PhD Student Researcher - Project LEGEND - DC3

Offer Description

NOTICE OF OPENING OF AN INTERNATIONAL SELECTION PROCEDURE FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF A PHD STUDENT RESEARCHER AT THE FACULTY OF ENGINEERING OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PORTO - (Fixed-term employment contract of uncertain duration)

By order dated 06/10/2026, of the Dean of FEUP, Professor Rui Artur Bártolo Calçada, it was decided to open an international selection procedure for one PhD student researcher position, within the scope of Project LEGEND - Leading-Edge evaluation and GENeration of Defect-tolerance in composite structures funded by the European Commission under Grant_Agreement nº 101312790 - Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks, under a fixed-term employment contract of uncertain duration, pursuant to the Labour Code, approved by Law No. 7/2009 of 12 February, as currently worded, Regulation No. 849/2026 of 07/07 - Regulation on Research, Science and Technology Staff of the University of Porto (hereinafter referred to as the Regulation), and other applicable legislation. The contract shall remain in force only for the period required to carry out the project tasks defined and identified below, with an expected duration of 36 months, and shall never exceed the maximum limit of four years.

The PhD student researcher shall develop scientific research leading to the award of a PhD, as provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 20 of Regulation No. 849/2026 of 7 July. The PhD student researcher will join the team of project LEGEND, carrying out and developing the activities of DC3 of 14 DCs within LEGEND, focused on correlating mechanical performance degradation in composite materials with quantified micro-scale variabilities and defects, in accordance with the guidelines of the project Dissemination Plan, within the scientific area of Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering or related fields.

In particular, the PhD student researcher will contribute to the following project activities, as set out in the application:

The PhD student researcher will develop an approach to quantify how micro-scale defects and variability influence structural allowables, and create a predictive tool for these allowables as a function of the micro-structural metrics. The PhD student researcher will combine Design of Experiments-driven manufacturing and mechanical testing of composite laminates, coupled with advanced High-Resolution (HR) X-Ray imaging and Machine Learning (ML) segmentation techniques to link micro-scale defects to performance variability, improving our present understanding and predictive capabilities of the effects of such defects on the material allowables used in structural design.

Expected Results: An extensive data set detailing micro-structural metrics and related allowables resulting from different manufacturing processes and materials; and an understanding of the strain rate-dependence of these allowables; a ML-based tool to predict these allowables.

The primary tasks performed by the PhD student researcher will be:

• Develop an efficient tool capable of predicting design allowables as a function of the micro-structural variabilities and defects in composite materials.
• Develop scientific concepts and communicate the results of research through written scientific publications and oral presentations at international conferences.
• Fulfil the requirements of the Doctoral Program in Mechanical Engineering to be awarded the doctoral degree: completion of 36 ECTS of mandatory (6 ECTS) and optional (30 ECTS) courses in the first year, completion of a 24 ECTS Seminar at the end of the first year, and completion of a Thesis (120 ECTS) at the end of the third year (FEUP - Doctoral Program in Mechanical Engineering).
• Collaborate with fellow doctoral candidates within the LEGEND project, utilising synergies between projects.
• Actively participate in General Assembly meetings and doctoral training events within LEGEND, distributed across Europe.

The researcher to be recruited may also, where applicable, collaborate in teaching and training activities in the research area.

1. Workplace

1.1 The workplace is located at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), as well as at any other locations where the performance of the duties for which the employee is recruited may be required, including locations intended for the employee’s professional training.

1.2 Planned secondment(s): The project will involve collaborations and secondments (in total 6 months) at INEGI in Portugal (2 months), University of Freiburg in Germany (2 months), and AIMEN in Spain (2 months).

2. Remuneration

The monthly remuneration to be attributed corresponds to the amount of € 2336,25, calculated based on the amount funded by the European Commission for the living allowance, on full time and working exclusively for the project, plus holiday and Christmas allowances, as well as the meal allowance, under the terms and in the amounts applicable to employees with a public employment relationship.

In addition to the monthly remuneration, according to European Commission rules, the following allowances will also be awarded:

• Mobility allowance: € 580,54/month
• Family allowance: € 539,66/month (subject to family situation)

‘Family’ means persons linked to the researcher by marriage (or a relationship with equivalent status to a marriage recognised by the country's legislation where this relationship was formalised) or dependent children who are actually being maintained by the researcher.

