TU Berlin, Semiconductors and Microelectronic Systems (SAM) Group. Five years. Ref.

IV-359/26.

Applications are reviewed as they arrive. The current deadline of 2 October 2026 will be extended into late October. Today's quantum sensors were found rather than designed. Most operate well below what their host materials would allow, because theproperties that decide sensor performance are expensive to calculate. Therefore, promising candidates are still identified one at a time,and largely by trial. This project sets out to change that. In it, you would develop a platform that predicts sensor performancedirectly from atomic structure, covering coherence, relaxation, optical readout contrast and charge-state stability. You would build thatworkflow in two stages. The first is a high-throughput layer, driven by machine learning and foundation models, that screens large numbersof host-defect candidates. The second is a first-principles pipeline, that computes the spin and excited-state properties governing sensorperformance, for candidates that survive screening. We would then use this workflow to identify novel host-defect combinations. Theappointment runs for five years and is intended to prepare you for applications to independent group leader or faculty positions.

What it takes:

PhD in a relevant field, Deep command of quantum mechanics, Strong, independentexpertise in first-principles materials science. Beyond that, we are looking for research experience in at least two offour areas: spin physics of point defects, machine learning for materials discovery, multi-scale simulationmethods, excited-state quantum chemistry. For more information, please visit https://pjadaun.com/open-positions/ . Please send applications to personal@tmp.tu-berlin.de , quoting reference IV-359/26.