Four-year PhD Position in Sustainable Aviation leading to Successful Start-Ups

About the Project

Tax-Free Stipend of €31,000 per annum + Academic Fees Paid (all nationalities) x four years.

Commencing Oct 1 2026.

Supported by the leading aircraft lessor Avolon, Innovate for Ireland and Research Ireland, perspective entrepreneurs are sought to pursue a PhD with a focus on research-led entrepreneurial innovation leading to a successful start-up company.

Sustainable Aviation is a challenge of our times which has international attention. The Low Carbon Technologies research group of Prof. Stephen Dooley is focussed on performing impactful research which will make aviation environmentally, economically, and societally sustainable. Innovate for Ireland is a matched funding initiative of the private sector and the Government of Ireland which seeks to develop people that will connect research excellence to economic impact through intellectual property and start-up business ventures.

This mission allies perfectly with the last years progress of the Low Carbon Technologies Research Group We have developed an internationally leading research portfolio on Sustainable Aviation Fuels – the essential lever in decarbonizing aviation.

Project:

Perform research-led scholarly activity which will lead or support the commercialisation of existing TCD generated technology or data concepts pertaining to any of:

1. Consulting services underpinning SAF producers, feedstock providers, the aviation OEMs, aviation regulators, aviation standardisation bodies, and government actions.
2. New or improved test methods for fuel technical quality.
3. TCD / EU SAF Clearing House machined learned quantitative structure property relationships of SAF f it-for-purpose and specification properties.
4. Fuel composition analysis by quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
5. SAF sustainability assessment commercial service.
6. Mitigation of aviation CO2 and non-CO2 environmental effects.
7. Sustainable Aviation conference and stakeholder workshops, such as International Sustainable Aviation Research (http://www.isarc2026.org/ & https://icsar.org/ founded by Prof. Dooley).
8. Applicant suggested projects aligned to the low carbon transition.

Research Environment:

You will work as a commercially focussed researcher within the Low Carbon Technologies Research Centre at Trinity College Dublin home of the Ryanair Sustainable Aviation Research Centre, The TCD SAF Research Facility @ SMBC Aviation Capital and the EU SAF Clearing House managed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (www.eusafclearinghouse.eu). The TCD team is at the very centre of EU and International efforts on Sustainable Aviation.

You will have opportunities to interact closely with select aircraft leasing companies, Eurocontrol, EASA, the aviation OEMS, SAF Producers, and with several collaborating institutions in the United States and Europe.

Role:

The selected researcher will work to achieve the outcomes below:

• Develop research-led commercial activity or intellectual property.
• Education and stakeholder management of the SAF ecosystem including interfacing with The EU SAF Clearing House, Aircraft leasing Ireland, Ryanair, The Boeing Company, Government Departments and SAF Producers providing research on commercial basis which can underpin business cases leading to FID for SAF production facilities in Ireland and the EU.

Skills to be developed:

The researcher will become expert in some of:

• Sustainable Aviation Fuel; production technologies; ASTM aviation fuel specification, ASTM test methods, fit for purpose and specification property measurements,
• Life cycle assessment & technoeconomic analysis.
• E-fuels (ie. power-to-liquid, electricity to fuels), and biorefinery concepts, including carbon capture & utilisation technologies.
• Aviation sustainability strategies and road maps.
• Contrail-induced climate effects.
• EU sustainability regulations and certification protocols.
• Numerical modelling of mass and energy conservation concepts, including uncertainty propagation.

Essential Requirements:

The successful candidate will have:

• A first or upper second class honours degree in Mechanical or Chemical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Economics, Mathematics, Data Science, Business or another pertinent field.
• A Masters Degree in a relevant discipline is a plus, but not essential.
• > 2 years of professional experience is a plus, but not essential.
• A passion for sustainability or other scientific or enterprise pursuit.

Application:

Prospective candidates should send a two page CV containing names and contact details of two referees, and a one page cover letter outlining your interest in the position to Prof. Stephen Dooley (dooley.recruitment@tcd.ie). Applicants seeking to pursue own-project (i.e. option vii) should additionally present a two page project concept.

Please quote the entire job title in the subject line of your email. Applications will be evaluated as received and candidates of all demographics, educational backgrounds and genders, that show a good record of academic achievements will be considered. Interview will be held in early July 2026 for position start in September-October 2026.

Applications will be reviewed as received, with interviews 1st week of July 2026.