DTU Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Ceramic Energy Materials

If you have a strong desire and will to establish yourself as a scientist, and you are looking for the best possible foundation for fulfilling your dreams and ambitions, it could be right here 

Join Us in Shaping the Future of Sustainable Energy Materials

Be part of a dynamic team developing next-generation sustainable energy materials with the potential to impact people and businesses around the world. At DTU Energy, you will collaborate closely with colleagues at DTU and leading international partners from academia and industry, working at the forefront of research and development.

At DTU Energy, you'll have the opportunity to push scientific frontiers and become a global expert in ceramic energy materials, their evolution during fabrication, and their influence on device performance. Your research will play a vital role in optimizing the efficiency and longevity of energy devices like batteries, electrolysis cells, and fuel cells. Achieving this requires a profound understanding of process parameters and their effects on microstructures, interfaces, and component performance under real-world conditions. Additionally, a strong emphasis will be placed on sustainable production methods and materials.

You will have the opportunity to work with both real and model materials, utilizing a diverse range of advanced manufacturing and characterization tools. Collaborating closely with your colleagues, your research will be pivotal in driving the development of materials and technologies essential for the global green transition. Processing techniques may include tape casting, screen printing, slot die coating, extrusion, and other state-of-the-art methods. For characterization, you'll have access to cutting-edge tools such as in-situ optical monitoring of sintering, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray and synchrotron radiation, neutron diffraction and imaging, electron microscopy, XPS, and more.

Examples of Potential Focus Areas
One potential focus area is the development of solid-state ionics and electrochemical materials. This could involve advancing the electrochemical performance of solid-state electrolytes and ionic conductors, particularly for energy storage applications such as solid-state and Na/K-metal batteries. Another promising avenue is exploring low-cost, sustainable energy storage solutions, like metal-sulfur batteries, with a focus on enhancing both performance and scalability to meet the needs of sustainable energy systems.

Another potential focus area could be development of in situ studies of the nanoscale crystalline, morphological and mechanical behaviour of materials used e.g. in solid oxide electrolysers. This would include the material science already in the fabrication phase, investigation how manufacturing influence performance and lifetime, and implementation of new fabrication methods.  

A third focus area could be the development of sustainable, green production methods. This may include exploring water-based systems, using recycled materials, or investigating how end-of-life devices (e.g. batteries) can be processed and recycled to support a circular economy.

A fourth area could be investigating and implementing emerging green sintering techniques, such as flash sintering, ultra-fast sintering, or blacklight sintering, could be a valuable focus. These methods could be applied to the fabrication of ceramic energy materials and devices, like solid oxide cells, proton-conducting ceramics, or solid-state batteries, in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly manner.

You are expected to develop your career and establish yourself as an independent scientist. You must contribute lively to the development and application of fabrication and analysis methods to push the scientific forefront of understanding of microstructures, their development and interplay with performances and lifetimes of energy materials.

Other primary tasks will be to:

• Teach and supervise BSc and MSc student projects, and be a co-supervisor for PhD students
• Disseminate research findings and innovation – scientifically and in the public domain
• Contribute to attract external funding from public and private sources
• Strengthen and broaden the internal and external collaborations within fundamental understanding of the green processing of the next generation of ceramic energy materials

Team worker with a PhD degree in materials science, chemistry, physics, or similar
You are a scientific talent with excellent skills and high ambitions. To succeed, you must like to create results via knowledge sharing and constructive collaboration with due respect to professional and cultural differences – and be able to give and take feedback with an open mind. Additionally, you must be curious and interested in expanding your field of expertise. As teacher, you must like to coach and be able to communicate in an inspiring and motivating way – you set the standards for the engineers of the future. 

Additionally, your CV comprises:

• A PhD degree in chemistry, materials science, physics, or similar
• Academic experience (acquired after your PhD) from outside DTU (you can be working at DTU today)
• Documented high-level results from original research on electrochemical energy devices and components
• Documented results on the development of new fabrication methods for electrochemical energy devices and components
• Experience from interdisciplinary research – and great motivation for collaboration
• A coherent vision paper for your research covering the entire Tenure Track period

As a successful Tenure Track candidate, you will meet DTU’s Tenure Track requirements. You have a strong wish to teach and you have experience in supervising students. You see yourself as a strong research talent in your field, with the potential to reach the highest international level. You have documented scientific production at competitive international level and can document initiative for independent and original project ideas. You have the personal drive and potential to attract external funding for research activities and you thrive in a multidisciplinary international work environment.

You must be responsible for the teaching of courses. DTU employs two working languages: Danish and English. You are expected to be fluent in at least one of these languages, and in time are expected to master both.

As formal qualification you must hold a PhD degree (or equivalent).

You will be assessed against the  responsibilities and qualifications stated above and the following general criteria:

• Experience and quality of teaching 
• Research experience 
• Research vision and potential
• International impact and experience 
• Societal impact
• Innovativeness, including commercialization and collaboration with industry
• Leadership, collaboration, and interdisciplinary skills
• Communication skills

Salary and terms of employment 
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union. 

Starting date is according to mutual agreement. The position is a full-time position.

The position is part of DTU’s Tenure Track program. Read more about the program and the recruitment process here .

You can read more about career paths at DTU here .

We offer
At DTU, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive working environment that values and supports every individual. We recognize the importance of a healthy work-life balance and are dedicated to providing a supportive framework for all employees, including those with family responsibilities.

In Denmark, you will find a family-friendly culture with excellent public childcare and education systems, along with flexible working conditions that accommodate your personal and family life. DTU promotes a balanced lifestyle with ample opportunities for remote working, flexible hours, and generous parental leave policies for all genders.

We believe diversity strengthens innovation and creativity in our research and teaching. Therefore, we encourage all interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background to apply.Our commitment to equality ensures that everyone has an equal opportunity to grow and succeed at DTU.

Further information 
Further information may be obtained from Wolff-Ragnar Kiebach (Professor, Head of Section), .

You can read more about DTU Energy at . 

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark .

Application procedure
Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 15 January 2025  (23:59 Danish time) . 

Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply now", fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file . The file must include:

• Application (cover letter)
• Vision for teaching and research for the tenure track period 
• CV including employment history, list of publications, H-index and ORCID (see  )
• Teaching portfolio  including documentation of teaching experience 
• Academic Diplomas (MSc/PhD)
• Documentation of relevant employment
• Documentation of interdisciplinary collaboration

You can learn more about the recruitment process here .

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply. As DTU works with research in critical technology, which is subject to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.

DTU Energy  
The Department of Energy Conversion and Storage (DTU Energy) focuses on research and development of functional materials, components, and systems for sustainable energy technologies. The technologies include fuel cells, electrolysis, power-to-x, batteries, and carbon capture. The research is based on strong competences on electrochemistry, atomic scale and multiphysics modelling, autonomous materials discovery, materials processing, and structural analyses. We also focus on educating engineering students at all levels, ranging from BSc, MSc, PhD to lifelong learning students. We have about 270 dedicated employees. Read more about us at

Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear mission to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That mission lives on today. DTU has 13,500 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.