Marie Curie PhD vacancy

Department of Management and Engineering - DTG

Organisation/Company University of Padova Department Department of Management and Engineering - DTG Research Field Engineering Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Application Deadline 30 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Rome) Country Italy Type of Contract To be defined Job Status Full-time Offer Starting Date 1 Feb 2027 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe - MSCA Marie Curie Grant Agreement Number 101311350 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Fully funded PhD position (DC14): Enhancing Surface Metrology for Next-Generation Turbomachinery

The University of Padova invites applications from highly motivated candidates for one fully funded, full-time PhD position (Doctoral Candidate, DC14), with 36 months of funding, within the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Network TURBO-IMPACT. The successful applicant will enrol in a doctoral programme at the University of Padova and undertake research leading to a PhD degree, subject to the University’s formal admission requirements. The research will be carried out within the Manufacturing Technologies and Metrology research group at the Department of Management and Engineering (DTG), University of Padova, under the supervision of Prof. Simone Carmignato.

The TurboImpact project, funded by Horizon Europe – MSCA-DN, tackles challenges in designing, optimizing, selecting materials, and manufacturing small-scale turbomachinery for applications in heat pumps, fuel cells, organic Rankine cycles, or gas turbines.

This project develops robust system and component design methods, an integrated manufacturing platform, and multi-material joining techniques to efficiently produce small-scale turbomachinery.

The goal will be achieved by establishing a network of 14 Doctoral Candidates (DC) working in synergy on complementary topics and supported by highly qualified supervisors from European universities and research-intensive European companies . Project website: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101311350

The candidate will have access to state-of-the-art facilities for optical and surface metrology, X-ray computed tomography, advanced manufacturing and data analysis.

Activities:

The PhD candidate will work at the interface between advanced manufacturing, surface metrology and sustainable energy technologies, addressing one of the key challenges in next-generation precision manufacturing: how to measure, understand and control the complex surfaces that ultimately determine the performance of small-scale high-speed turbomachinery. These components feature complex geometries, difficult-to-access regions and advanced multi-material architectures, and their surface topography can directly affect aerodynamic behaviour, heat transfer, assembly and component reliability.

The research will go beyond conventional surface inspection by developing advanced strategies for functional surface characterisation using non-contact 3D measurement technologies. Particular attention will be given to improving measurement accuracy on complex geometries, combining complementary sensors including optical and X-ray CT (XCT) data to obtain more complete and reliable surface information, and linking measured surface characteristics to manufacturing processes and functional requirements.

The developed solutions will be applied to advanced components and manufacturing routes investigated across TURBO-IMPACT, supporting the optimisation and qualification of additive manufacturing and precision post-processing chains, while contributing to the project vision of robust, digitalised and zero-defect manufacturing. The candidate will work in close interaction with the other Doctoral Candidates and with leading academic and industrial partners, including research secondments at EPFL (CH), KU Leuven (BE) and SENSOFAR (ES).

• Excellent master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing/Industrial Engineering, Materials Engineering, Physics, Photonics, or a closely related field;
• Proficiency in written and spoken English and ability to communicate and present scientific work effectively;
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills;
• Ability to work independently and in an international, multidisciplinary team;
• Experience or strong interest in surface metrology, 3D sensing, point-cloud/image processing or additive manufacturing is desirable;
• Willingness to undertake international research secondments and collaborate with academic and industrial partners across Europe.

In accordance with the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network regulations:

• Applicants must comply with the MSCA Mobility Rule. At the time of recruitment, c