PhD Position

The Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems is hiring for a PhD Position (m/f/div) in the Embodied Intelligence through Material, Mechanics and Computation department.

The Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems spans two campuses in Stuttgart and Tübingen, working together toward a common goal: advancing the frontiers of artificial intelligence and robotics. By combining their expertise, they explore the fundamental principles of intelligent systems from multiple perspectives. Scientists at their Stuttgart site focus on the physical realization of intelligent systems, researching in the fields of robotic materials, haptic intelligence, soft robotics, and bio-inspired robotics.

Max Planck Research Groups Cyborg Robotics and Intelligent Sensing, led by Dr. Antonia Georgopoulou and Mechanics for Intelligent Structures, led by Dr. Renate Sachse are looking for a PhD candidate to join a new collaborative project that combines the groups’ expertise bridging stimuli responsive material, fabrication, mechanics and design.

Description

This project focuses on the development of embodied intelligence in robotic materials and design, investigating how adaptive and stimuli-responsive materials, combined with engineered geometry and fabrication methods can produce robotic systems whose behavior emerges from the interaction between material properties, structure, and environment. Rather than relying on complex sensing hardware and computational control, they aim to explore how sensing, actuation, and feedback can be embedded directly within material systems, enabling intrinsic and simulation-informed adaptation. Through mechanical simulation, inverse design, and additive manufacturing, the project aims to predict, design, and fabricate soft robotic systems with programmable deformation and emergent behavior, ranging from simple single-material actuators to multi-material, multi-responsive systems capable of complex environmental interaction.

Specific research directions and activities include:

• Develop computational and inverse-design methods from structural mechanics to model and predict the behavior of stimuli-responsive materials, linking material properties, geometry, and environmental inputs to targeted deformation and functional response.
• Design and fabricate soft robotic systems using additive manufacturing and multi-material design strategies, focusing on how structural geometry and material composition can be engineered to produce targeted, programmable deformation and actuation behavior.
• Develop and implement finite element–based and reduced-order models to capture nonlinear deformation, coupled multiphysics behavior, and material–structure interaction in soft robotic systems.
• Investigate and implement stimuli-responsive and adaptive materials (e.g. polymers and material gradients), exploring how their intrinsic physical properties can be leveraged to enable sensing, feedback, and actuation directly within the material system.

Education and experience

• Master’s degree in mechanical engineering, materials science, or a closely related field
• Strong written and spoken English communication skills
• Prior research experience demonstrated through a Master’s thesis, research project, or equivalent academic work
• Experience with academic writing and/or research dissemination (e.g. thesis, reports, publications, or equivalent outputs)
• Strong motivation to engage in interdisciplinary research at the interface of materials, mechanics, fabrication, robotics, and computational design.
• Willingness to develop new experimental, computational, and fabrication skills throughout the course of the PhD
• Interest in collaborative, research-driven environments and experimental design methodologies
• Background or strong interest in mechanics, simulation, and additive manufacturing is highly desirable, but not a must.

The offer:

• An international, multidisciplinary, and highly motivating working environment
• Extensive mentoring, supervision, and career-planning support from two PIs
• Access to state-of-the-art lab facilities, including advanced fabrication and testing equipment
• Collaborations with world-leading research groups at MPI-IS and beyond
• Networking opportunities through conferences, seminars, and research visits
• Competitive salaries and fully funded positions
• Financial contribution to the job ticket (ÖPNV)

Expected start dates and duration

The preferred start date is September 1, 2026. The position is funded for 3 years.

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. The Max Planck Society strives for gender equality and diversity. Furthermore, the Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women and non-binary individuals in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages them to apply.