PhD Student Mechanical Engineering (m/f/d)

The Research Training Group GRK 2868 D³ - Data-driven Design of Resilient Metamaterials funded by the German Research Foundation has started in October 2023. Our vision is to develop and apply a data-driven approach to cross-scale materials discovery and design, in particular, goal-oriented, inverse design procedures based on process-structure-property linkages are of interest. The exploration aims at the mechanical performance as well as at the sustainability of the new metamaterials.

D³ offers a competence- and publication-oriented qualification concept with co-supervision and international mentoring following a stringent schedule. D³ will provide a creative, motivating, and collaborative research environment with equal opportunities. Academic and business careers are actively supported by career development measures including at least one international research stay. For TUD Dresden University of Technology (TUD) diversity is an essential feature and a quality criterion of an excellent university. Accordingly, we welcome all applicants who would like to commit themselves, their achievements and productivity to the success of the whole institution.

D³ offers a position as

Research Associate / PhD student (m/f/x)

(subject to personal qualification employees are remunerated according to salary group E 13 TV-L)

starting April 1, 2026 . The position is limited until March 31, 2030. The period of employment is governed by the Fixed Term Research Contracts Act (Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz - WissZeitVG). The position offers the chance to obtain further academic qualification (usually PhD).

Activities and responsibilities

The successful candidate performs scientific research on mechanical metamaterials with a particular focus on modeling and simulation of the deformation and failure behavior under influence of damage and extreme loading conditions. Both data- and physics-based modeling approaches are of interest in this context. The obtained results are to facilitate the inverse design of novel resilient metamaterials. The successful candidate participates actively in the qualification program and general scientific activities of D³ . More information can be found at

Qualification profile

• excellent university degree in mechanical engineering with a particular focus on computational mechanics
• fluent in English, ideally documented in terms of a B2 English language certificate