These amounts are gross amounts, subject to taxation according to Portuguese national law. Consequently, the net salary/net allowances result from deducting compulsory employee social security contributions as well as direct taxes (e.g. income tax) and any other applicable taxes/contributions.

3. Admission requirements

3.1 General admission requirement:

National, foreign and stateless citizens holding a Master’s or Bachelor’s degree* in the scientific area of Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering (or in scientific areas related to that for which the selection procedure is opened) may apply to this selection procedure, who are currently enrolled in, or will be enrolled in by the date the contract is awarded, a doctoral in Mechanical Engineering.

*If the Master’s or Bachelor’s degree was awarded by a foreign higher education institution, it must be recognised by a Portuguese higher education institution under Article 25 of Decree-Law No. 66/2018 of 16 August, which approves the legal framework for the recognition of academic degrees and higher education diplomas awarded by foreign higher education institutions, and Article 4(2)(e) of Decree-Law No. 60/2018 of 3 August. Any formalities established therein must be completed by the date of recruitment.

3.2. Special admission requirements

3.2.1. For the purpose of determining the profile suited to the activity to be performed, the following are special requirements:

• a) candidates must have skills and previous experience in the mechanics of fibre-reinforced polymers.
• b) English language proficiency at level B2 as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
• c) not already in possession of a doctoral degree. Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible.
• d) mobility rule: at the time of the recruitment candidates must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Portugal for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the recruitment date, unless as part of a compulsory national service or a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention (short stays such as holidays are not taken into account).

‘Recruitment date’ means the first day of the employment of the researcher for the purposes of the project (i.e. the starting date indicated in the employment contract).

3.2.2. Conditions of award of the position: After this selection procedure it is mandatory to enroll and attend FEUP´s Doctoral Program in Mechanical Engineering, respecting the following procedure:

• Access conditions and seriation criteria: https://s.up.pt/891d
• List of documents for admission to the study cycle: https://s.up.pt/ot33

Signing the contract implies enrolling and attending the Doctoral Programme selected at FEUP.

The contract will only be signed after the confirmation of the enrollment in the Doctoral Programme selected at FEUP.

4. Selection methods

Pursuant to Article 29 of Regulation No. 849/2026 of 7 July and Article 5 of the RJEC, the following selection methods shall apply:

• a) Assessment of the candidates’ scientific and curricular background (APCC) (70%).
• b) Professional Selection Interview (EPS) (30%), to be applied to candidates approved in the assessment of their scientific and curricular background.

5. Assessment of Scientific and Curricular Background (APCC) (70%)

5.1. The assessment of the scientific and curricular background shall focus on the relevance, quality and currency of the following criteria:

• a) Scientific and professional background, namely professional research experience in the scientific area or areas of the selection procedure;
• b) Scientific, technological, cultural or artistic output considered by the candidate to be of the highest quality and most relevant to the recruitment area, and applied or practice-based research activities considered by the candidate to have the greatest impact on the recruitment area;
• c) Knowledge transfer and dissemination activities, particularly in the context of promoting scientific culture and practices, considered by the candidate to be most relevant, and activities involving the management of science, technology and innovation programmes, or experience in observing and monitoring the scientific and technological system.

5.2. In applying the criteria referred to in point 5.1, the following parameters shall be assessed and assigned the weighting factors indicated:

5.2.1. Scientific and Professional Background (PCP) (5%)

• PCP1. Programming skills (50%).
• PCP2. Specific experience/knowledge in Machine Learning techniques, advanced composite manufacturing and/or composite inspection and mechanical testing at different strain rates (50%).

5.2.2. Scientific, Technological, Cultural or Artistic Output (PCTCA) (90%):

• PCTCA1. Participation in international research projects as well as scientific output, especially the publication, as first author, of scientific articles in high-quality international peer-reviewed journals. The list of publications must be included in the curriculum vitae, with a clear indication of the candidate’s role (75%);
• PCTCA2. Development of collaborations with international researchers and study periods abroad (25%);

5.2.3. Knowledge Transfer and Dissemination Activities (AEDC) (5%):

• AEDC1. Participation in R&D projects, services and technology transfer (50%);
• AEDC2. Organisation of scientific events (25%);
• AEDC3. Participation in national and international peer-reviewed scientific events and by invitation (25%).

