Doctoral Researcher (PhD Student) in Thin Films for Electrocatalysis

About the role

Aalto University's School of Chemical Engineering, within the Atomic Scale Processing group of the Department of Chemistry and Materials Science, is looking for a doctoral researcher to develop active, durable and cost-efficient thin-film electrocatalysts based on earth-abundant elements for hydrogen evolution (HER) and oxygen evolution (OER) reactions in anion exchange membrane electrolyzers. The project is part of the Academy Research Fellowship "Thin film precatalysts for water electrolysis (ThinCat)" supervised by Assistant Professor Miika Mattinen.

Key responsibilities

• Deposit thin-film catalysts mainly by atomic layer deposition (ALD), using established chemistries where available and developing new processes when needed
• Characterize the films for composition, crystallinity and morphology with spectroscopic, microscopic and X-ray techniques
• Run electrochemical tests under HER and OER conditions and develop test protocols
• Publish results and present them at conferences
• Depending on interest, explore operando structure or run laboratory-scale electrolyzer tests

Required profile

• Master's degree in Chemistry, Materials Science, Materials Physics or a related field
• Experience in experimental laboratory research
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in an international research environment
• Strong academic writing and verbal communication in English
• Eligibility and admission criteria for the Aalto Doctoral Programme in Chemical Engineering (about four years)

Required skills

• Advantageous: atomic layer deposition, other thin-film deposition, electrocatalysis, electrochemistry, thin-film characterization

What we offer

• Fixed-term contract of 2 years, extendable after a positive evaluation; starting salary 3,142.65 EUR gross per month
• Occupational healthcare benefits included in the contract
• Opportunities for international conferences and research mobility
• Primary workplace at the Otaniemi Campus in Espoo

The preferred start date is October–December 2026. Applications with CV and motivation letter are submitted online through the university's recruitment site by 11 October 2026; Aalto employees use the internal Workday system.