PhD Position in Explorative Furniture Upholstery with New Materials and Techniques
Back to available jobsAt Malmstens, furniture design and craft are where tradition meets innovation. Hand tools meet CNC, wood meets biocomposites, and craft meets robotics. Together, we forge tomorrow’s design languages and sustainable methods in furniture design and craft. The future is in motion – how can analogue and digital craft spark new forms and strengthen education, research, and society?
Join us as a PhD student and help build tomorrow’s craft and design heritage. Craft the future!
Your work assignments
The aim of this PhD position is to investigate how upholstery craft and furniture design can advance through the integration of novel materials and more sustainable techniques. The research will examine design strategies for achieving comfort through diverse materials, including upholstery, springs, flexible materials, bio-based foams, recycled fibers, adaptive textiles, fabrics, padding materials, and composite structures. It will also address the reduction of environmental impact while extending the expressive and functional potential of furniture design. Central to the project is a critical reassessment of current upholstery methods and materials, often environmentally unsustainable, through the combination of craft knowledge, emerging material technologies, and modular design, to explore how comfort, durability, and aesthetics can be achieved within a circular design framework.
Through hands-on experimentation and furniture making, the doctoral project will develop material-driven design strategies that respond to the inherent properties of different material, its resilience, tactility, elasticity, and surface behaviour, rather than forcing new materials into conventional patterns. This approach will lead to a methodological framework for material-conscious design, offering designers and upholsterers tools for integrating sustainability and innovation from concept to finished product.
The research outcomes are expected to contribute both to academic knowledge and to professional practice, supporting the transition towards more regenerative and adaptable furniture systems. Results will be shared through publications, demonstrator projects, and educational models, strengthening the link between research, teaching, and craft-based innovation at Malmstens.
As a PhD student, you devote most of your time to doctoral studies and the research projects of which you are part. Your work may also include teaching or other departmental duties, up to a maximum of 20 per cent of full-time.
Your qualifications
You have graduated at Master’s level in furniture upholstery, furniture design, crafts, textile design, or another relevant field related to material-based design and manufacturing or completed courses with a minimum of 240 credits, at least 60 of which must be in advanced courses, including a 30-credit thesis/project, or equivalent. Alternatively, you have gained essentially corresponding knowledge in another way. Your degree must be completed no later than the time when the employment decision is made.
It is meritorious if you can show prior experience in upholstery or furniture making, particularly in projects that explore experimental materials, sustainable production methods, or the combination of digital and traditional techniques. A digital portfolio (e.g. PDF, video, or website) should demonstrate this ability through examples of material exploration, prototyping, or finished work.
Further merit is given if you have experience or interest in working with new upholstery materials, such as bio-based foams, recycled textiles, or innovative filling and support systems, as well as familiarity with visualization and design tools like CAD/CAM or digital textile design platforms.
As some of the scientific publications might be in English, good level of written and spoken English is required.
Your workplace
Malmstens Linköping University (MLU) is a creative hub for Furniture Design, Cabinetmaking, and Upholstery, rooted in Carl Malmsten’s vision of “hand and mind in vital collaboration.” On Campus Lidingö (Stockholm), students and researchers work in close connection with industry, carrying out projects that often result in prototypes and demonstrators. Its workshops, studios, and galleries provide an inspiring setting where craftsmanship and innovation flourish. At MLU, future makers shape not only furniture, but a meaningful and beautiful future through skilled hands and visionary ideas.
For more information about us: https://liu.se/en/organisation/liu/iei/mlu
The employment
When taking up the post, you will be admitted to the program for doctoral studies. More information about the doctoral studies at each faculty is available at Doctoral studies at Linköping University
The employment has a duration of normally four years’ full-time equivalent. Extension of employment up to five years is based on the degree of teaching and institutional assignment. Further extensions may be granted in exceptional circumstances. You will initially be employed for one year, after which your employment will be renewed for a maximum of two years at a time, depending on your progress through the study plan.
Starting date by agreement.
Background screening may come to be carried out before any decision on employment is made.
Salary and employment benefits
The salary of PhD students is determined according to a locally negotiated salary progression.
More information about employment benefits at Linköping University is available here.
Union representatives
Information about union representatives, see Help for applicants.
Application procedure
Apply for the position by clicking the “Apply” button below. Your application must reach Linköping University no later than 22 December 2025.
Applications and documents received after the date above will not be considered.
We look forward to receiving your application!
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