Vacancy-ID:  5475 
Place of work:  Oldenburg 
Starting date:  01.08.2026 
Career level:  Student research project and final thesis 
Type of employment:  Part time 
Duration of contract:  6 Monate 
Remuneration:  Remuneration is in accordance with the Collective Agreement for the Public Sector - Federal Government (TVöD-Bund)

The Institute of Networked Energy Systems develops transformation strategies and technical solutions for the efficient integration of the electricity, heating, transport and industrial sectors. In practice-orientated projects, our research teams develop a holistic understanding of the system and effective system solutions to make energy transition in business and society successful through research.

What you can expect

MSc thesis topic on Resilience Assessment of Synthetic Fuel Supply Chains
You will work in the field of sustainable fuel supply chains. The thesis focuses on developing and applying a practical method to assess the structural vulnerability and resilience of selected synthetic or alternative fuel supply chains.
The work will support ongoing research on future fuel production and supply pathways, including Power-to-Liquid fuels and aviation energy carriers such as sustainable aviation fuels or liquid hydrogen. The main goal is to identify critical nodes, dependencies, and potential weaknesses in selected fuel supply chains and to derive recommendations for improving their resilience.

Your responsibilities

• You will support the research group Energy Scenarios and Technology Assessment in the evaluation of supply-chain vulnerability, risks, and resilience of selected synthetic or alternative fuels.
• You will develop simplified graph-based representations of the fuel supply chains and conduct vulnerability and resilience analyses based on suitable indicators.
• You will compare different supply chain set-ups with respect to their vulnerability/resilience in selected disruption scenarios.
• You will prepare your results as a basis for decision makers and for the scientific community.

Your experiences

• Enrolment in a Master’s programme in environmental engineering, energy systems, industrial engineering, process engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related field.
• Interest in sustainable fuels and supply chains.
• Basic understanding of techno-economic, environmental, or systems-analysis methods.
• Ability to work with structured data and willingness to develop simple analytical models, for example using Excel, Python.
• Interest in network-based or systems-based thinking; prior experience with graph theory, supply-chain modelling, or networks is helpful but not required.
• Good analytical and scientific writing skills in English.
• Independent and structured working style.

We offer
DLR stands for diversity, appreciation and equality for all people. We promote independent work and the individual development of our employees both personally and professionally. To this end, we offer numerous training and development opportunities. Equal opportunities are of particular importance to us, which is why we want to increase the proportion of women in science and management in particular. Applicants with severe disabilities will be given preference if they are qualified.

We look forward to getting to know you!

If you have any questions about this position (Vacancy-ID 5475) please contact:

Dr. Thomas Vogt 
Tel.: +49 441 99906 103