Research Assistant/Associate (f/m/d) Materials Analysis

Weitere Informationen

The successful candidate will be employed under a regular employment contract.
The position is to be filled at the earliest possible date and offered for a fixed term of 2 years.
There may be an option to extend the contract.
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 salary is based on the German public service salary scale (TV-L).
The position corresponds to a pay grade of EG 13 TV-L.

Unser Profil

Research Philosophy

We embrace a quantum mechanically-guided materials design philosophy, leveraging computational insights to innovate and engineer advanced materials.

Research Aim

Our primary goal is the design of thin film materials with tailored thermal, chemical and mechanical stabilities. This approach extends to understanding the interactions between thin films and their environments during application, including exposure to gas atmospheres, liquids, and solids in harsh environments.

Research Strategy and Methods

We employ a robust and integrated strategy combining computational and experimental techniques:

• Computational methods: Predictive modeling of material properties at the quantum level, guiding experimental synthesis.
• Thin Film Combinatorics: Experimental validation using thin films with multi-directional compositional gradients.
• Targetet thin film synthesis: Thin films are created via co-sputtering from multiple plasma sources, enabling precise control over composition and properties.
• Characterization: Comprehensive evaluation of thin films, focusing on:

• • Chemical composition, global and spatially resolved,
  • Crystal structure, global and spatially resolved,
  • Chemical stability,
  • Thermal stability and
  • Mechanical stability.

This approach ensures a systematic exploration of the relationships between composition, structure, and properties to meet application needs in harsh environments.

Ihr Profil

Educational Background

• Completed university degree (Master's or equivalent)
• Doctorate in Materials Science, Materials Engineering, Physics, or a closely related field.

Technical Expertise

• Demonstrated excellence and expertise in atom probe tomography, including measurement setup and data analysis is required.
• Demonstrated excellence and expertise in preparation of atom probe specimens as well as thin lamella with focused ion beam techniques is required.
• Proven expertise in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is advantageous.

Language Proficiency

• Strong English communication skills, equivalent to CEFR Level C1 or higher (both written and spoken).

Ihre Aufgaben

As part of quantum-mechanically guided materials design, you will independently conduct material analysis studies using atom probe tomography on thin films and bulk samples. This includes sample preparation using focused ion beam (FIB) and/or electron microscopy, as well as the production of FIB lamellae for analysis using a transmission electron microscopy.

You will also be responsible for software-based data analysis, reconstruction, and visualization to depict the local, three-dimensional chemical composition of the samples.

Optionally, you will independently conduct measurements and evaluations for surface analysis using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

Über uns

RWTH is a certified family-friendly University. We support our employees in maintaining a good work-life balance with a wide range of health, advising, and prevention services, for example university sports. Employees who are covered by collective bargaining agreements and civil servants have access to an extensive range of further training courses and the opportunity to purchase a job ticket.
RWTH is an equal opportunities employer. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from all suitably qualified candidates, particularly from groups that are underrepresented at the University. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability or age. RWTH is strongly committed to encouraging women in their careers. Female applicants are given preference if they are equally suitable, competent, and professionally qualified, unless a fellow candidate is favored for a specific reason.
As RWTH is committed to equality of opportunity, we ask you not to include a photo in your application.
You can find information on the personal data we collect from applicants in accordance with Articles 13 and 14 of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) at http://www.rwth-aachen.de/dsgvo-information-bewerbung.

Besoldung / Entgelt

EG 13 TV-L