PhD position on Physics-Guided Digital Twin Development

Helmholtz-Zentrum hereon GmbH; Geesthacht; On-site; EUR 20,000 - 27,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

International Welcome Office

6 weeks holiday per year

PhD Buddy Program

Childcare options

Excellent campus infrastructure

Job summary

Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon GmbH invites applications for a four-year PhD position focused on computational materials engineering, machine learning, and digital twins for magnesium alloys.

The project aims to create a physics-guided digital twin framework integrating experiments, crystal plasticity, phase-field modeling, precipitation kinetics, and data-driven ML to predict microstructure evolution and properties under unseen processing conditions.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in a related scientific/engineering field.
• Strong interest in computational materials science and ML.
• Good programming skills in Python.
• Experience with ML methods and scientific Python libraries is desirable.
• Excellent English, written and spoken.

Responsibilities

• Develop physics-guided ML models for composition-process-structure-property relationships in magnesium alloys.
• Combine crystal plasticity, phase-field, precipitation, and ML into a unified digital twin framework.
• Implement simulation and ML workflows in Python (e.g. PyTorch, Scikit-Learn).
• Incorporate experimental microstructure and texture data from optical microscopy, SEM, EBSD, XRD, and mechanical testing.
• Investigate uncertainty quantification and explainable AI methods for materials modeling.
• Validate computational predictions in collaboration with experimental/modeling researchers.
• Publish and present results in leading journals, conferences, and workshops.
• Contribute to ICME and digital-twin methodologies for sustainable lightweight materials design.

Skills

Python programming

Analytical thinking

Independent work

Team collaboration

English proficiency

Education

Master's degree in mechanical engineering, materials science, computational engineering, physics, applied mathematics, data science, or related discipline

Tools

PyTorch

Scikit-Learn

Job description

The Institute of Material and Process Design at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon is offering a 4-year PhD position in the field of computational materials engineering, machine learning, and digital twins for advanced lightweight materials. The focus of the PhD project will be the development of a physics-guided digital twin framework for magnesium alloys by integrating experimental characterization, crystal plasticity, phase-field modeling, precipitation modeling, and machine learning approaches to establish quantitative composition-process-structure-property relationships. Building upon recently developed machine-learning approaches for structure-property prediction in extruded magnesium alloys, the project aims to advance toward a next-generation Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) framework capable of predicting microstructure evolution and resulting mechanical properties across previously unseen processing conditions and material states.

The candidate will work closely with interdisciplinary teams combining expertise in magnesium alloy development, thermomechanical processing, crystal plasticity, phase-field modeling, machine learning, and advanced experimental characterization.

The objective of the project is to bridge the gap between purely data-driven materials modeling and mechanistic microstructure simulations by combining crystal plasticity, dynamic recrystallization, precipitation kinetics, and machine learning into a unified digital-twin framework. The resulting methodologies shall enable accelerated alloy and process design by leveraging experimentally validated physics-guided surrogate models with improved extrapolation capabilities beyond the limits of conventional machine-learning approaches. This work directly contributes to the digital transformation of materials development and manufacturing technologies for future lightweight engineering applications.

Equal opportunity is an important part of our personnel policy. We would therefore strongly encourage qualified women to apply for the position.

Your tasks

• development of physics-guided machine-learning models for composition-process-structure-property relationships in magnesium alloys


• combination of crystal plasticity, phase-field, precipitation, and machine-learning approaches into a unified digital twin framework


• implementation of simulation and machine-learning workflows in Python (e.g. PyTorch, Scikit-Learn, etc.)


• incorporation of experimental microstructure and texture characterization data obtained from optical microscopy, SEM, EBSD, XRD, and mechanical testing


• investigation of uncertainty quantification and explainable artificial intelligence methods (XAI) for materials modeling


• validation of computational predictions in collaboration with experimental and modeling researchers


• publication and presentation of scientific results in leading international journals, conferences, and workshops


• active contribution to the establishment of next-generation ICME and digital-twin methodologies for sustainable lightweight materials design

Your profile

• master's degree in mechanical engineering, materials science, computational engineering, physics, applied mathematics, data science, or a related discipline


• strong interest in computational materials science, digital twins, and machine learning


• good programming skills in Python


• experience with machine-learning methods and common scientific Python libraries is desirable


• knowledge of computational mechanics, finite element methods, crystal plasticity, phase-field modeling, or thermodynamic simulations is advantageous


• experience in analysis of experimental materials-science data is beneficial


• ability to work independently as well as within an interdisciplinary research team


• strong analytical and problem-solving skills


• highly proficient in spoken and written English


• motivation to conduct high-quality research at the interface of materials science, mechanical engineering, and artificial intelligence

Our offer

• an exciting and varied job in a research centre with around 1,000 employees from more than 60 nations


• an International Welcome Office with guest accommodation


• 6 weeks holiday per year; company holidays between Christmas and New Year's Day


• social benefits under the collective agreement for the German public sector and remuneration up to pay grade 13 (EntgO Bund)


• very good work-life balance; options for mobile and flexible working


• a well-connected research campus, good networking opportunities, a subsidized Deutschlandticket (job ticket) subject to certain conditions, and charging facilities for electric vehicles


• individual opportunities for training and development


• an excellent technical infrastructure and modern workplace equipment


• PhD Buddy Program


• a family-friendly working environment with childcare options, e.g. a daycare center close to the workplace


• workplace health promotion programmes, e.g. an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)


• corporate benefits


• a varied offer in the canteen on campus

Schwerbehinderte und diesen gleichgestellte behinderte Personen werden bei gleicher Qualifikation und Eignung im Rahmen der gesetzlichen Bestimmungen bevorzugt berücksichtigt.