Doctoral Researcher for Manufacturing Optimized (fixed wing) Drones/UAVs

27.07.2026, Academic staff

TUM is seeking a Doctoral Researcher to develop manufacturing-optimized fixed-wing UAVs in collaboration with Airbus Defence & Space and TUM IWB. The position combines research, teaching, and project work in innovative UAV design and production. Applicants should have an excellent degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering and practical UAV experience.

Doctoral Researcher for Manufacturing Optimized Drones/UAVs

With immediate effect we are looking for our team, in full-time,

Doctoral Researcher for Manufacturing Optimized (fixed wing) Drones/UAVs

About us

As member of the Department of Aerospace and Geodesy at the Technical University Munich, the Chair for Aircraft Design is focusing on the design of manned and unmanned aircraft. The research is dedicated to the areas of "scenario analysis, future trends and technologies", "aircraft design for civil and military operations" and "operational analysis and evaluation". The combination of these research focus areas provides an ideal platform for interdisciplinary research in simulation and experimental validation, including experimental flight testing.

Requirements

The actual developments show an increasing demand on high production numbers of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)/drones. This extends well beyond the classical consumer eVTOL design into the field of fixed wing drones, even with hundreds of kg Take-Off Weight. Jointly with Airbus Defence & Space and collaboratively with the Chair of Innovative Production Systems (TUM IWB) we target for an experimental decision support system enabling highly efficient manufacturing optimized UAV designs. Besides the UAV design also new production concepts shall be investigated in order to fully utilize the potential for high production rates and reduced costs.

You should hold a MSc. or Dipl. degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering well above average and you should have experience in designing, building and testing/flying of UAV concepts or model airplanes. Fundamental knowledge of the key disciplines in aerospace engineering and especially in aircraft design is required. Expertise in building and testing of model and scale aircraft is favoured. You should be interested in cooperation with other groups, bring good communication and writing skills in English to publish scientific papers. Due to security restrictions only applications from EU citizens will be considered.

Tasks

The chair is involved in multiple research projects focussing on novel UAV solutions for a variety of civil and military applications. It would be your task perform the joint project with industry and TUM IWB to develop decision support for future design designs for fixed wing UAVs. Besides research activities you will also contribute to the lectures and organizational tasks of the institute as well as supporting general aircraft design activities in the field of UAVs.

We provide

A full-time researcher position featuring a fixed-term contract with a salary in accordance with the German state regulated public service salary scale (TV-L E13). TUM is an equal opportunity employer. TUM aims to increase the proportion of women and therefore particularly welcomes applications by women. Applicants with severe disabilities will be given priority consideration given comparable qualifications.

Application

Please file your complete application before 16. August 2026 via Email or mail to:

Technische Universität München

Lehrstuhl für Luftfahrtsysteme

Boltzmannstr. 15

85748 Garching bei München

+49 89 289 15981

Sekretariat.lls@ed.tum.de

The position is suitable for disabled persons. Disabled applicants will be given preference in case of generally equivalent suitability, aptitude and professional performance.

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Kontakt: Sekretariat.lls@ed.tum.de