PhD Student (m/w/d) (Ingenieur/in - Chemietechnik)

PhD Position (m/f/d)
Chemical Process Engineering & Laboratory Automation

June 2026 | The Kurt-Schwabe-Institute for Sensor Technologies (KSI) invites applications for a PhD position in chemical process engineering, laboratory automation, and analytical system integration. The successful candidate will contribute to the development of a modular robotic platform for automated biomolecular conjugation reactions. The system will integrate preparative laboratory modules, analytical readouts, standardized digital interfaces, and Python-based control routines to enable machine-learning-guided closed-loop reaction optimization. The project addresses key challenges in autonomous bioconjugation chemistry, including the integration of robotic liquid handling, spectroscopy, chromatography, device communication, and automated data analysis. The doctoral researcher will develop and validate workflows for bioconjugation reactions, compare automated optimization experiments with manual reference experiments, and evaluate process robustness, and optimization efficiency.

The position is embedded in an interdisciplinary research environment at KSI in the group of Prof. Dr. Ulrich Rant and is carried out in close collaboration with an industrial partner. The PhD degree will be awarded by Technische Universität Dresden, one of Germany’s Universities of Excellence. Candidates should have a background in chemical engineering, process engineering, biotechnology, analytical chemistry, automation technology, physics, electrical engineering, or a related field. Programming experience, preferably in Python, and an interest in laboratory automation, robotics, analytical methods, and machine-learning-guided experimentation are highly desirable.