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Job Description

The Centre for Industrial Mechanics, part of the Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, University of Southern Denmark (SDU), invites applications for one or more assistant and/or associate professor positions within Material Characterization and Mechanics of Materials. The positions are open from November 2025, and the specific start date will be agreed with the successful candidates. 

The application deadline is September 30, 2025,  at 11.59 PM/23.59 (CET/CEST) 

 

Unique opportunity

The Centre for Industrial Mechanics is research centre focusing on mechanics in combination with mechatronics. You have the unique opportunity to be a part of a well-established centre that is still growing and have the chance to influence the development of the centre. We are continuing to establish further mechanical research facilities both for research and teaching, as well as commercial activities.

Workplace description 

The Institute of Mechanical and Electrical engineering covers research and education spanning from fundamentals to applications of engineering science. All our courses are taught in English reflecting the fact that more than half our students and staff are internationals. The Centre for Industrial Mechanics is located at SDU's beautiful campus in Sønderborg, in the inspiring building of Alsion, which is a center for science, culture and learning in the heart of Sønderborg and perched on the strait of water separating the island of Als from the mainland. The university has very close relations to the industry in Sønderborg, Southern Denmark and Northern Germany. A significant fraction of the projects in the center are conducted in close cooperation with the industry, which counts world leading companies in growing fields such as e-mobility, autonomous vehicles, automation, climate solutions and energy efficiency.

At the Centre for Industrial Mechanics, research, education, and innovation are performed in teams of scientists and support staff with competences spanning a wide range of fields including applied cyber-physical systems, artificial intelligence, embedded computing, mechanical structure integrity and life assessment, heating and cooling, renewable energy systems, and modelling and mechatronic prototyping.

The ideal candidate must be able to demonstrate their ambition to conduct high-quality research, present the results at international conferences, and publish in peer-reviewed scientific journals. We expect the candidate to take part in select teaching activities.

What we expect 

To complement our team, we are looking for candidates with experience in two or more of the following fields within mechanical engineering:

• Material characterization, employing several measurement apparatuses like e.g. SEM or optical microscopy
• Material manufacturing processes
• Mechanical testing, including tensile, fracture, or fatigue testing.
• Recyclability and lifetime expectancy of engineering materials

The candidates are expected to collaborate with industrial partners and other universities (national and international), perform research work as well apply for externally funded projects, as well as be involved with on-site manufacturing facilities and testing laboratories.

The ideal candidates will push our research and innovation agenda as part of the team and will take charge of teaching one or more of the following topics: Mechanics of materials, plasticity, student semester projects, and similar courses at bachelor and master levels, and depending on position, mentoring junior research staff and students.

The candidate must have:

• PhD in a relevant discipline (Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering, or any other relevant Engineering discipline),
• Experience in attracting funding either via projects or commercial activities such as consultancy
• Great abilities in teaching engineering or physics curricula,
• Excellent track record in research and development,
• Good communication skills in English.

In addition, the following experiences are valued:

• Working experience in industry,
• Experimental solid mechanics
• Project and team management experiences.

Further information 

For further information, please visit www.sdu.dk/ime  and https://www.sdu.dk/en/forskning/cim  and contact Associate Professor Lars Duggen, Head of Centre for Industrial Mechanics, tel. +45 6550 1640, e-mail: duggen@sdu.dk

If you experience technical problems, please contact hcm-support@sdu.dk. 

Application procedure

Applicants are advised to read the SDU information on how to apply .

Assessment of the candidates is based on the application material, and an application must include: 

• Motivated application.
• Curriculum Vitae. 
• Master’s and PhD degree certificates or equivalent (copy of original/official English translation). 
• Complete list of publications.
• Publications most relevant to the position.
• Teaching Portfolio (mandatory for associate professor applicants). 
• Summary and documentation of experience in teaching (for assistant professor applicants).
• Research plan (mandatory for associate professor applicants – voluntarily for assistant professor applicants).
• A statement/documentation of other qualifications relevant to the position may also be included.

UPLOAD GUIDE:  Motivated application shall be uploaded as ‘Cover letter’ (max. 5 MB), Curriculum Vitae shall be uploaded as ‘Resume’ (max 5 MB). All other documents shall be uploaded as ‘Miscellaneous documents’ (max 10 files of max 50 MB per file). 

All documents must be in English and PDF format. CPR number (civil registration no.) must be crossed out. All PDF-files must be unlocked and allow binding and may not be password protected.

 

The application deadline is September 30, 2025,  at 11.59 PM/23.59 (CET/CEST) 

 

Assessment and selection process

Applications will be assessed by an assessment committee. Shortlisting may be applied, and only shortlisted candidates will receive a written assessment. Read about shortlisting at SDU.   Interviews and tests may be part of the overall evaluation.

Read about the Assessment and selection process .  

Conditions of employment

Appointment as assistant professor is temporary and for an initial 3-year period, and appointment as associate professor is permanent. 

Employment as an assistant professor requires scientific qualifications at minimum PhD level at the time of employment. During employment, the assistant professor will complete the Lecturer Training Programme . Employment as an associate professor requires academic qualifications at PhD level as well as scientific and teaching qualifications commensurate with the position as an associate professor. Employment will be in accordance with the collective agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations for academics in the state with the associated circular on the protocol for the job structure for academic staff at Danish universities and the provisions for assistant professor or associate professor as described herein. Further information on salary and taxation.  Persons employed in the position may, based on a specific individual managerial evaluation, be exempted from time registration, also known as a “self-organizer”.

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The University of Southern Denmark wishes our staff to reflect the surrounding community and therefore encourages everyone, regardless of personal background, to apply for the position. SDU conducts research in critical technologies, which, due to the risk of unwanted knowledge transfer, are subject to a number of security measures. Therefore, based on information from open sources, background checks may be conducted on candidates for the position.

Further information  for international applicants about entering and working in Denmark. You may also visit WorkinDenmark  for additional information.

Further information  about The Faculty of Engineering

About Us
The University of Southern Denmark was established to create value for and with society. Whether our contributions come in the form of excellent research, innovative solutions, education or learning, we must make a positive difference to society and contribute to a sustainable future. We do this by cultivating talents and creating the best environments for research and learning. It is therefore crucial that SDU retains, develops and recruits talent. At the same time, we need to ensure consistently high quality in all our activities – and we can only do that with the right people. The University’s researchers, lecturers, students, managers and technical/administrative staff are the foundation of our success.
Read about SDU

Job Info

• Job Identification 3045
• Job Category VIP
• Posting Date 07/07/2025, 01:47 PM
• Locations Alsion 2, Sønderborg, 6400, DK
• Apply Before 09/30/2025, 10:59 PM
• Job Schedule Full time