79 Designer Jobs

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 for two years initially.
A one-year extension is planned. A further extension is desired.
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.

Unser Profil

Building and upgrading satellites in orbit – as easy as installing apps on a smartphone: that is the vision behind the smartCASE project. In this context, the ‘apps’ are intelligent, dockable modules comprising hardware and software, that add new capabilities to satellites during ongoing operation. The pilot mission is set to start as early as 2030. Together with international partners from research & industry partners, we are building the distributed software and control architecture that makes such modular space systems possible in the first place.

The same principles – distributed, reconfigurable, and fault-tolerant architectures – are also needed beyond spaceflight: in robotics, for Digital Twins, and in complex automation systems. smartCASE is therefore the flagship of your work, while leaving room for further topics at the intersection of space, robotics, distributed systems, and modern software engineering.

We are looking for a research associate (f/m/d) with the intention to pursue a PhD and a strong passion for the development and validation of distributed software architectures, for Linux-based systems and hardware-oriented robotics and control software, as well as for modern methods of simulation-based system development. You will develop real software architectures – not merely concepts, but software that enables individual modules to describe their capabilities digitally, interact with one another, and be validated in virtual, hybrid, and physical test environments.

We offer:

The opportunity to pursue a PhD in a highly topical research field
A full-time position (remuneration according to TV-L E13)
Work on real-world applications for industry and space, with a direct link to highly topical, EU-funded space developments for modular space systems (the smartCASE project, awarded the EU’s STEP Seal of Excellence)
The development of real software architectures for modular space and robotic systems – not merely conceptual work
Access to state-of-the-art laboratory infrastructure for robotics, simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, and Digital Twins
Collaboration with European industry and research partners
A creative, interdisciplinary research environment at RWTH Aachen University, one of Europe’s leading technical universities and a University of Excellence
Plenty of scope to develop your own ideas and research directions
Up to 40% remote work within the framework of an existing works agreement

About us:

The Institute for Man-Machine Interaction (MMI) is a nationally and internationally active and successful research institution within the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology of RWTH Aachen University. MMI specialises in the modelling, simulation, control, and analysis of complex systems in their operational environment, in the interaction and networking of machines, devices, and people, and in intelligent systems for space applications and on Earth. Digital Twins realised at MMI revolutionise development processes and the operation of (not only) robotic systems. They form the basis for the convergence of the virtual and the real world – across industries and disciplines. The diverse application areas range from planetary rovers and modular satellite systems to the “International Space Station”, from industrial robots to “Virtual Production”, and from wheel loaders to the “Virtual Forest”.

If you have any questions about the position or the project, we look forward to hearing from you – informal preliminary enquiries are expressly welcome.

Ihr Profil

What you bring:

An excellent Master’s degree (or comparable) in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Automation Engineering, or Aerospace Engineering with a strong software focus, or in a related field
Very good programming skills in C/C++, Python, or comparable languages
Very good knowledge of working with Linux systems
Enthusiasm for hardware-oriented software systems, distributed software architectures, robust communication mechanisms, and technical systems with a genuine hardware reference
An independent, creative, and research-oriented working style
Very good German and good English language skills

Desirable:

Experience with embedded systems, ROS/ROS 2, middleware concepts, distributed data structures, etcd, and service-oriented architectures
Experience with containerisation, version control, and CI/CD (e.g., Git, GitLab, Docker)
Interest in Digital Twins; embedded, modular, and safety-critical systems; and space applications

Ihre Aufgaben

Research and development in the field of distributed computing, communication, and control architectures and their hardware-oriented implementation based on Linux, ROS 2, and etcd – for modular space systems in the smartCASE project and for terrestrial application areas
Design and implementation of mechanisms for inter- and intra-module communication, service discovery, distributed configuration, and state management
Use and evaluation of modern software technologies such as Linux, ROS/ROS 2, etcd, containerisation, GitLab CI/CD, and automated software testing under the constraints of space applications and their development
Setting up virtual machines, software test environments, and integration pipelines for distributed development within the European project consortium
Carrying out software tests, regression tests, integration trials, and software-/hardware-in-the-loop validations
Hardware-oriented programming for resource-constrained systems
Development and implementation of fault-tolerance concepts for decentralised control architectures
Collaboration in research and industry projects with a strong practical focus
Supervision of student theses and sharing knowledge through teaching activities
Publication of scientific results and attendance at international conferences, with the goal of completing a PhD in your area of research and interest

Über uns

RWTH is proud to be certified as a family-friendly university. As part of our Campus Health initiative, RWTH offers a wide range of health, counseling, and prevention services, including university sports. Employees under collective bargaining agreements and civil servants also benefit from a comprehensive continuing education program and the option to purchase a job ticket for convenient commuting.
RWTH is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome and encourage applications from all qualified candidates and make employment decisions without regard to national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability or age. RWTH is especially committed to supporting the advancement of women in academia. When women are underrepresented in a university unit, preferential consideration will be given to female applicants among candidates of equal merit and professional standing, unless compelling reasons favor another individual.
In keeping with RWTH’s commitment to equality of opportunity, we ask that you do not include a photo with your application.
Please refer to https://www.rwth-aachen.de/applicant-privacy-policy for information about how we collect and process applicant data in accordance with Articles 13 and 14 of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Besoldung / Entgelt

EG 13 TV-L

Bilder