5.3. The final APCC score is obtained using the following formula: APCC = (0.05 x PCP) + (0.90 x PCTCA) + (0.05 x AEDC).

6. Professional Selection Interview (EPS) (30%)

6.1. Candidates who obtain a score equal to or higher than 75 points, provided that this score is awarded by all members of the Selection Committee in the assessment of scientific and curricular background (APCC), shall be admitted to the interview stage.

6.2. The Professional Selection Interview (EPS), shall last no more than one hour and is intended exclusively to clarify aspects related to the research carried out by the candidates.

6.3. The assessment criteria for the Professional Selection Interview (EPS), shall be those set out below, to which the indicated weighting factors shall be assigned:

• EPS1. Knowledge in Python programming, including data science and statistical libraries (50%).
• EPS2. Knowledge in composite morphology and mechanical characterisation under static and dynamic conditions (50%).

6.4. The score for the Professional Selection Interview (EPS), is obtained using the following formula: EPS = 0.50 x EPS1 + 0.50 x EPS2.

7. Final Score

7.1. The Final Score (CF) for the Assessment of Scientific and Curricular Background (APCC) and Professional Selection Interview (EPS), shall be obtained by applying the following formula: CF = (0.7*APCC) + (0.3*EPS).

7.2. Only candidates who obtain a final score equal to or higher than 75 points, provided that it is awarded by all members of the Selection Committee, shall be approved.

7.3. Candidates who obtain a score below 50 points in any of the selection methods shall be excluded from the selection procedure and, where applicable, the subsequent method shall not be applied to them.

7.4. The casting or tie-breaking vote to be exercised by the Chair of the Selection Committee in the context of the Final Score shall be based on the highest score obtained under the criterion set out in point 5.2.2. Scientific, Technological, Cultural or Artistic Output (PCTCA). If the tie persists, the highest score under the criterion set out in point 5.2.1. Scientific and Professional Background (PCP) shall prevail.

8. Selection Methodology

8.1. First meeting:

8.1.1. The Selection Committee shall first decide on the admission and exclusion of applications, verifying compliance with the formal application requirements laid down in this Notice, as well as fulfilment of the general and special admission requirements.

8.1.2. Once the admission and exclusion stage has been completed, the Selection Committee shall begin the procedures relating to the phased application of the selection methods, first assessing the scientific and curricular background of all admitted candidates.

8.1.3. In the assessment of scientific and curricular background, only merit shall be considered and, consequently, the candidate’s experience in the scientific area or areas for which the selection procedure is opened shall be assessed, in accordance with the selection criteria and assessment parameters defined in this Notice.

8.1.4. Before voting begins to rank candidates in the assessment of scientific and curricular background, each member of the Selection Committee shall submit a written document, to be appended to the minutes, containing the ranked list of candidates in descending order of merit, on a scale from 0 to 100 points, scored to two decimal places, duly reasoned and in accordance with the selection criteria and assessment parameters established in this Notice.

8.1.5. In all votes, each member of the Selection Committee must respect the ranking set out in the document referred to in the preceding point.

8.1.6. The Selection Committee shall decide by reasoned roll-call vote, in accordance with the selection criteria previously approved and published; abstentions are not permitted.

8.1.7. The ranking methodology to be adopted is that provided for in Article 32 of the Regulation.

8.2. Second meeting:

8.2.1. The Selection Committee shall apply the second selection method to the candidates admitted to this method.

8.2.2. The Professional Selection Interview (EPS), of each candidate shall last no more than one hour and is intended exclusively to clarify aspects related to the research carried out by the candidates. This method shall be conducted in Portuguese and English.

8.2.3. Failure to attend at the previously scheduled time and place shall result in exclusion from the selection procedure. Candidates whose Professional Selection Interview (EPS), is conducted by videoconference and who are not available at the scheduled time for any reason shall likewise be deemed excluded for failure to attend.

