Post-doctoral Position in Machine Learning for Engineering Design

Organisation/Company ETH Zürich Research Field Computer science » Other Engineering » Mechanical engineering Engineering » Other Mathematics » Applied mathematics Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Country Switzerland Application Deadline 9 Dec 2025 – 22:59 (UTC) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 41 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Post-doctoral Position in Machine Learning for Engineering Design

The Laboratory for Intelligence in Design Engineering and Learning (IDEAL) in the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering invites applications for a Post-doctoral position in the area of Machine Learning for Engineering Design under the guidance of Prof. Mark Fuge, the Chair of Artificial Intelligence in Engineering Design. The general area of the laboratory covers the study of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in the context of Engineering Design problems in domains such as healthcare, power generation, aerospace, and robotics. The successful candidate will join a growing research team and have a unique professional development opportunity to help shape and guide initial investments in laboratory infrastructure.

Project background

This postdoctoral position would build upon the laboratory\’s past and ongoing workwithin the context of AI-guided Design, Inverse Design, and Optimizationacross differentapplication domains. In particular, we are developing scientific research infrastructure to better study benchmarking within this domain, as demonstrated via our recently publishedEngiBench and EngiOpt libraries. This position would involve helping set the vision and scientific direction for future efforts in this broad area, and collaborating with Ph.D. students, other Post-Docs, and Scientific Staff (such as software developers from ETH\’s Scientific IT Services group) to produce world-class and high-scientific-value research publications and infrastructure. As such, it offers unique and advanced professional development opportunities in both leadership and laboratory operations that will position the candidate well for future success as an independent scientist. You can read more about ourwork at ourlaboratory\’s current website .

As a postdoctoral researcher, your responsibilities may include:

• Development or analysis of novel Machine Learning algorithms for engineering design applications, such as Inverse Design, Surrogate Modeling, or generative modeling.
• Collaborating with partners from industry, academia, and national labs to translate real-world needs into scientific or technical questions.
• Working independently or with other scientific staff to deploy our simulation or algorithm pipelines on advanced computational infrastructure, such as High-Performance Computing systems. As many of the lab members actively contribute together to various projects, this role will involve some project management and coordinating the development efforts of others.
• Helping to set up the specialized digital or physical scientific infrastructure needed to support planned experiments as relevant to your research focus. This also includes participating as an active lab citizen in improving lab-wide infrastructure via participation and planning for lab retreats or helping set up lab-wide processes.
• Participating actively in dissemination efforts such as publishing scientific papers, attending or presenting at conferences or workshops, or other scholarly outreach activities.
• Designing and writing portions of scientific research proposals to support laboratory efforts.
• Supervising Ph.D., Masters, and/or Bachelors students.
• Limited assistancein teaching efforts for relevant coursework in the laboratory\’s general area.

Profile

The following are some characteristics that may align well with the position:

• You should be a highly motivated researcher with expertise in some of the following areas (please address these in the cover letter): Machine Learning, Computational Simulations (e.g., CFD, FEA, etc.), domain expertise in Engineering problems, familiarity with High-Performance Computing (HPC) environments, or Software Engineering.
• You are expected to have aPh.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Robotics, or related fields with an excellent track record in archival journal publications, Computer Science or Robotics conferences, or other competitive venues appropriate to your Ph.D. research field.
• You should possess strong English language skillsand the ability to work successfully and collaboratively on diverse, multinational teams.
• Preferred candidates will also possess working knowledge of recent Machine Learning or HPC-related techniques or tooling, such as relevant Python or Julia libraries (PyTorch, JAX, and similar) and how to package simulation or ML codes for dissemination or deployment on distributed servers (e.g., Docker, Singularity, and running codes on HPC clusters). Knowledge of (or prior research) in robotics (e.g., ROS, forward/inverse kinematics), manufacturing (e.g., Additive or Subtractive Manufacturing), or computer vision/language models is a plus, but not a requirement.
• Preferred candidates will know professional software development practices, such as Code Quality measures, distributed development workflows (e.g., using Git/GitHub), such that you can lead a group with multiple contributors and maintain high levels of code quality.
• This position involves significant interpersonal and leadership opportunities that integrate with others in the ETH workplace, and ETH Zurich has developed a set ofsix core competencies that we expect from all employees. These include acting responsibly, nurturing well-being, driving innovation, living inclusivity, building bridges, and enabling people. In your cover letter, to the extent that you can speak to them as part of your past work, please note your key strengths in these competencies and examples that speak to them.

We encourage candidates to apply even if they do not think they possess every point above, particularly for candidateswho may not have had access to certain development opportunities. We will work with any selected candidates to develop targeted competencies on a personalized basis.

We offer

The position is offered on a fixed-term basis with ananticipated duration of approximately two years, with an initial contract duration of one year, with a possibility of future extensions based on performance evaluation. The anticipated start date for the position is flexible, with an ideal start date betweenJanuary to March of2026. However, the exactdate can be shifted forward or backward by several monthsupon mutual agreement to match the employment or graduation needs of the selected candidate. The position is designed as a full-time (100%) appointment, however, we can offer flexibility in both time and location (home office possibility from your residence in Switzerland) as needed to best enable an individual\’s needs and well-being. ETH Zurich is a family-friendly employer with excellent working conditions. In addition to this, you can look forward to:

• World-class research infrastructure and excellent working conditions guided by our common understanding of a supportiveshared work culture .
• A high level of autonomy to develop your skills as an independent researcher.
• Opportunities to work with a diverse, motivated, and multi-cultural team in a creative research environment.
• Support for personalized professional development and mentoring with the ability to build a strong support network for your future career, and be part of a laboratory with a strong track record of placing post-doctoral employees into competitive research positions and professorships.

We look forward to receiving your online application through this portal and it should contain the following documents in PDF format (make sure your last name is on all the documents and in the file name):

• A Cover Letter (maximum 2 pages) addressed to Prof. Mark Fuge describing your motivation to apply for the position in line with the criteria mentioned above.
• A Curriculum Vitae, including a list of publications.
• Contact information for two references, which can be appended to the CV or provided as a separate PDF if you prefer. No reference letters are needed at the time of application, and we will notify you in advance if we intend to reach out to them or request letters.
• (Optional) A short research statement describing your desired future research areas that you hope to engage in during a post-doctoral appointment.

For best consideration, please submit the above applicationby November 1st, 2025 .

Please note that we exclusively accept applications submitted through our online application portal. Applications via email or postal services willnot be considered.

Further information about our labcan be found on our website . Questions regarding the position should be directed to Mrs Martina Koch, Adm. Assistant, Tel or email (no applications).

We would like to point out that the pre-selection is carried out by the responsible recruiters and not by artificial intelligence.

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