项目介绍

2025年3月13日

Job description

The Peirlinck Lab at TU Delft is looking for a PhD-student who will work together with the Holland Hybrid Heart (HHH) consortium on the design, fabrication, and analysis of a soft artificial heart. The HHH consortium is a partnership between TU Delft, Erasmus MC, Eindhoven University of Technology, AMOLF, UTwente, Saxion, and several business partners. Together, we aim to conduct the necessary fundamental research, including the first chronic animal trials, to produce a soft artificial heart. Our goal is to mimic the natural contraction of the heart as much as possible, by generating a pulsatile flow, and coating the inside of the heart with a tissue-engineered lining. Our consortium acknowledges that this multidisciplinary project will only be successful if we work closely as a team.

In this project, you will focus on the numerical optimization of the soft artificial heart prototypes currently being developed within the consortium. In close collaboration with senior lab members, you will use our multi-scale computational fluid-structure interaction framework that describes the intrinsic mechanical behavior of the prototypes under realistic cardiovascular conditions to enhance the safety and efficiency of the soft artificial heart designs. You will explore different numerical optimization techniques and apply them to the existing devices to find optimum geometries, material properties, and device control methods to potentially revolutionize the field of soft total artificial hearts. Active collaboration with researchers in TUDelft’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Holland Hybrid Heart consortium will be integral to the project’s success.

As a successful candidate for this position, you will be directly involved in mathematical modeling and software development of the optimization framework, processing and analyzing data, and reviewing scientific literature. You will actively participate in (bi)weekly lab meetings, write scientific articles, and give presentations at national and international conferences. You will also take part in teaching and supervision activities within the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of Delft University of Technology. More information on the team and research can be found on https://peirlincklab.com.

Job requirements 

• You have an MSc degree in aerospace engineering, applied mathematics, mechanical engineering, or other related fields. 
• You are a highly independent, motivated, and innovative individual who likes to solve complex numerical problems and can efficiently work in a highly multidisciplinary team. 
• You have a strong background in linear and tensor algebra, non-linear mechanics, advanced finite element analysis, computational solid mechanics, computational fluid mechanics, high-performance computing, and physics-informed machine learning.
• Affinity with physics-informed machine learning, computational VVUQ (verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification), experimental device testing, cardiovascular (patho)physiology, and strong and proven computer programming skills (C++, Fortran, Python, Julia, or equivalent) are highly appreciated.
• You have excellent spoken and written English language skills*, and demonstrable collaborative, communicative and organizational competences.

Please highlight your specific skills and relevant prior experiences for this position explicitly in your motivation letter. Motivation letters that do not address any of these requirements will not be considered.

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty Mechanical Engineering

From chip to ship. From machine to human being. From idea to solution. Driven by a deep-rooted desire to understand our environment and discover its underlying mechanisms, research and education at the ME faculty focusses on fundamental understanding, design, production including application and product improvement, materials, processes and (mechanical) systems.

ME is a dynamic and innovative faculty with high-tech lab facilities and international reach. It’s a large faculty but also versatile, so we can often make unique connections by combining different disciplines. This is reflected in ME’s outstanding, state-of-the-art education, which trains students to become responsible and socially engaged engineers and scientists. We translate our knowledge and insights into solutions to societal issues, contributing to a sustainable society and to the development of prosperity and well-being. That is what unites us in pioneering research, inspiring education and (inter)national cooperation.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Do you want to experience working at our faculty? These videos will introduce you to some of our researchers and their work.

Conditions of employment 

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met. 

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2872 per month in the first year to € 3670 in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills. 

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.  

Will you need to relocate to the Netherlands for this job? TU Delft is committed to make your move as smooth as possible! The HR unit, Coming to Delft Service, offers information on their website to help you prepare your relocation. In addition, Coming to Delft Service organises events to help you settle in the Netherlands, and expand your (social) network in Delft. A Dual Career Programme is available, to support your accompanying partner with their job search in the Netherlands.  

Additional information

If you would like more information about this vacancy or the selection procedure, please contact Mathias Peirlinck, via M.Peirlinck@tudelft.nl.

Application procedure

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than 13 April 2025 via the application button and upload the following documents:

• Cover letter in which you describe your personal motivation and specific qualifications for this position (max 1 page).
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and the contact information of three (academic and/or industrial) references.
• Academic transcript, including grades for your qualifying degrees (BSc, MSc).
• A digital copy of your MSc thesis (if applicable).

Only complete applications will be considered.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements. 

Please note:

• Only complete applications will be considered.
• Screening of applicants will start as soon as applications are received and will continue until the position is filled.
• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post. 
• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• For the final candidates, a knowledge security check will be part of the application procedure. For more information on this check, please consult Chapter 8 of the National Knowledge Security Guidelines. We carry out this check on the basis of legitimate interest.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.