Job description

You will work on the development of a next-generation elastocaloric microcooling system with an intelligent thermal switch for precise temperature control in photonic systems.

This includes the following tasks:

• Design and development of an elastocaloric microcooling system based on shape memory alloy (SMA) thin films
• Concept and development of an intelligent thermal switch for controllable heat transfer
• Integration of the thermal switch into the elastocaloric cooling device to enhance heat dissipation and reliability
• Rapid prototyping (optical lithography, 3D printing, laser technology)
• Development, characterization and control of cooling demonstrator variants
• Simulation-based design optimization

You will be embedded in the Hector Fellow Academy network and will collaborate closely with project partners from ETH Zurich and Fraunhofer IWM.

The position offers the opportunity to pursue a part-time doctoral degree.

Starting date

01.06.2026 or later

Personal qualification

• Master's degree (GPA <1.7 ) in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Microsystem Technology, or a related field
• Knowledge of thermodynamics, heat transfer, or microsystems engineering
• Experience in CAD, Lumped element modelling and/or FEM simulation and/or MATLAB programming, thermal characterization, mechanical testing
• High proficiency in spoken and written English