项目介绍

2025年3月2日

About the position

Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate and open up exciting career opportunities? As a PhD Candidate at the Department of Energy and Process Engineering, you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a career in Higher Education and research within and beyond academia.

Your immediate research supervisor will be Professor Steven Boles and your Line Manager will be the Head of Department.

About the project

Alloy-type anodes are critical to enabling both Solid State Batteries (SSB) and next generation lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries. Enabling this class of electrode materials, however, requires critical understanding of the mechanisms that govern the reversibility of their phase transformations. In this project, the PhD Candidate will be responsible for conducting experimental studies into the basic mechanisms of alloy-anode materials using model electrode systems. Opportunities for extended research stays abroad in the USA, Germany, France, and/or Japan will be considered. The use of research user facilities (e.g. ESRF) will further be utilized to enrich and complement work conducted at NTNU.

Duties of the position

• Assembly and testing of coin-cell, pouch-cell, and custom-designed operando electrochemical cells
• Structural and morphological characterization (Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and others)
• Conduct operando optical microscopy investigations using custom-designed transparent cells
• Complete the doctoral education coursework required for obtaining a doctorate degree
• Carry out research of excellent quality within the framework described above
• Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.

Required selection criteria

• You must have an academically relevant background, preferably with previous research work pertaining to electrochemical energy storage devices. Candidates with excellent knowledge and preparation in nanotechnology, metallurgy, or solid state physics are also encouraged to apply.
• You must have a Master’s degree in Engineering, Chemistry, Physics or equivalent. Your course of study must correspond to a five-year Norwegian course, where 120 credits have been obtained at master’s level. Master’s students can apply, but the master’s degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master’s degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU’s grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be considered if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the Faculty’s Doctoral Programme.
• Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills in English.
• All candidates will be subject to national export, sanctions and security regulations. Candidates may be excluded from consideration based on their likelihood of passing these regulatory criteria. Primary checkpoints are the Export Control regulation, the Sanctions regulation, and the national security regulation.

PLEASE NOTE: For detailed information about what the application must contain, see paragraph “About the application”.

If you cannot document skills in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish at level A2 upon employment, you must complete Norwegian courses corresponding to at least 15 credits before the end of the employment period. NTNU will facilitate this.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations for the Universities and Colleges Act (university and colleges regulations) and Regulations for the degrees philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) and philosophiae doctor (ph.d.) in artistic development work at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) for general criteria for the position.

Preferred selection criteria

• Previous experience with kinetic processes governing phase transformations in metallurgical alloys.
• Demonstrated excellence in academic research through previous public dissemination (e.g. peer reviewed publications and/or conference posters).
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in a competitive academic environment.

Personal characteristics

To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to: 

• Work independently.
• Present and discuss your research with other professionals.
• Show curiosity and a strong motivation for the subject.
• Analyze data, assess different perspectives and draw well-founded conclusions.
• Be flexible and open to adjusting the plan for the project as needed.

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

We offer

• A strong and international professional environment.
• Career guidance and follow-up during the PhD period.
• working capital that can be used to implement the project.
• training during working hours and company sports at NTNU.
• As a public employee, you have favourable benefits as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)  

You will be employed as a PhD Candidate at NTNU and will have access to employee benefits and discounts. 

Diversity

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population’s collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values ​​are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals. 

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education. 

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

At NTNU we want to increase the proportion of women in scientific positions. We have a number of measures to promote equality.

The Department of Energy and Process Engineering (EPT) has established EPT Women in Science. The group is focused on supporting female Research Assistants, PhD Candidates, Postdoctoral Fellows and permanent academic employees within the Department. This support aims to help develop the academic careers of female employees, and is also made visible to our student body, to encourage them to consider an academic path. As part of the EPT Women in Science initiative we continue to build on our international network, inviting prominent female academics within and beyond the field of Engineering to speak at our events.

Salary and conditions

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be NOK  536 200,-  per annum depending on qualifications and seniority. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary. 

The employment period is 3 years. If learning Norwegian, level A2 (corresponding to at least 15 credits) is to be completed before the end of the employment period. The employment period can be extended by 10 weeks after documentation of the completion of the Norwegian course.

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in the Faculty of Engineering within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral programme throughout the period of employment.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important that you keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and adapt to them.

For the necessary academic and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to be in conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

About the application

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in English.

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above. The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates upon request.

 The application must include: 

• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees
• CV 
• Copy of Master’s thesis. If you have recently submitted your Master’s thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed Master’s degree must be presented before taking up the position
• A critical summary of four (4) fundamental research challenges that are common to all alloy-type anodes for lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries (e.g. 1. Volume Expansion 2. Etc). Please support each research challenge with appropriate references (maximum 800 words/2 pages/16 references)
• Short letter of motivation (400 words/1 page)
• Any relevant publications etc. other relevant research work
• Any relevant certificates
• Names and contact information of three relevant referees

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both Bachelor’s and Master’s education, in addition to other higher education. If your institution uses “diploma supplement” (normal for most European institutions), you must attach this. A description of the documentation required can also be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well. 

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint work, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

When assessing the best qualified candidates, emphasis will be placed on necessary qualifications such as education, experience and personal suitability. Motivation for the position, ambitions and potential for research will also count when assessing the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed itself to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU’s social mission).

General information

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the exemption is not granted.

If you think this position looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, you are welcome to apply.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Steven Boles, steven.boles@ntnu.no.

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Megan Norris, HR Advisor, megan.norris@ntnu.no.

Application deadline: 24.03.2025

For practical information about working at NTNU, please visit this webpage.

The city of Trondheim has a population of 200 000. It is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene and is known as the tech capital of Norway. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is among the best of its kind in the world. Professional, subsidized day-care for children is easily available, as is children`s education (including two international schools). Trondheim has low crime rates, clean air quality, and offers great opportunities for enjoying nature, culture and family-life.