PhD Position Advanced Adaptive Optics for Laser Satellite Communications (Optical Communications)

Location: Delft, Netherlands; relocation to the Netherlands is expected for the position.

Salary: €3059–€3881 gross per month, increasing from the first to the fourth year based on a full-time 38-hour contract.

Company

hirify.global is an international technical university conducting engineering and scientific research with academic and industrial partners.

What you will do

• Develop advanced adaptive optics systems for laser communication links with geostationary satellites.
• Develop estimation and control algorithms for atmospheric-turbulence compensation.
• Estimate the wavefront compensation required to maximize transferred optical energy.
• Experimentally validate the adaptive optics system in a laboratory environment.
• Collaborate with hirify.global, Airbus Netherlands, and other academic and industrial consortium partners.

Requirements

• MSc degree or equivalent recognized in the Netherlands.
• Background in physics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, optical engineering, or a related field.
• Experience with advanced estimation algorithms, such as Kalman filtering or gradient-based methods.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, written, and verbal communication skills.
• English proficiency at minimum B2 level is required.
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary research environment; security and knowledge-protection assessments may be part of the selection procedure.

Culture & Benefits

• Four-year doctoral employment period in principle, structured as initial 1.5-year and subsequent 2.5-year contracts subject to progress and performance.
• Enrollment in the hirify.global Graduate School with supervision, mentoring, and a doctoral education programme.
• 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• Customisable compensation package, health-insurance discounts, and a monthly work-cost contribution.
• Flexible work schedules may be arranged.
• Coming to Delft Service supports relocation and settling in the Netherlands; a Dual Career Programme is available for accompanying partners.

Hiring process

• Submit a CV, motivation letter, MSc diploma, course and grade list, experimental experience documentation, and relevant publications if applicable.
• Shortlisted applicants may be asked to provide referee details and two recommendation letters.
• Selection includes knowledge-security risk assessment and an obligatory exemption application for specific research and educational areas.