8.2.4. After the Professional Selection Interview (EPS), has been held and scored, the Selection Committee shall establish the final score and rank the candidates approved in both methods, applying the formula set out in point 7 of the Notice.

8.3. Third meeting:

8.3.1. If any candidate exercises the right to be heard in the hearing of interested parties, the Selection Committee shall hold a third meeting at which it shall consider the arguments submitted, and the decisions of the Selection Committee shall be notified to the candidates.

8.3.2. If the Selection Committee considers the arguments to be well-founded, it shall act in accordance with the decisions it has taken and notify the candidates accordingly.

8.3.3. If the Selection Committee considers the arguments to be unfounded, after notifying the candidates it shall submit the procedure for approval by the Rector.

8.3.4. All candidates shall be notified of the approval decision.

8.4. Casting or tie-breaking vote

The casting or tie-breaking vote to be exercised by the Chair of the Selection Committee in the context of the Final Score shall be based on the highest score obtained under the criterion set out in point 5.4.2. Scientific, Technological, Cultural or Artistic Output (PCTCA). If the tie persists, the highest score under the criterion set out shall prevail.

9. Notification of Results

9.1. Notifications shall be made by publication on the Apply UP electronic platform, pursuant to Article 112(1)(c) of the CPA, and shall take effect under Article 113 of the CPA.

9.2. A hearing of interested parties shall take place, pursuant to Articles 121 and 122 of the Administrative Procedure Code, for candidates who have not been admitted and candidates ranked in a position on the final ranking list that cannot be appointed to the position under the selection procedure. All candidates shall be notified of the approval of the Selection Committee’s final decision.

9.3. Pursuant to Article 121 et seq. of the CPA, once notified, candidates shall have 10 working days to submit their comments through the relevant platform.

10. Composition of the Selection Committee

In accordance with paragraphs 4 to 7 of Article 25 of Regulation No. 849/2026 of 7 July and Article 13 of the RJEC, the Selection Committee shall have the following composition:

• Chair of the Selection Committee: Albertino José Castanho Arteiro, Professor Associado, Department of Mechanical Engineering - FEUP,
• 1st full member: Carolina Furtado Pereira da Silva, Professor Auxiliar, Department of Mechanical Engineering - FEUP.
• 2nd full member: Pedro Manuel Ponces Rodrigues de Castro Camanho, Professor Catedrático, Department of Mechanical Engineering - FEUP.
• 1st alternate member: Francisco Manuel Andrade Pires, Professor Catedrático, Department of Mechanical Engineering - FEUP;
• 2nd alternate member: Teresa Margarida Duarte, Professor Auxiliar, Department of Mechanical Engineering - FEUP.

10.1. In the event of absence or impediment, the Chair of the Selection Committee shall be replaced by the member listed first, who, in the event of the same impediment, shall be replaced by the next member listed, and so on successively.

11. Submission of applications

11.1. Applications must be submitted within 10 working days from the first working day following publication of this Notice in the Diário da República, ending at 23:59 (local time) on 06/11/2026 (local time - Lisbon).

11.2. Candidates must access and register on the electronic platform www.apply.up.pt to submit their application, selecting the procedure for which they wish to apply (procedure code: INVTERM-FEUP-26-15), by the deadline. The application shall be completed by filling in the sections available on the Apply UP platform under “My application”.

11.3. The application must be accompanied by documents proving compliance with the conditions laid down in points 3, 5 and 6 of this Notice, namely:

• a) Curriculum Vitae. The candidate must also organise the Curriculum Vitae so as to address separately each of the criteria set out in point 5 and its respective subpoints, and must also identify and justify, from among the work produced, those items considered most significant from the perspective of each assessment criterion.
• b) Copy of academic qualification certificates. Candidates selected for the position(s) to be filled who hold a Master’s or Bachelor’s degree obtained abroad must submit recognition or registration (as applicable) of their degree at the time the contract is signed, pursuant to Decree-Law No. 66/2018 of 16 August, under penalty of exclusion.
• c) Separate copy (one PDF file per work) of the works that the candidate considers most significant from the perspective of each assessment criterion.
• d) Copy of all other works mentioned in the Curriculum Vitae (or indication in the CV of the publications’ unique digital identifier, which must be a handle (e.g. DOI) or URN (e.g. ISBN)).
• e) Any other documents that the candidate considers relevant to the assessment of merit (if applicable).

