PhD Candidate in Production Technology

University West is driven by making a difference. Through our education and research, we aim to contribute to innovation, positive societal development, and a sustainable world. We are a modern university undergoing strong development. Our profile of work-integrated learning (AIL) is part of everything we do, and collaborating with the surrounding world is prioritized for us.

University West has one of the highest application rates in the country, and a high percentage of students establish themselves in the labor market. The university has 13,000 students and over 700 employees. Our attractive campus is centrally located in Trollhättan and is a place where knowledge, ideas, cultures, and people meet. We actively work for an inclusive working environment with equal conditions and value the qualities that diversity brings to the organization.

We who work at University West make a difference every day. Do you want to do that too?

Research at the Department of Mechanical Engineering

The research at the Department of Mechanical Engineering (welding technology) at the Faculty of Engineering focuses on three main areas related to welding technology: metallurgy, process physics modeling, and process development and control.

Our main goal is to fundamentally study and improve our understanding of welding and welding-based additive manufacturing processes and their impact on materials. In a new project in collaboration with a consortium of ten different industrial companies, we are seeking a PhD candidate for a position at University West.

The PhD project will focus on the development of high-temperature material structures, particularly focusing on how to minimize tool wear during FSW/P and achieve superior quality. This will require systematic experimental studies investigating building properties such as microstructures, precipitates, etc., in addition to functional properties such as static as well as dynamic loading of the built structures.

Read more about the project on our website.

Responsibilities:

The doctoral education involves, in addition to participation in doctoral education courses and other activities, conducting an independent dissertation work. As a PhD candidate, the employment time is primarily dedicated to doctoral education. However, a PhD candidate may, to a limited extent, work with education and administration. Such work may not, before the doctoral degree has been obtained, comprise more than 20% of full working time (Higher Education Ordinance 5 chap 2§).

Eligibility Requirements:

To qualify for employment as a PhD candidate, two eligibility requirements must be met: basic eligibility and specific eligibility.

Basic eligibility for doctoral education is met by those who:

• have obtained a degree at the undergraduate and advanced level,
• completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 higher education credits at the advanced level,
• or have acquired equivalent knowledge in some other way, within or outside the country.

Specific eligibility for doctoral education in production technology is met by those who have:

• A master's degree relevant to the subject of doctoral education.
• A thesis comprising at least 15 credits at the advanced level or another written work of equivalent nature and scope. Eligibility requirements can be met by studies in Sweden or abroad.

For this position, the following is also required:

• A master's degree (or equivalent level) in materials science or equivalent
• Knowledge of welding processes (arc welding, laser welding, friction welding, and ultrasonic welding, etc.)
• Practical experience in microstructure characterization using techniques such as optical microscopy, SEM, etc.
• Documented ability in oral and written communication in English

Meritorious qualifications for the position include:

• Documented experience of research work and scientific writing (previous publications in the subject are considered meritorious),
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing in English,
• Ability to communicate in Swedish/English.
• Experience with friction welding experiments (tools and fixtures).
• Experience in advanced characterization with techniques such as EBSD, XRD, TEM, etc.
• Experience in material testing, such as tensile and fatigue testing.
• Experience in material modeling and thermodynamics.
• Basic knowledge of aluminum alloys, copper and titanium metallurgy, and welding metallurgy.
• Documented research experience and scientific writing skills in the form of previous publications.
• Willingness to travel and conduct experiments outside University West if necessary.
• Basic knowledge of non-destructive testing applied to welding.
• Basic programming experience for industrial robots/CNC equipment and related programming software (e.g., ABB RAPID, RobotStudio, KUKASIM, G-code, 3DExperience).
• Basic programming experience in control systems and process analysis software (e.g., LabVIEW, Matlab, Python).

Assessment Criteria:

Read about the assessment criteria in the General Study Plan for doctoral education in Production Technology.

Duration and Employment Conditions:

An employment as a PhD candidate shall be permanent, but not longer than one year after obtaining the doctoral degree, see more in (Higher Education Ordinance 5 chap 7§).

Application

Applications are made digitally via University West's recruitment tool Varbi via the university's website.

The application should consist of:

• CV/Resume
• Cover letter containing:
• Interest in the research subject
• Previous experience of the proposed research subject and its research methods and scientific theories
• Motivation for pursuing doctoral studies
• Degree certificates for bachelor's and master's level
• Thesis at the advanced level
• Diploma Supplement and course list/transcript of all semesters for bachelor's and master's degrees in the original language and in translation
• Other documents that the applicant wishes to invoke

Approved languages for theses, degree certificates, grades, and other relevant documents are Scandinavian languages and English, or translations into these languages. When translating, the original text must also be attached.

If you have ongoing studies at the advanced level, you can apply and then supplement your application with an approved thesis, valid degree certificate, and other eligibility documents by the application deadline.

Your application must be received by University West no later than 2026-03-01.

Welcome with your application!

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