PhD Student in Sustainable Product Development

Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

Application Deadline: 18 January 2026
Start Date: May 2026 (TBC)
Duration: Four years (five years with 20% teaching)
Starting Salary: 34,550 SEK per month (valid from May 25, 2025)  
Full Vacancy Details: ChalmersVacancies_2025-0651

We are looking for a Doctoral student to become part of our team at the Division of Product Development at the Department of Industrial and Materials Science. Join our innovative team and contribute to exciting research in Sustainable Product Development in a collaborative and dynamic environment.

About us

The Department of Industrial and Materials Science shares knowledge and their vision of technical solutions for the future industry in a sustainable society. Through excellent research, innovation, and education, we contribute to the development of future industrial value chains.

The division of Product Development conducts research and education in innovative and sustainable product realisation. We combine technology, design and user perspectives to create the products and solutions of the future. Our international and interdisciplinary environment offers close collaboration with industry, access to advanced research infrastructure and a strong academic network – all with a focus on innovation and sustainable development. 

About the research project

This Doctoral student position is situated within Sustainable Product Development and focuses on how socio-ecological sustainability and value considerations can be systematically integrated into early-stage design and decision-making. The research objective is to support the acceleration towards sustainable and value-creating lifecycle solutions by enabling more informed decisions about both system-level implications and behaviour-related impacts already in the early phases. The research is done in close collaboration with both researchers within the Systems Engineering Design research group, at the division and in collaboration with external partners, e.g. manufacturing companies.

Research topics include, for example:

• how to assess, quantify, and visualise strategic sustainability- and value-driven design criteria in early phases of the innovation process;
• develop design methodology approaches towards sustainable and circular solutions that account for the interplay between technical systems, human behaviour, and different actors across the value chain, including risks related to different behaviours and rebound effects.

Full Vacancy Details

Full vacancy information is available on the Chalmers Website (ChalmersVacancies_2025-0651). For questions, please contact Professor Sophie Isaksson Hallstedt via this address: sophie.hallstedt@chalmers.se