Doctoral student in machine-learning for exploration of sustainable welding materials

Karlstad University; Göteborgs kommun; On-site; SEK 362,808 - 434,573; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee benefits

Dynamic working environment

Support for relocation

Job summary

Chalmers University of Technology is looking for a dedicated Ph.D. student in machine-learning focused on sustainable welding materials in Gothenburg. This position involves groundbreaking research in collaboration with industry partners and experts, utilizing machine learning methodologies.

The candidate must hold a Master's degree in relevant fields and have strong communication skills. The role includes developing innovative algorithms for welding materials and requires active participation in interdisciplinary work.

Qualifications

• Master's degree of 120 credits or equivalent.
• Strong English communication skills.
• Social competence for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research using machine learning for welding materials.
• Collaborate with Chalmers and industry partners.
• Develop algorithms for prediction of welding materials.

Skills

Machine learning

Data science

Communication skills

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Education

Master's degree in physics, chemistry, or related field

Tools

First-principle methods

Density functional theory

Molecular dynamics

Job description

Doctoral student in machine-learning for exploration of sustainable welding materials

Our goal is to focus on competence, knowledge and collaboration in order to play an important, demonstrable role in social development.

We are looking for a Ph.D. student to conduct ground-breaking research using machine learning methods with the aim of developing a new generation of welding materials. The project is multidisciplinary, and you will work closely together with experts at Chalmers and industry with long and recognized experience of welding science and AI methods.

About us

The Ph.D. student will be employed at the Division of Energy Technology at the Department of Environmental and Energy Sciences at Chalmers University of Technology. We conduct research and offer education mainly in energy technology and energy systems. Our research focuses on combustion and gasification of biomass, technologies for carbon dioxide avoidance, development of energy materials, and sustainable energy systems. The current project will be carried out in close collaboration with the Division of Chemical Physics at Chalmers, which conducts fundamental research with respect to computational materials using first-principles methods and machine learning approaches.

About the research project

Welding is, in many ways, the backbone of our society and is prevalent across most industries, including automotive, energy, and manufacturing. Still, the industry is associated with high resource use and depends on certain strategic and critical metals. In this project, financed by the Swedish Energy Agency, you will work closely with industrial partners ESAB and Höganäs, with the overall vision of developing effective algorithms for rapid, robust predictions of welding materials.

Who we are looking for

The following requirements are mandatory:

• To qualify as a Doctoral student, you must have a Master's degree (masterexamen) of 120 credits or a Master’s degree (magisterexamen) of 60 credits in the fields of physics, chemistry, chemical engineering, data- or material sciences (or equivalent competence).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Social competence is important as the position is interdisciplinary, i.e., includes collaboration between two departments at Chalmers and industrial collaborators.

* for students with an education earned outside of Sweden, a 4-year Bachelor’s degree is accepted.

The following experience will strengthen your application:

• Experience in using or developing machine learning or artificial intelligence algorithms.
• Experience with first-principle methods for material modelling, such as density functional theory and molecular dynamics.
• Experience of research or courses exploring thermodynamics, chemistry, or physics of materials such as metals and metal oxides.
• Develop your own scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research verbally and in writing.
• The position generally also includes teaching on Chalmers' undergraduate level or performing other duties corresponding to 20 percent of working hours.
• Development of AI and ML models to establish composition–processing–property relationships in welding materials and to predict new material formulations. This includes both conventional predictive models and generative and active-learning approaches.
• The research will be conducted in close collaboration with industry, and we envisage that some research time will also be spent at industrial sites.

Contract terms

• The Doctoral student positions are fully funded from start.
• The position is a fixed-term appointment of four years, with the possibility of teaching up to 20%, which extends the position to five years.
• A starting salary of 35,725 SEK per month (valid from May 1, 2026).
• Doctoral studies require physical presence throughout the entire study period. A valid residence permit must be presented by the study start date; otherwise, the admission may be withdrawn.

What we offer

• As a Doctoral student at Chalmers, you are an employee and enjoy all employee benefits. Read more about working at Chalmers and our benefits for employees.
• A dynamic and inspiring working environment in the coastal city of Gothenburg.
• Read more about Sweden’s generous parental leave, subsidized day care, free schools, healthcare, etc. at Move To Gothenburg.

If Swedish is not your native language, Chalmers offers Swedish courses to help you settle in.

Find more general information about doctoral studies at Chalmers here.

Application procedure

The application should be written in English and attached as PDF-files, as below. Maximum size for each file is 40 MB. Please note that the system does not support Zip files.

CV

Personal letter

• A brief introduction about yourself.
• A brief motivation as to why you are interested in this position.

Bachelor’s and, if available, master’s thesis together with the transcripts.

Use the button at the foot of the page to reach the application form.

A background check may be conducted as part of the application process.

Please note: The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the application is complete. Incomplete applications and applications sent by email will not be considered. Contact details to references will be requested after the interview.

We welcome your application no later than July 30, 2026.