Product Engineer (PhD Candidate) (m/f/d)

Ref. 117311 – Outdoor Perception using IR Imaging for Offroad Vehicles (m/f/d)

NOTHING RUNS LIKE A DEERE!

At our location in Kaiserslautern, you will find our European Technology Center, which is part of the global John Deere research network. 250 employees investigate future trends and develop technologies in the field of mobile agriculture and construction machinery in close cooperation with various research institutes. Together we develop and distribute innovative products and services in the field of precision agriculture. #wearekaiserslautern 

Our department Intelligent Solutions Group Research Partnerships is looking for a PhD candidate in

Outdoor Perception using IR-Imaging for Offroad Vehicles (m/f/d)

We are seeking a passionate and innovative PhD candidate to join our latest research initiative at the European Technology Innovation Center (ETIC). In this role, you will advance next-generation outdoor perception by designing and validating IR imaging systems that enable robust automation in agriculture and roadbuilding. Your work will bridge optical hardware, real-time processing, machine learning, and multimodal sensor fusion to make John Deere equipment smarter and more reliable in challenging field conditions. You’ll collaborate with photonics experts, computer vision researchers, and system engineers across industry and academia to deliver intelligent sensing solutions, leveraging cutting-edge technologies and one of the world’s most advanced agricultural innovation ecosystems.

What You’ll Get:

• Modern and flexible working (31,5h/week), hybrid and mobile working, part-time options, shared-leadership and much more.
• Excellent benefits, such as employer-funded occupational pension / life cover / income protection benefits.
• Further benefits such as subsidized Company Bike, FamPlus and much more.
• An attractive compensation package including variable pay program.

The salary for this position based on the ERA group 9 of the collective agreement of the metal and electrical industry Rheinland-Pfalz and consists, in addition to the gross monthly salary of 4.305,60 € €, of various special payments (holiday pay, T-Zug, Christmas pay, etc.). You can expect an annual salary of approx. 59.331,00 EUR in this position.

Your Responsibilities:

• Design and development of IR imaging modules.
• Contribute to optical filter/light-source selection and compact electronics integration.
• Develop real-time acquisition and processing pipelines (FPGA/SoC acceleration where applicable).
• Build multimodal fusion of perception systems with CV/ML methods for robust scene understanding.
• Execute lab and field validation on mobile working machines.
• Derive metrics for robustness, accuracy, latency, and energy use.
• Own and drive communication of scientific results aligned with project milestones.

What Skills You Need:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Electrical/Computer Engineering, Mechatronics, Physics, or related field.
• Strong coding skills (e.g. Python).
• Experience with CV/ML frameworks (e.g. OpenCV, PyTorch/TensorFlow).
• Knowledge in signal/image processing and sensor calibration.
• Hands-on experience in image processing and optical sensing.
• Collaboration skills in international settings.
• Familiarity with hyperspectral sensing systems is a plus.

This tariff position is limited to 36 months based in Kaiserslautern and vacant from May/June 2026.

End of Posting: 12th February 2026

No matter who you are - you are welcome at John Deere! We firmly believe that diversity and inclusion make us even stronger. If you can identify yourself with this - then we look forward to receiving your online application in English language!

Not everyone can claim that their work contributes to the fundamental needs of the world's growing population. At John Deere, you can!

As a leading global machinery manufacturer, we produce technologically advanced agricultural, forestry, construction, lawn and grounds care equipment. In recent years, we have developed the company into a more technology focused business. Share with us, our vision of a farm of the future, based on artificial intelligence, automation and connectivity to sustainably feed and shelter our growing world. #leapforward

John Deere Kaiserslautern

Human Resources

Dilara Goekburun

Additional Information:

To process applications, we use our online platform at our John Deere career page. We are not able to process applications through e-mail or post and ask for your understanding. Please complete the online application form, if you want to apply for a position at John Deere.

If you have any questions about your application, please contact: [email protected].