Postdoctoral appointment in mechanical engineering, focus lean production - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Background
Karlstad University has established an environment called Karlstad Lean Factory® (KLF) that simulates a mechanical workshop. In KLF, students and regional companies can test various production solutions and change proposals.
The Department of Engineering and Physics at Karlstad University in Sweden is seeking a postdoctoral researcher in mechanical engineering with an emphasis on lean production studies. The research is to be carried out as part of the ongoing project “Karlstad Lean Factory Implementation Phase” (KLF2), an Academy for Smart Specialisation project, which is a long-term partnership between Region Värmland and Karlstad University in some selected specialisation areas such as advanced manufacturing and complex systems.
At present, lean production is not a doctoral discipline at Karlstad University. However, there are ongoing efforts to organise a cross-faculty doctoral discipline in which lean production would be included. The position offers the chance to contribute to and influence such a development.

Duties
Primarily, the duties involve the project KLF2 and the use of Karlstad Lean Factory® (KLF) as a testbed for innovative production. This means providing support to manufacturing companies in the region regarding testing and evaluating future production solutions in a simulated workshop environment, including environmental impact analysis. Part of the project involves participation in studies of the effects of simulator-based training in lean production at the levels of the individual and the organisation, such as the transition to a self-learning innovative organisation. This includes measuring organisational maturity in a simple way with respect to lean production and aspects of equality and diversity.
The post doc research position mainly involves research. Teaching may be included for one fifth of the working time, at the most. Publishing research and contributing to applications for research funding are essential duties for the position.

Qualification requirements
To be eligible for the position, a PhD in production engineering, mechanical engineering or industrial management with an emphasis on industrial production or related areas is required, or equivalent qualifications earned abroad. The doctor’s degree may not have been awarded more than three years prior to the application deadline. Applicants with doctor’s degrees awarded earlier may be taken into consideration if there are special circumstances. Good command of spoken and written English is a requirement.

Assessment criteria
Assessment is individual and based on applicants’ qualifications and skills with relevance to the duties described. Experience of research on green value flow analysis and innovation in small and mid-sized companies is an added qualification, as is experience of praxis or research on human factors in production. Weight is also given to contacts with and/or experience of industry. Special weight is given to applicants’ ability to cooperate with others and to adopt a positive attitude to colleagues and students. Special weight is given to good command of spoken and written Swedish.

Terms of employment
The position is a full time, fixed term employment for two years. Starting date by agreement, preferably January 1, 2019.

Application
Application should include well documented qualifications. Applicants are responsible for submitting a complete application in accordance with the advertisement and for ensuring that the documentation allows for objective and qualitative assessments. A complete application should be submitted no later than the application deadline.

The application should include:

• Application letter briefly describing the applicant’s qualifications and research interests in relation to the duties of the position
• Detailed list of qualifications/CV
• List of publications
• Copies of relevant transcripts, degree certificates, employment certificates and letters of recommendation
• Copy of doctoral thesis and other relevant publications
• Other documents the applicant wants to submit
• Information on language skills
• Contact information to at least two references

Submit your application via the university’s web based recruitment tool and attach all the documents and publications you wish to be considered to the electronic application (do not provide links to them).
One copy of documents that cannot be submitted electronically should be sent to Karlstads universitet, Registrator, 651 88 Karlstad, Sweden. State ref.no: REK2018/185

Application deadline: 2018-09-30

We look forward to your application!

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