Are you inspired to make textile production digital, circular, and scalable for SMEs? Are you eager to turn machine, production, and ecosystem data into insights using data science, ML, and AI, working with companies to redesign and orchestrate entire textile value chains?
Information
Large volumes of used textiles are collected every year, but deciding what each garment should become next remains slow, manual, and inconsistent. Information about material, construction, damage, and repair history is rarely available when that decision is made, so garments that could be repaired, reused, or resold are often downgraded or recycled too early. Moreover, orchestrating value chain efforts in textiles remains unfulfilled. As an EngD trainee, you will develop AI that assesses used garments and routes each one to its highest-value next life while looking to larger ecosystem orchestration.
What you will do
You will build labeled image datasets with repair and sorting partners and train computer vision and machine learning models that classify damage, condition, and material. You will combine these assessments with product passport, manufacturing and production data, partner capacity and environmental impact into decision models that route garments to repair, reuse, resale, remanufacturing or recycling. At ecosystem level, you will explore how AI can orchestrate the value chain, feeding what is learned from used garments back into design and manufacturing so that companies can plan production, repair and recovery together.
Working with people
This is a collaborative role. You will work alongside manufacturers, designers, sorters, and repair specialists, learn how they make decisions today, and translate their expertise into data and models they can trust. You will be part of a public-private field lab with TU/e, industry, design researchers, and the Dutch Textile Campus, with close supervision and room to grow as an engineer.
Why it matters
Your work keeps textiles in use longer, provides SMEs with evidence for new European producer responsibility rules, and turns textile waste into a resource for new production that works together. In this project, we examine how the knowledge generated informs all industries in the region.
Requirements
- A master’s degree (or an equivalent university degree) in Industrial Design or related field.
- A design-oriented attitude.
- Ability to work in a team and interest in collaborating with industrial partners.
- Fluent in spoken and written English.
Conditions of employment
Fixed-term contract: 2 years.
A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station.
In addition, we offer you:
- Full-time employment for two years.
- Salary in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale TOIO (€ 3.173 gross per month (full-time)).
- In addition to your base salary, you will receive an 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus, both calculated based on your annual gross base salary.
- Generous leave options: a standard 29 days (based on a 38 hour working week) per year that you can increase to 41 days by working two hours more per week (flexible working hours). This is prorated if you work part-time.
- As a TU/e employee, you participate in the ABP pension scheme, providing retirement pension and pension benefits for surviving dependents and occupational disability. TU/e pays 70% of the pension premium, while employees contribute the remaining 30%.
- High-quality training programs on general skills, didactics and topics related to research and valorization.
- An excellent technical infrastructure, and on-campus children's day care.
- Unlimited access to the modern on‑campus TU/e Student Sports Center at an exceptionally affordable rate.
- We support your wellbeing with free 24/7 access to OpenUp, providing you and your family with mental health support, expert guidance, and online training.
- Partially paid parental leave and an allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
- A TU/e Postdoc Association that helps you to build a stronger and broader academic and personal network, and offers tailored support, training and workshops.
- A Staff Immigration Team is available for international candidates, as are a tax compensation scheme (the Expat Scheme) and a compensation for moving expenses.
On our website you can discover even more information about our conditions of employment. Build on your career at TU/e!
Employer
TU/e
We are a leading international university where scientific curiosity meets a hands-on mindset. We work in an open and collaborative way with high-tech industries to tackle complex societal challenges. Our responsible and respectful approach ensures impact — today and in the future. TU/e is home to over 13,000 students and more than 7,000 staff, forming a diverse and vibrant academic community. Discover what Light Up means to TU/e in our short company video.
Our university is located in Brainport Eindhoven — a world‑leading tech region with more than 7,000 high‑tech companies and strong R&D activity. Known for breakthroughs in AI, photonics, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, Brainport is a place where technology serves people and society. Learn more about the Brainport region here.
Additional information
Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact the hiring manager Troy Nachtigall, T.R.Nachtigall@tue.nl.
Visit our website for more information about the application process. You can also contact HR Services ID, HRServices.ID@tue.nl.
Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e? Please visit our career page.
Working at TU/e
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