Research Assistant/Associate (f/m/d) - Lehrstuhl für Mechatronik in mobilen Antrieben

Your Duties and Responsibilities

The research is conducted within the framework of a Collaborative Research Center (SFB 1769), a long-term interdisciplinary research initiative funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). The center brings together experts from diverse scientific disciplines to address fundamental research challenges through an integrative and collaborative approach. Our goal is to enable the rational design of polymer particles in biological environments for the development of next-generation biomedical therapies. To achieve this, we investigate the bidirectional interactions between the local fracture dynamics of polymer particles and their surrounding biological environment. The successful candidate will contribute to the following tasks:

• Development of a fluid-structure computational framework
• Integration of advanced machine-learning-based constitutive models into the computational framework.
• Disseminate your research results through participating in international conferences and publishing in peer-reviewed journals.
• Supervise related courses and students' theses

What We Offer

The successful candidate will be employed under a regular employment contract.
The position is to be filled by 10/1/2026 and offered for a fixed term initially for 1 year.
An extension to a total of at least 3 years as part of a doctoral program is planned.
The fixed-term employment is possible as it constitutes one of the fixed-term options of the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (German Act on Fixed-term Scientific Contracts).
This is a full-time position.
The successful candidate has the opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree in this position.
The salary is based on the German public service salary scale (TV-L).
The position corresponds to a pay grade of EG 13 TV-L.

Your Profile

Applicants must possess a Master's degree or equivalent in mechanical engineering, civil engineering, computational engineering science, or a related discipline, with a substantial focus on applied mechanics. Alternatively, individuals in the final stages of their Master's program may be considered, provided their degree is awarded before the start of employment. Proficiency in continuum mechanics, nonlinear finite element methods, and coupled multiphysics simulation is imperative for successful candidacy.

Our Profile

At the Department of Continuum Mechanics, RWTH Aachen University, we are establishing (1) original continuum-mechanics domain-knowledge to enable the creation of interpretable computational models, and (2) statistical learning of large mechanical datasets. Our research inquiries span various scales and encompass multiple physical principles governing phase transitions, damage, and fracture phenomena observed in polymers, biological tissues, as well as natural and synthetic fiber reinforcements.