Postdoctoral Researcher in Advanced Flexure-Mechanism Design (W/M)

Mission

The Micromechanical and Horological Design Laboratory (INSTANT-LAB) at EPFL invites applications for a postdoctoral research position in advanced flexure-mechanism design.

Flexure-based mechanisms achieve motion through the elastic deformation of slender structural elements rather than through conventional sliding or rolling joints.

As a class of compliant mechanisms, they enable exceptional motion precision in demanding environments such as space systems, cryogenic applications, ultra-clean settings, microelectromechanical systems, and surgical instruments.

Their main advantages include frictionless operation, the absence of backlash, reduced maintenance requirements, excellent repeatability, and long service life.

Their monolithic architecture also facilitates miniaturization and simplifies manufacturing by eliminating assembly steps.

Despite significant advances in the field, flexure-mechanism design continues to be constrained by performance trade-offs.

Improvements in motion range, load-carrying capability, or stiffness often result in compromises elsewhere.

In addition, high-performance designs are frequently sensitive to manufacturing variations, requiring tight tolerances and increasing production costs.

Main duties and responsibilities

He or she will contribute to the development of a new design and modelling framework for flexure-based mechanisms that simultaneously addresses multiple performance criteria and robustness to manufacturing tolerances.

The project combines fundamental research supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation with an industrial collaboration supported by the Swiss Innovation Agency.

The successful candidate will work closely with an industrial partner whose products rely on advanced adjustable-stiffness flexure-based load cells.

He or she will build upon more than fourteen years of expertise developed within INSTANT-LAB, an established patent portfolio, and long-standing industrial collaborations.

The main responsibilities include:

Profile

We offer

Informations

Only applications submitted through the online platform are considered. You are asked to supply by 1st December 2026:

For any further information, please contact: Dr Guillaume Lods: [E-Mail-Adresse in der Originalanzeige]

Contract Start Date: 01/01/2027

Activity Rate: 100.00

Contract Type: CDD

Duration: 1 year renewable

Reference: 2501