"KTP Associate AI & Knowledge Systems for Built Environment"

About us

This KTP is a partnership between GIA, a leading consultancy in planning and daylighting, and UCL’s Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources, recognised internationally for its research in the built environment. This role offers a springboard to a career in both industry and academia to postgraduates and post docs interested in developing a multimodal knowledge repository with automated business processes workflows. Situated at the intersection of digital innovation and the built environment, the successful candidate will get to apply their machine learning and software engineering skills on a daily basis to a cutting-edge innovative project that will revolutionise services by creating a knowledge repository using API’s and AI tools for information retrieval, enabling smarter planning and design decisions across the built environment lifecycle.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity for someone with a postgraduate/doctoral degree in Computer Science or another quantitative discipline (such as mathematics, physics or engineering). The post holder will lead a cutting-edge innovation project that will enhance urban planning and built environment consultancy services by embedding a knowledge repository integrating internal and external datasets, automated workflows, and advanced process mining tools. Based at the GIA London office, the KTP Associate will apply AI and machine learning in a market leading built environment consultancy firm. This will involve identifying and integrating relevant data sources into a multi-format system, reviewing GIA’s user and data journey maps, creating LLM pipelines as well as implementing the knowledge repository and automated workflows. This innovative approach uses AI to create a knowledge repository, providing real-time, relevant information, streamlining workflows and supporting sustainable, data-driven decisions in urban design, planning, and development while enhancing collaboration between GIA business lines. Plus, the successful candidate will be part of the prestigious 48-year-old national Knowledge Transfer Partnership programme offering a dedicated professional development budget, a network of fellow Associates from many disciplines and training and mentoring opportunities. The Associate will also have the opportunity to write publications about their work alongside the academic and company team.

The successful candidate must be in post no later than the 06 December 2025. This post is funded for 24 months in the first instance; further funding to support the post may become available.

About you

For appointment at Grade 7, a PhD, or PhD near completion, in Computer Science or another Quantitative discipline, or a Master's-level qualification together with specific relevant industry experience is essential. Strong communication skills, a collaborative and self-motivated attitude, and good project management skills will ensure the KTP Associate fully enjoys the benefits of their unique position at the interface between industry and academia (including their close access to daylighting, planning, and data science experts across UCL and GIA). Find out more about KTPs here.