Postdoctoral Researcher at the Instituto de Fusión Nuclear Guillermo-Velarde (IFN-GV)
The Materials Group at the “Instituto de Fusión Nuclear Guillermo-Velarde (IFN-GV)” offers a postdoctoral position focused on the fabrication and testing of advanced coatings for extreme operating conditions, including high thermal loads and ion irradiation, relevant to plasma-facing materials for fusion energy concepts.
Position details
- Gross salary: 34,000 EUR/year
- Starting date: As early as possible
- Work schedule: Full-time (7.5 hours/day)
- Contract duration: 1 year
Job description
The successful candidate will join an international, multidisciplinary effort to identify and evaluate candidate plasma-facing materials (PFMs) for fusion reactor concepts operating under a direct-drive approach. The position is embedded in a collaborative project involving IFN-GV/UPM and the company Focused Energy, together with experimental and computational partners in Germany and the United States. The goal is to fabricate candidate coatings and assess their performance under ion irradiation and high heat-flux / thermal loading conditions and/or to assess the performance under irradiation of diverse fusion materials candidates.
Key responsibilities
- Fabrication of coatings (primarily sputtering-based deposition) and process optimization.
- Microstructural, chemical, and morphological characterization of coatings and substrates.
- Design and execution (or coordination) of irradiation campaigns and post-irradiation examination.
- Analysis, interpretation, and reporting of results in collaboration with international partners.
- Contribution to publications, project reporting, and dissemination activities.
Required experience
- Coating fabrication by sputtering (e.g., magnetron sputtering; thin-film deposition workflows).
- Materials characterization methods (morphology, structure, composition), e.g., SEM/EDS, XRD, profilometry, etc.
- Experience with ion irradiation experiments and/or materials behavior under irradiation.
Desired skills and qualifications
- PhD in physics, nuclear engineering, or material science
- Strong teamwork and communication skills; ability to work effectively in an international environment.
- Demonstrated ability and motivation to learn new techniques and procedures.
- Experience with control and data acquisition software (instrumentation, automation, data pipelines).
- Strong scientific rigor and commitment to high-quality research.
- Availability to travel for collaboration and project activities.
Application package
https://web.upm.es/hrs4r/es/hrs2026158-postdoctoral-researcher
Application deadline: 27 March 2026