Aalto University is a community of bold thinkers where science and art meet technology and business. We are committed to identifying and solving grand societal challenges and building an innovative future. Aalto University has six schools with nearly 11 000 students and nearly 400 professors. Our campus is located in Espoo, Finland.
School of Engineering is an international unit with nearly 70 talented professors and 3400 full-time students. Currently, the Department of Mechanical Engineering has 30 professors together with lecturers, post-doctoral researchers, doctoral students, and technical staff. In total, the number of personnel is about 300.
Positions for Postdoctoral Researchers in Mechanical Engineering
We seek highly qualified and motivated individuals with enthusiastic attitude towards high-quality research to work as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The positions are for a period of 3-years, with a mid-term review by the end of the first 12-months, and should start on 1st August 2023. The positions are intended for full-time work.
Positions are part of a larger funding scheme from the Department of Mechanical Engineering that covers altogether 3 positions in the current call. The Postdoctoral Researcher’s principal task is to conduct high-quality and multidisciplinary research in one of the following main research focus, or strategic flagships, of the department:
- Sustainable Energy Vectors
– Encompassing hydrogen-based vectors in power-to-x and x-to-power applications. - Arctic Technology
– Encompassing both experimental and numerical modelling, with ice and/or cold climate as key-element. - Digital Twin World
– Encompassing digitalization applied to materials science and/or manufacturing and/or product design.
Teaching duties of the position are limited to about 10% of working hours and maybe related to Bachelor and/or Master’s programs of the Department. In addition, some activity in fund raising and advising doctoral and master students is also expected. In specific, during the 3-years period, the postdoc in each of the three strategic flagships, will have funding to hire four to eight master students (6-months period each). These master students will be co-operationalizing the postdoc’s research plan, locally at each of the four areas of research focus of the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Aalto University’s strategy focuses on shaping a sustainable future, building on three core values of collaboration, courage and responsibility as well as three cross-cutting approaches of entrepreneurial mindset, radical creativity and sustainable solutions. The applications should consider the Aalto’s strategy and clearly state the multi- and/or interdisciplinary character of their planned research, on the selected (only one) aforementioned strategic flagships of the department. Related to this, also indicate how the research plan links to the areas of research focus, among the following ones of the Department of Mechanical Engineering:
- Energy Conversion and Systems
- Marine and Arctic Technology
- Engineering Mechanics and Mechatronics
- Materials and Manufacturing to Products
The candidates are also encouraged to consider how their research links to the three cross-cutting approaches of Aalto’s strategy.
In the application, the candidate should clearly state the theme(s) his/her research would focus on and indicate how it is in line with the ongoing research of the group (see https://www.aalto.fi/department-of-mechanical-engineering ) .
Research environment
The successful candidate will work within unique research facilities, e.g., Aalto Ice and Wave Tank, Aalto Digital Design Laboratory (ADDLAB) and Aalto Industrial Internet Campus (AIIC) provide excellent infrastructure for researchers and students. Other significant parts of the infrastructure include laboratories for materials and manufacturing engineering and transportation engineering. We also have full-scale test halls for mechanics and structural engineering. In addition, the school has an advanced research environment for energy technology including optical diagnostics tools for energy conversion, emulator for renewable energy system testing and test room for indoor air distribution.
Qualifications
Applicants must i) have completed a doctoral degree in a related field, ii) manifest a strong background in the research area s/he is applying for, and iii) show a strong publication record. Fluent English is required.
To apply, an application must include:
Motivation Letter, including full contact information (max one A4 page) Research plan on the selected research area of the Department (mandatory to indicate clearly which one) (max three A4 pages). CV including publications and contact information for 2 reference persons (max three A4 pages) Summary of the Doctoral Thesis (max one A4 page) A certified copy of doctoral degree certificate and its translation, if the originals are not in Finnish, Swedish or English Proof of proficiency in Finnish, Swedish or English if the applicant is not a native speaker of them or educated in any of them
All material should be submitted in English in a single pdf-file (compiled with an order specified above).
The application should be sent through the eRecruitment system (link ‘Apply now’ below) no later than on Friday 17 March 2023. Email applications will not be taken into account. If you are currently working at Aalto University, please submit your application via HR System Workday (Career – Find jobs – Apply).
For more information
For additional information, please contact professor, Head of Department Pedro Vilaça. In recruitment process related questions, please contact HR Partner Jenni Koivisto or HR Advisor Anna-Maija Harju emails: firstname.lastname@aalto.fi .
Aalto University reserves the right for justified reasons to leave the positions open, to extend the application period and to consider candidates who have not submitted applications during the application period.
Interested?