, and ensure that relevant datasets are updated when needed.

Teaching is an integrated part of the position but will constitute a smaller share of your time than research.

You will be involved in the development of new research projects from the beginning of your employment and take part in applying for external research funding during the assistant professorship. You are expected to contribute to knowledge exchange and practice-oriented analyses for external partners such as housing organisations, municipalities and ministries, for example through policy-relevant reports, workshops or tailor-made analyses.

Your competencies

You have a completed PhD within a relevant social science discipline such as economics, geography, sociology or a closely related field. You have a strong profile in quantitative methods and are motivated by using data-heavy analyses to answer questions about urban and regional development, housing and neighbourhood change and the effects of public interventions.

You have a solid skills in advanced quantitative methods, including causal analysis approaches that allow you to draw credible conclusions about the effects of interventions and policies. You have experience with survey design and survey data analysis, from questionnaire development and sampling strategies to the analysis and interpretation of results. You are comfortable working with large datasets from surveys and registers, and you are used to documenting your data work carefully.

You have experience with spatial analysis in Geographic Information Systems and can analyse and visualise patterns of settlement, neighbourhood change or regional development on maps. You can translate complex analytical results into clear, accessible figures and visualisations that can be used in both academic publications and communication to non-academic audiences. It is an advantage if you have strong skills in statistical software such as STATA or R and experience with GIS software such as QGIS or ArcGIS.

You write and speak both English and Danis at an academic level and can teach in English.

Who we are

You will be employed at the Department of the Built Environment (BUILD), Faculty of Engineering and Science, Aalborg University, in the Division of Town, Housing and Property in Copenhagen. BUILD brings together more than 130 employees and over 600 students and works with research, consultancy and education on complex challenges related to cities, housing and construction. The department combines strong analytical competencies with close collaboration with public and private partners and aims to contribute to a more sustainable built environment and to societal development more broadly.

You will become part of the research group “Transformation of Housing and Places”. The group has a strong tradition for cross-disciplinary collaboration and for combining quantitative and qualitative methods in research that is both academically ambitious and closely connected to real-world challenges.

You will have the opportunity to shape your own research agenda within the broad field of urban and regional science while contributing to joint projects and initiatives in the group. The position is based at BUILD’s Copenhagen campus, and the department offers flexible working conditions, including the possibility to work from home when it fits with teaching and project activities

Qualification requirements 
Appointment as assistant professor requires academic qualifications at PhD level. The research potential of each applicant will be emphasized in the overall assessment.

How to apply  
Your application must include the following: 

• Application, stating reasons for applying, qualifications in relation to the position, and intentions and visions for the position 
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) 
• Diplomas (master's degree diploma and PhD diploma) 
• List of publications, with an indication of the attached publications that you wish to be taken into account in the assessment. You may attach a maximum of five publications. 
• Documentation of teaching qualifications. Please see guidelines for teaching portfolio at The Faculty of Engineering and Science  
• Dissemination qualifications, including participation on committees or boards, participation in organisations etc. 
• Additional qualifications in relation to the position 
• References/recommendations 

You can read more about the requirements for your application here.    

The application must be submitted via Aalborg University’s recruitment system, which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aalborg University's 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 
Read more about our recruitment process here   

The appointment process at Aalborg University involves a shortlisting process. You can read more about the shortlisting and appointment process here.  

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. 

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) (only in Danish) and protocol on certain terms of employment of academic staff at universities (only in Danish). 

There is a mutual probationary period of 3 months for the position.

Aalborg University - Knowledge for the world
Aalborg University is an international workplace with more than 3,700 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.

Contacts

• Mette Mechlenborg: +4599402257, mme@build.aau.dk

Employment type

Full time

Ref number

2026/876

Deadline

09.07.2026