Postdoctoral Research Position within the Laboratory of Mechanical Metallurgy

Mission

Contribute, together with a team of two doctoral candidates and three postdoctoral researchers, to the advancement of a large-scale project (Swiss equivalent to an ERC Advanced Grant funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation) exploring and developing the potential held by electromagnetic forces in harnessing metallic melt flow and solidification towards innovations in the 3D printing of aluminium and its alloys. More information about this project can be found on https://www.epfl.ch/labs/lmm/harnessing-melt-pool-dynamics-in-additive-manufacturing/

Main duties and responsibilities

Main duties will be related to the research project; this will include autonomous research together with co-supervision of doctoral candidates, simulation and implementation together with the writing and submission of research articles. Duties will also include participation in teaching, notably by supervision of semester projects by students or the teaching of practicals (“travaux pratiques”) for undergraduate students, promotion of materials science to high school students and/or participation in the organizational and operational life of the laboratory.

Profile

We are looking for candidates with a top-level academic education and a proven track record in conducting and publishing outstanding research in the field of numerical simulation of alloy solidification. Applicants are expected to be about to finish their PhD degree or to have earned their PhD in the four years before October 2025. Skills of direct interest include a strong command of the finite element method, computational fluid dynamics and numerical modeling of heat transfer and of alloy solidification. Additionally, expertise in, or the capability and eagerness to learn, the following is expected:

-    adaptive meshing techniques;

-    high-performance computing;

-    solidification theory;

-    magnetohydrodynamics and electromagnetism;

-    capillarity;

-    modeling of porous media;

-    transport phenomena;

The motivation and ability to excel in science and teaching are essential. The working language at EPFL is English (fluency in both oral and written expression are essential). Although proficiency in French is not mandatory, it is desirable notably for teaching-related activities.

We offer

An opportunity and support to develop a scientific career in an exciting area of research, at one of the world’s top institutes of technology, located next to Lake Geneva in a beautiful setting near the city of Lausanne, with excellent living conditions and internationally competitive renumeration.

Information

Contact: For further information please contact Dr Julie Gheysen julie.gheysen@epfl.ch and/or Prof. Andreas Mortensen andreas.mortensen@epfl.ch  

Please apply with the following documents, which you will be asked to upload when applying on EPFL’s web site:
(1) Cover letter with a statement of motivation (at most 1 page)
(2) CV (including list of publications)
(3) Transcripts and diploma copy of all higher education programs attended, as one single pdf file
(4) Contact information (but not letters) for three potential reference letter writers, in one file (preferably MS Word; pdf otherwise)

Start date:
Employment is to begin preferably in October 2025 (some flexibility, of a few months at most, exists in this regard).

Remark:
The position will remain open until it is filled; interested candidates are hence encouraged to apply early.

Only candidates who applied through EPFL website will be considered. Files sent by agencies without a mandate will not be taken into account.