24 Months, Specific Purpose, Whole-Time Post Position Summary Applications are invited for the post of Research Fellow in power systems engineering to join the research project AUTONOMY ( hosted at University College Cork, Ireland. The AUTONOMY project has secured more than €1M in funding and will be supported by the MaREI Research Ireland Centre ( and its industry and community partners. AUTONOMY will create new tools to manage electrical energy resources at the local level and maximise the economic benefits for individuals and communities when interacting with the energy markets. AUTONOMY will pioneer a novel transfer learning approach to exchange expert knowledge amongst energy manager agents in different communities across the grid, as part of a wider strategy to decentralise grid energy balancing and coordinate multiple energy resources at the local level. The successful candidate will also contribute to a European consortium research project called HVDC4ISLANDS ( project will develop and test new electrical designs for "energy islands", renewable energy hubs intended to accelerate the transition to clean energy. The MaREI Centre at University College Cork are one of nine partners in the consortium, which is made up of leading European research institutions including IMDEA Energy (Spain), SINTEF (Norway), RWTH Aachen (Germany), National Technical University of Athens (Greece), and the Austrian Institute of Technology. MaREI's role in the project investigates the integration of new energy island/hub designs into European electricity grids and markets. The ideal candidate: The ideal candidate will hold a relevant PhD and will have significant postdoctoral experience in the areas of energy flexibility, grid digitalisation, data-driven modelling, and privacy-preserving methods, with a strong publication record. They will have experience of working in both national and international research projects and will be comfortable dealing with industry and academic research partners. They will have significant experience in supervision of postgraduate students and in grant writing. Working location: The successful applicant will be based in University College Cork ( UCC is a welcoming, diverse, and modern workplace, and is one of the world's most sustainable Universities, holding a top ten place in the UI GreenMetric World University Rankings since 2010. The MaREI Centre of Energy, Climate and Marine ( is the Research Ireland centre of excellence in Energy, Climate and Marine research in Ireland. The MaREI Centre includes 13 Universities, Third Level Institutes and Research Organisations, has 103 industrial partners and has research funding of approximately €60m. It combines the expertise of a wide range of research groups and industry partners, with the shared mission of solving the main scientific, technical and socio-economic challenges across the energy, climate, and marine domains. The successful applicant will work under the supervision of Dr. Barry Hayes, Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Power Systems Engineering and a Funded Investigator in the MaREI Centre at UCC. The successful candidate will join a vibrant and international MaREI research community of more than 220 multi-disciplinary researchers and will take full part in MaREI Centre events including industry and research seminars, the MaREI Annual Symposium, as well as outreach and public engagement activities. The Research Fellow contract will be for 2 years, with the possibility of extension beyond this period. Project Title: AUTONOMY & HVDC4ISLANDS Post Duration: 24 Months Salary: €65,889 - €71,796 p.a. IUA scale For an information package including further details of the post see Informal enquiries can be made in confidence to Dr. Barry Hayes, Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Electrical Power Systems, School of Engineering, University College Cork; Email: For more details, visit the webpage: AUTONOMY - MaREI ; HVDC4ISLANDS - MaREI Applications must be submitted online via the University College Cork vacancy portal ( Queries relating to the online application process should be referred to quoting the job-title and project name. Candidates should apply, in confidence, before 12 noon (Irish Local Time) on Friday, 17th of October 2025 No late applications will be accepted. Please note that an appointment to posts advertised will be dependent on University approval, together with the terms of the employment control framework for the higher education sector. UCC is committed to creating and fully embracing an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated. As a University we strive to create a workplace that reflects the diversity of our student population where people from a wide variety of backgrounds learn from one another, share ideas, and work collaboratively. UCC is committed to being an employer that recognises the value of diversity amongst its staff. We encourage applicants to consult our policies at and initiatives at and we welcome applications from everyone, including those who are underrepresented in the protected characteristics set out in our Equal Opportunities & Diversity Policy. UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER To be considered for this role you will be redirected to and must complete the application process on our careers page. To start the process, click the Apply button below to Login/Register.