Shaping change: this is what drives us at Forschungs­zentrum Jülich. As a member of the Helmholtz Association with some 7,600 employees, we conduct interdisciplinary research into a digitalized society, a climate-friendly energy system, and a sustainable economy. We focus on the natural, life, and engineering sciences in the fields of information, energy, and bioeconomy. We combine this with expertise in high‑performance computing and artificial intelligence using unique scientific infrastructures.

The development of complex materials with tailored properties, as well as the understanding of the underlying mechanisms require reliable high-throughput simulation tools, that can be combined with data analytics and material characterization. This will allow us to predict the structure-property relation and to understand and evaluate experimentally obtained data sets. As a PhD student you will work at the Institute for Advanced Simulations – Materials Data Science and Informatics (IAS-9) that combines data analysis, materials simulation, research data management and software development under one roof. It also benefits from a strong connection to the Ernst-Ruska-Centre for Electron Microscopy and to the Jülich Supercomputing Center. As such, it provides a multidisciplinary environment during your research that will help to develop your competencies in a range of scientific fields.

We are looking to recruit a

PhD Position – Inverse Design of Microstructures for Novel Sustainable Structural Metals

Your Job:

Digital methods for inverse materials design are essential to efficiently create new, sustainable and recycling-adapted structural metals. Alloys with a reduced number of elements, so-called lean alloys, and material systems with a high tolerance to impurities from the use of secondary raw materials are of particular relevance for improving recyclability and sustainability. Al-Ca is a promising lean alloy system for additive manufacturing, as the mechanical properties can be tailored through phase composition, distribution and morphology by tuning process parameters. The work is carried out within the DFG Priority Programme “DaMic – Data-driven Alloy and Microstructure Design of Sustainable Structural Metals” (SPP 2489), in close collaboration with a research partner responsible for the manufacturing and characterization of material samples.

As such, the position offers the opportunity to be involved in fruitful national collaborations. In this exciting job, you can expect:

• to develop automated workflows for descriptor-based microstructure reconstruction
• to identify material parameters for crystal plasticity simulations from experimental data through inverse analysis
• to establish structure-property linkages based on numerical simulations and to transform them into AI- and ML-ready information
• to develop and implement an indirect inverse optimization framework to identify microstructures that exhibit desired macroscopic properties
• to publish and present research results in relevant journals and at international conferences

Your Profile:

• A completed university degree (Master's or equivalent) with excellent grades in the field of mechanical engineering, material science, physics, computational science or similar, preferably with a specialization in the field of theory and/or simulation
• Strong understanding of the (computational) mechanics of solids and the finite element method and/or spectral solvers
• Practical experience in at least one programming language (preferably Python) and experience with the use of Unix/Linux operating systems
• Structured and analytical thinking as well as a systematic, careful, independent, and reliable working method
• Interest in working closely with experimentalists
• Strong cooperation and communication skills and the ability to work as part of a team
• Excellent written and spoken English skills

Our Offer:

We work on the very latest issues that impact our society and are offering you the chance to actively help in shaping the change! We support you in your work with:

ENVIRONMENT & INFRASTRUCTURE: The opportunity to conduct exciting research in an international and multidisciplinary environment with outstanding infrastructure
ENVIRONMENT: A creative work environment at a leading research facility, located on an attractive research campus at the TZA Aachen https://tza-aachen.de and the Forschungs­zentrum Jülich
OPPORTUNITY: To gain your reputation in a dynamic and highly active research field
KNOWLEDGE & DEVELOPMENT: Your professional development is important to us – we support you specifically and individually e.g., through training and networking opportunities specifically for doctoral candidates (JuDocS): https://go.fzj.de/JuDocs
SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYEES: Our International Advisory Service makes it easier for international employees to get started
FAIR REMUNERATION: Depending on your qualifications and assigned responsibilities, you will be classified according to pay group 13 (80%) of the TVöD Bund. Additionally, you will receive a special payment (“Christmas bonus”) amounting to 60% of one month’s salary. All information about the TVöD Bund collective agreement can be found on the BMI website (pay scale table on page 69 and following of the PDF download): https://go.fzj.de/bmi.tvoed
FIXED-TERM: The position is limited to 3 years

In addition to exciting tasks and a collegial working environment, we offer you much more: https://go.fzj.de/benefits

Please note that only applications including a motivation letter, CV, university degree certificates and grade transcripts can be accepted.

Place of employment: Jülich/​Aachen

We welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds, e.g. in terms of age, gender, disability, sexual orientation/​identity, and social, ethnic and religious origin. A diverse and inclusive working environment with equal opportunities in which everyone can realize their potential is important to us.

The following links provide further information on diversity and equal opportunities: https://go.fzj.de/equality and on the targeted promotion of women: https://go.fzj.de/womens-job-journey

Contact

The job will be advertised until the position has been successfully filled. You should therefore submit your application as soon as possible. We look forward to receiving your online application.

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