Job Description

Centre of Industrial Mechanics, part of the Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, University of Southern Denmark (SDU) in Sønderborg, invites applications for one or more 2-year postdoctoral positions in material characterization and additive manufacturing of metallic materials. The specific start date will be agreed with the successful candidates, preferably autumn 2026.

Workplace description

The Institute of Mechanical and Electrical engineering covers research and education spanning from fundamentals to applications of engineering science. All our courses are taught in English reflecting the fact that more than half of our students and staff are internationals. The SDU Centre for Industrial Mechanics is located at SDU's beautiful campus in Sønderborg, in the inspiring building of Alsion, which is a center for science, culture and learning in the heart of Sønderborg city and perched on the strait of water separating the island of Als from the mainland. The university has very close relations to the industry in Sønderborg, Southern Denmark and Northern Germany. A significant fraction of the projects in the center is conducted in close cooperation with the industry, which counts world leading companies in growing fields such as e-mobility, manufacturing, automation, climate solutions and energy efficiency.

At SDU Centre for Industrial Mechanics, research, education, and innovation are performed in teams of scientists and support staff with competences spanning a wide range of fields including applied cyber-physical systems, manufacturing, energy systems, modelling and mechatronic prototyping.

Your profile

To complement our team in smart structures and manufacturing, we are looking for one or more postdoctoral researchers with expertise in metal additive manufacturing and material characterization. In addition, experience in two or more of the following fields is preferred:

• Characterizing metal powder,
• Scanning electron microscope,
• X-ray computed tomography,
• Recycled metals.

The ideal candidate has experience with:

• Fatigue testing,
• Python scripting and programming.

Duties of the Position

• Establish a process of converting metal machining chips into metal powder usable for additive manufacturing,
• Evaluate different types and levels of contaminations on produced powder using different material characterization techniques,
• Perform fatigue testing on additively manufactured samples fabricated using chip-to-powder feedstock,
• Publish results in high-quality peer-reviewed international journals and present outcomes at international conferences and workshops,
• Collaborate with academic and industrial partners, contributing to joint research activities, project meetings, and collaborative proposals,
• Co-supervise Bachelor and Master students at SDU Centre for Industrial Mechanics, supporting their research and thesis works,
• Provide regular progress reports and milestone updates to the supervisor and project partners.

The candidate must have:

• PhD in a relevant discipline (Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, or any other relevant Engineering discipline),
• Strong track record of publications in reputable peer-reviewed international journals in the field,
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English,
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in an international academic environment.

Contact information

For further information, please visit www.sdu.dk/ime and https://www.sdu.dk/en/forskning/cim and contact Associate Professor Lars Duggen, Head of Centre for Industrial Mechanics, tel. +45 6550 1640, e-mail: duggen@sdu.dk or Associate Professor Mohammad Malekan, tel. +45 6550 8607, email: malekan@sdu.dk

If you experience technical problems, please contact our email support

Reference letter

You should state the referee’s contact information when you submit your application if you want a referee to upload a letter of reference on your behalf. We strongly recommend that you make an agreement with the person in question before you enter the referee’s contact information, and that you ensure that the referee has enough time to write the letter of reference before the application deadline.

Application

Applicants are advised to read the SDU information on how to apply

Assessment of the candidates is based on the application material, and the application must include:

• Motivated application.
• Curriculum Vitae.
• Master’s and PhD degree certificates or equivalent (original and an official English translation).
• Complete list of publications.
• Publications most relevant to the position.
• and documentation of experience in teaching, if relevant to the position.
• A research statement may be included.
• References/reference letters may also be included.
• A statement/documentation of other qualifications relevant to the position may also be included.

All documents must be in English and PDF format. CPR number (civil registration number) must be crossed out. All PDF-files must be unlocked, allow binding and may not be password protected.

SUBMISSION GUIDE: Motivated application must be uploaded under ‘Cover letter’ (max. 5 MB), Curriculum Vitae must be uploaded under ‘Resume’ (max 5 MB). All other documents must be uploaded under ‘Miscellaneous documents’ (max 10 files with a maximum 50 MB per file).

The application deadline is August 30, 2026, at 11:59 PM/23:59 (CET/CEST)

Assessment and selection process

Applications will be assessed by an expert or assessment committee. Shortlisting may be applied, and only shortlisted candidates will receive a written assessment. Read about shortlisting at SDU. Interviews and tests may be part of the overall evaluation. Read about the Assessment and selection process

Employment terms

Appointment as a postdoc is temporary for an initial 2-year period. Extension may be possible depending on available funding.

Employment as a postdoc requires academic qualifications at PhD level at the time of employment. Employment will be in accordance with the collective agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations for academics in the state including the associated circular on the protocol for the job structure for academic staff at Danish universities and the provisions for postdoc as described therein.

Salary is determined in accordance with the applicable collective agreement and based on objective and gender-neutral criteria, including the content of the position, responsibilities, and qualification requirements. As an applicant, you are entitled to information about the starting salary and salary range for the position. This information will be provided during the recruitment process. SDU does not collect information on applicants’ previous salary. Further information on salary and taxation.

Persons employed in the position may, based on a specific individual managerial assessment, be exempted from time registration, also known as a “self-organizer”.

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The University of Southern Denmark wishes its staff to reflect the surrounding community and therefore encourages everyone, regardless of personal background, to apply for the position. SDU conducts research in critical technologies, which, due to the risk of unwanted knowledge transfer, is subject to a number of security measures. Therefore, based on information from open sources, background checks may be conducted on candidates for the position(s).

Further information for international applicants about entering and working in Denmark. You may also visit WorkinDenmark for additional information.

Further information about The Faculty of Engineering.