11.4. For the purpose of assessing applications, documents made accessible through links or drives shall not be considered, except for links to publications with a DOI.

11.5. The documents mentioned in point 11.3 must be submitted in a non-editable format.

11.6. All application documents referred to in point 11.3 must be submitted in Portuguese or English, except those referred to in items c), d) and e), which may be submitted in another language if no Portuguese or English version exists.

11.7. If the candidate is not a native speaker of Portuguese or English, the candidate must have language proficiency at level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in at least one of the two languages.

11.8. Failure to comply with the application deadline, or failure to submit, or late submission of, the documents referred to in items a) and d) of point 11.3 shall result in the application not being admitted.

11.9. Whenever it considers it necessary, the Selection Committee may request candidates to submit supplementary documents supporting the facts stated in the curriculum vitae submitted, setting a deadline for this purpose, under the following terms:

• a) the documentation referred to is not intended for the submission of elements not mentioned in the curriculum vitae, nor for adding missing documents required under this Notice;
• b) all applicants shall be informed that supplementary documentation has been requested.

12. Filling the position(s) under the selection procedure

12.1. This selection procedure shall end when the position is filled or when the position cannot be filled, due to the absence or insufficiency of candidates to continue the procedure.

12.2. If none of the candidates demonstrates the profile indicated for the performance of the duties described above under this procedure, the Selection Committee reserves the right not to fill the position under the selection procedure.

12.3. In the event of withdrawal and/or failure by the selected candidate to submit the required documentation within the deadline set for that purpose, the next candidate on the final ranking list may be called, and so on successively, until the position under the selection procedure is filled, whenever this is deemed appropriate on grounds of opportunity and convenience.

13. False Statements

False statements made by candidates shall be punishable under the law.

14. Personal Data Protection

The personal data provided by candidates shall be processed by the University of Porto exclusively for the purpose of managing this selection procedure, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other applicable legislation.

15. Other provisions

Joint Order No. 373/2000 of 31 March, of the Minister for State Reform and Public Administration and the Minister for Equality, requires the following statement to be included in admission and promotion selection procedures: “In compliance with Article 9(h) of the Constitution, the Public Administration, as an employer, actively promotes a policy of equal opportunities between men and women in access to employment and career progression, taking scrupulous measures to avoid any and all forms of discrimination”. Accordingly, the terms “candidate(s)”, “researcher(s)” and similar terms are not used in this Notice to refer to the gender of persons.

Likewise, no candidate may be privileged, favoured, disadvantaged or deprived of any right or exempted from any duty on grounds including, in particular, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, marital status, family situation, economic situation, education, social origin or condition, genetic heritage, reduced working capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological beliefs, or trade union membership.

16. Notice for the selected candidate

If the selected candidate for the job position obtained a higher education degree abroad, and in order to sign the employment contract and enroll in the Doctoral Programme, he/she might be required to deliver the academic transfers and degree certificates authenticated by consular offices or embassies of Portugal located in the country where the qualification was obtained, or hold the Hague Apostille, for countries that acceded to the Hague Convention. The same applies to the translations (mandatory) of documents whose original language is not Portuguese, Spanish, French or English.

If the degree has been awarded by a foreign higher education institution, it must comply with the provisions of the Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of august 16th, and any formalities established there must be fulfilled until the time of signing the contract.

Model of Declaration of Honour

(Mobility rule):

I, … (name of candidate), hereby declare that at the time of recruitment – that will take place from __________ 2024 - have not resided or carried out my main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Portugal for more than 12 months in the 36 months before the recruitment date.

(If applicable, add the following mention “unless as part of a compulsory national service or procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention”)

Date:

Signature:

¹ Short periods such as holidays and/or compulsory national service will not be taken into account

Where to Apply

Website: https://www.apply.up.pt

Work Location(s)

• Number of offers available: 1
• Company/Institute: FEUP
• Country: Portugal

Contact

• City: Porto
• Website: https://sigarra.up.pt/feup/pt
• Street: Rua Dr. Roberto Frias
• Postal Code: 4200-465
• E-Mail: acazevedo@fe.up.pt