PhD position: High-Throughput Development of Chemical Conversion Treatment for Light Metals

id="offer-description" class="ecl-u-type-heading-2 ecl-u-mt-none ecl-u-mb-l">Offer Description Work group: . Institute of Surface Science. Area of research: . PHD Thesis. Part-Time Suitability: . The position is suitable for part-time employment. Starting date: . 21.10.2026. Job description: PhD position: High-Throughput Development of Chemical Conversion Treatment for Light Metals. Job ID: 1077. Location: Geesthacht/near Hamburg, Germany. Application deadline: 17 November, 2026. Aluminium and magnesium alloys are key to lighter vehicles, aircraft, drones and consumer goods but only if they are safe and durable, reliably protected against corrosion. Chemical conversion coatings are one of the most effective and commercially successful ways to do this. They protect the metal and help paint adhere to it. Yet finding better, environmentally friendly formulations is still largely a matter of trial and error. The number of possible formulations is virtually infinite, so we do not test them one by one. At the Department of Electrochemistry and Big Data, we run a robotic high-throughput testing platform combined with machine learning for AI-assisted discoveries. We are offering a 3-year position, as soon as possible, as a PhD student in the quickly developing field of high-throughput and robotic experimentation in materials science. The position is part-time (19,5 h/week) and will be located in Hereon's main campus, in Geesthacht (near Hamburg). We value diversity and welcome applic