Postdoc (f/m/d) Mechanical Characterization and Materials Assessment for Nuclear Applications / PhD in the field of Materials Science, Physics, Materials Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, or a related field / Coordination and scientific …

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Area of research: Scientific / postdoctoral posts Starting date: 01.11.2026 Job description: Postdoc (f/m/d) Mechanical Characterization and Materials Assessment for Nuclear Applications With cutting-edge research in the fields of ENERGY, HEALTH and MATTER, around 1,500 employees from more than 70 nations at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) are committed to mastering the great challenges facing society today. The Institute for Resource Ecology (IRE) conducts applied basic research into the protection of people and the environment from the effects of radioactive radiation. The Department of Structural Materials is looking for a Postdoc (f/m/d) Mechanical Characterization and Materials Assessment for Nuclear Applications. Small specimen techniques have evolved from a pragmatic response to limited material availability into a methodological tool in their own right, one that enables higher statistical sampling within a given material condition, new specimen configurations, and direct access to materials that simply do not exist in conventional quantities. This makes them relevant to two central challenges in nuclear materials research: the reliable assessment of irradiation-induced property changes in operating installations and the systematic screening of new alloy concepts at early development stages where only small material volumes are available. The Structural Materials Department has developed and operated such techniques for a number of years within national and European research programs, including fracture mechanics characterization using miniaturized specimen geometries and Small Punch Testing. The department is embedded in Euratom-funded consortia addressing both the long-term integrity of reactor pressure vessel steels and the qualification of candidate materials for advanced reactor concepts. Experimental work with neutron-irradiated material is carried out in hot cell facilities, infrastructure that only a small number of research groups worldwide can offer at this level. This position brings these activities together and aims to advance them scientifically. We are looking for someone with genuine research drive who takes ownership of testing programs, thinks critically about methods, and builds the analytical frameworks needed to connect small specimen results to established fracture mechanics assessment approaches. A concrete starting point is existing work in the department on the systematic correlation of fractographic observations with microstructural features, aimed at understanding how neutron irradiation modifies fracture initiation behavior at the microstructural level and what this means for the interpretation of macromechanical test data. Numerical methods, in particular FEM-based stress analysis at initiation sites within the framework of local fracture approaches, provide a natural bridge between experiment and mechanistic understanding. Data-driven methods, for instance for inverse parameter identification or uncertainty quantification in fracture mechanics datasets, are not an end in themselves, but a compelling extension where they offer real scientific insight. The position offers the scope to pursue these directions and the backing of an active international research network. The department is increasingly engaged in research programs on advanced reactor systems including fusion, a field where the demand for robust materials assessment methods is clearly growing. Your tasks # Coordination and scientific oversight of mechanical testing programs for nuclear structural materials - including fracture mechanics characterization, small specimen testing and tensile testing - within ongoing and upcoming collaborative projects # Critical assessment and further development of small specimen methods