PhD student field of numerical simulation of plasma- methane decomposition

Organisation/Company Empa Research Field Engineering » Chemical engineering Engineering » Materials engineering Engineering » Mechanical engineering Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Country Switzerland Final date to receive applications 12 Feb 2026 - 22:59 (UTC) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time 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

Materials science and technology are our passion. With our cutting-edge research, Empa's around 1,100 employees make essential contributions to the well-being of society for a future worth living. Empa is a research institution of the ETH Domain.

To strengthen our team and enhance our knowledge and understanding in pyrolysis processes we are looking for a PhD student for scientific analysis, investigations and optimization of hydrogen production via methane pyrolysis for decarbonization of industrial high-temperature processes with potential for negative carbon emissions.

PhD student in the field of numerical simulation of plasma-based methane decomposition

• Setup of Computational Fluid Dynamics CFD environment and simulations including:
  - Computation of the microwave field, Coupling of the microwave field with the plasma
  - Computation of elementary ionization, recombination and diffusion processes in the plasma resulting in the ionization of the initial gas
  - The decomposition of CH4, including detailed reaction sequence and chemical kinetics in a multiphase environment and flow field interactions
• Tuning of the CFD models with experimental results
• Artificial Neural Network training and development
• Scientific publications in journals and at conferences
• Supervision of students

Your profile

• University Master's degree in process engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering or materials science with some (CFD) experience.
• Good technical knowledge and/or high interest in scientific work with CFD.
• Interest in working in interdisciplinary teams.
• Good knowledge of the German and English language.

Our offer

• Interesting and responsible tasks in the field of applied research.
• Development opportunities in an economically and socially important field.
• Contacts to international partners, customers and suppliers.
• Attractive working conditions of the ETH Domain.

We live a culture of inclusion and respect. We welcome all people who are interested in innovative, sustainable and meaningful activities - that's what counts.

We look forward to receiving your complete online application including a letter of motivation, CV, diplomas with references and contact details of two reference persons. Please submit these exclusively via our job portal. Applications by e-mail and by post will not be considered.