Student Research Assistant (m/f/d) | Artificial muscle fabrication

Updated: about 1 year ago
Location: Stuttgart, BADEN W RTTEMBERG
Deadline: The position may have been removed or expired!

Job Code: Stu_33

Job Offer from March 21, 2023


How do artificial muscles change the conventional definition of robots? The MPI-IS Robotic Materials Department led by Prof. Christoph Keplinger, is working on artificial muscles, that could be implemented in robotic prototypes. We would like to design and fabricate artificial muscles, and integrate them into robots and exoskeleton suits, which are fundamental for the future of robotics.


Your profile

We are looking for talented students who are pursuing a Master of Science in mechanical engineering, mechatronics, material science, electrical engineering, physics or related fields to support our research as student assistants, and to shape the future of robotics with us.


Applicants should
  • be highly motivated,
  • be pursuing a master’s degree,
  • be currently enrolled in a German university,
  • have strong academic performance in relevant bachelor’s and master’s courses,
  • want to work in an international and interdisciplinary research group,
  • have good oral and written communication skills in English,
  • and be able to work on site at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany.

We are especially interested in applicants who have

  • experience in engineering drawing (2D CAD) and designing experiments
  • an interest and/or experience in
    • rapid prototyping techniques (3D CAD, CNC, laser cutter, 3D printer, screen printing etc.),
    • handicraft,
    • process optimization.

Your tasks

The student assistant position is paid hourly and will allow the student to gain hands-on experience with hardware systems, as well as to be exposed to ongoing robotics research. The position and tasks are subject to discussion with the interested candidates. Selected candidates can start working as soon as they are hired.

Possible tasks include:

  • Fabricating film based soft actuators
  • Optimizing the fabrication processes
  • Testing the actuators and evaluate their performances
  • Optimizing designs of the actuators

We offer

Master students holding a Bachelor’s degree will be paid 13,03€ per hour, maximum 83 hours per month. The job will start as soon as possible. An initial contract will be offered for three months.

We offer a modernly equipped workplace, a strongly international working environment, as well as the affiliation to a daycare center for young children.

The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals. Furthermore, the Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.


Contact and application

Please upload your application including a resumé in English or German and a cover letter in English to our application system .

The position will be open until filled.

For further questions please contact Toshihiko Fukushima via [email protected] .



Similar Positions