PhD Research Fellow in Systems Engineering - Complex integrated systems

PhD Research Fellow in Systems Engineering – AI tools for early validation and development of complex integrated systems Do you want to contribute to the development of knowledge, insight and solutions that are relevant to society and working life today and in the future? Some of tomorrow's most innovative systems are shaped by weather, ocean currents and thousands of design choices. How do you know that the design will work before it is built? Help engineers find out with the use of AI. We are looking for a PhD research fellow in Systems Engineering. About the position Do you want to help engineers design data-intensive systems where huge amounts of data and a vast design space make early decisions hard? Join us as a PhD research fellow at the Department of Science and Industry Systems, campus Kongsberg. Start: May 2027 (at the latest August 2027). You will be part of SFI CELECT – the Centre for Effective Engineering and Learning in Complex Systems – whose vision is to do more with less, and faster. The centre, funded by the Research Council of Norway, brings together Norway's leading industrial companies and 30 PhD candidates across USN, NTNU and the University of Agder. You will also join the Industrial Research School in Complex Systems (INRESCOS). Campus Kongsberg sits at the heart of one of Norway's strongest technology clusters, with world-leading companies in maritime, defence, aerospace, energy and subsea technology. Research and industry work side by side – giving you a unique network and strong career opportunities in industry or academia. The position is a three-year educational position with pure organised research training. A four-year appointment with 25% career-advancing may be considered. You must apply for and be admitted to the doctoral programme in Technology (Systems Engineering) within three months of starting. The programme includes courses of about six months (30 ECTS), an independent thesis, research dissemination, a trial lecture and a public defence. Your main supervisor will be Professor Kristin Falk. Your workplace will be shared between campus Kongsberg and one or several CELECT partner companies: depending on the project, you will spend between 3 and 30 months located at a company's premises. You are expected to be present at campus or at the company during ordinary working hours. About the doctoral project The aim of this PhD is to develop AI-supported design methods and tools that enable early validation of complex, data-intensive integrated systems. Data-intensive systems have huge design spaces, and their behaviour emerges from many interacting factors. Design and operation become intertwined – and today's methods catch problems too late. In this PhD you will develop AI-supported design assistance: methods and tools, backed by digital twins, that help engineers explore large design spaces and validate systems early. Questions you could explore: • How are data-intensive systems designed and validated in industry today? • How can AI and digital twins support early design decisions? You will help shape the final research questions together with your supervisors and industry partners. The PhD project is part of SFI CELECT , headed by Professor Kristin Falk. Industrial cases will be selected among CELECT partners such as Kongsberg Maritime, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, Siemens Energy, H. Henriksen, Umoe Mandal and cDynamics. Using industry as your laboratory, you will work alongside engineers and systems architects on real development projects. This position is one of several related CELECT PhD positions at USN: it focuses on early design and validation, and complements positions on life-cycle management of long-living systems (PhD1.4), early systems integration in systems-of-systems (PhD1.5) and co