Visiting Researcher in Materials Engineering

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Karlstad University has a total of approximately 1,400 employees and 19,000 students spread across two inspiring campus environments in Karlstad and Arvika.
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The Faculty of Health, Science and Technology is accepting applications for a position of visiting researcher in materials engineering at the Department of Engineering and Physics. The department’s education and research activities within the fields of physics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and materials engineering, are extensive. The research in mechanical and materials engineering comprises several research areas. One of those areas is tribology in industrial applications with focus on tribotests and characterization of tribological properties of advanced materials and coatings. Presently, the department has approximately 60 employees.

Main duties comprise research in development of hard ceramic PVD coatings for machining applications. The guest researcher will contribute in theoretical justification for the choice of the type and composition of the new coatings, participate in vacuum arc manufacturing of the multiphase hard PVD coatings and, carry out the necessary microstructural, mechanical and tribological tests. The research activities will be in line with ongoing research carried out at the department. The candidate is expected to perform some teaching and supervising at advanced level (MSc Thesis project) if required.

In order to contribute to a positive working environment and help further the subject’s activities, we expect you to be a present and active part of the day-to-day operations and workplace community.

To be eligible for the position, applicants are required to hold a PhD degree in Mechanical/Materials Engineering or Materials Physics, preferably specialised in PVD coatings manufacturing and characterization, or equivalent academic qualifications. The applicant must have well-documented expertise in the experimental characterization of microstructure, texture and performance of thin PVD coatings including tribological tests.

A good command of English is required.

Special weight will be given to:

• Documented research experience related to vacuum arc PVD coating deposition method.
• Documented experience of experimental characterisation (XRD, SEM, EBSD, etc.) of PVD coatings.
• Documented experience of tribological characterization of hard PVD coatings with focus on machining applications.

Considerable weight will be given to:

• Documented experience of teaching at university level.
• Personal qualities, such as communicative skills, the ability to cooperate, dedication, and a positive attitude towards colleagues and students, which contributes to a pleasant work environment. Equally important are personal qualities such as taking responsibility for your work assignments, being able to work independently and taking initiative.

This is a full-time and fixed-time position, stretching to 15 September 2024. Start date in September 2022.
A requirement for the appointment is that applicants supply their own funding equal to 100% of a full-time position.

Submit the application via the university’s web-based recruitment tool, Varbi.

Applicants are responsible for submitting a complete application in accordance with the advertisement, for providing translations of any documents written in a language other than Swedish or English, and for ensuring that the documentation allows for objective and qualitative assessments. A complete application should be submitted by the application deadline. An incomplete application may jeopardise a fair assessment of qualifications.

The application should include:

• A cover letter where the applicant briefly describes who they are and what their research interests are in relation to the position’s focus (2-3 pages, max)
• CV
• Copy of doctoral thesis and other relevant publications
• Copies of relevant transcripts, degree certificates, certificates from former places of employment that corroborate previous work experience
• Any other documents that the applicant wishes to refer to
• Two references and any letters of recommendation
• Documents that prove your own funding.

Attach all the documents and publications you wish to be considered to the electronic application (do not just provide links). Name each uploaded document to clearly indicate its content.

Application deadline: 25 August 2022                               

We look forward to your application!

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