Job title
PhD in Marine Cybernetics on Agentic AI for Smart Testing of Autonomous Maritime Systems.
Company
NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Marine Technology.
Description of the job
NTNU is offering a PhD position in Agentic AI for Smart Testing of Autonomous Maritime Systems at the Department of Marine Technology, as part of the Norwegian Maritime AI Center (MAI). The position is at the interface between research and industry to advance the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the maritime domain.
As a PhD candidate, the successful applicant will conduct research to develop AI-driven methods for efficient simulation-based testing and continuous assurance (continuously monitoring and testing frequently updated systems) of primarily autonomous navigation systems (ANS) and secondary external situation awareness (ESA). This will contribute to a multidisciplinary research environment with strong industrial collaboration.
The main supervisor will be Professor Dong Trong Nguyen, and the co-supervisor Professor Adil Rasheed. The candidate will also have co-supervision from industry partners, including Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and Kongsberg Maritime (KM).
Technical Work Tasks:
- Development of AI-driven methods for smart testing and continuous assurance of autonomous maritime systems, with primary focus on autonomous navigation systems (ANS) and secondary focus on external situation awareness (ESA).
- Design and implementation of an agentic AI-based multi-agent architecture for structured testing and assurance, inspired by the sense-plan-act loop.
- Development of testing agents that support autonomous scenario generation, test execution, behavioral analysis (reasoning), and systematic collection of safety evidence with mechanisms for accumulating knowledge and experience.
- Simulation-based testing frameworks including co-simulation and large-scale virtual testing environments.
- Integration of hybrid world models, combining physics-based models and data-driven methods, to support interpretable and robust testing of autonomous behavior.
- Application of formal methods and reasoning techniques to support safety arguments, requirement traceability, and explainable assurance evidence.
- Demonstration and validation of the developed methods through industrial case studies, including testing of commercial ANS and ESA.
General Duties:
- Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate, in good collaboration with project partners with experiments conducted at their test facilities.
- Carry out research of good quality within the framework described above.
- Immediate focus on academic publications and popular science dissemination.
- Participate in the research group Marine Energy Systems and Autonomics (MESA) at Department of Marine Technology.
- Participate actively in project meetings and workshops, research stays with relevant project partners, as well as in international conferences.
The employment period is 3 years.
Requirements
Required qualifications:
- Academically relevant background within marine control/cybernetics, computer science, artificial intelligence, with good skills in mathematics and programming.
- Master's degree in control engineering, cybernetics, or computer science or equivalent. The course of study must correspond to a Norwegian five-year master program, where 120 credits have been obtained at master's level.
- Strong academic background with an average grade from Master's degree equal to B or better compared to NTNU's grading scale.
- Meet the requirements for admission to the Faculty of Engineering doctoral program.
- Very good English skills, both written and oral.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience with agent-based AI, particularly for autonomous systems, decision-making, or safety-critical applications.
- Familiarity with formal methods, safety assurance, verification and validation, or requirements-based system design.
- Familiarity with simulation-based testing, co-simulation frameworks, or digital twins.
- Strong skills in relevant programming languages, particularly Python, and best practice in data management and use of Github.
- Experience with robotics or maritime autonomous systems, including perception, planning, or navigation.
- Familiarity with marine technology.
Note: This position is restricted by acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates from countries subject to export restrictions or listed in threat assessments from national security authorities will normally not be eligible.
Location
Trondheim, Norway.
Salary
NOK 550,800 per annum (48,000 €).
How to apply
Applications must be submitted electronically via Jobbnorge.no. The application must include: transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor's and Master's degrees, CV, copy of Master's thesis, short letter of motivation (400 words/1 page), any contributed papers or other relevant research work, certificates, and names and contact information of three relevant referees. Documents must be in Norwegian/a Scandinavian language or English.
For questions about the position, contact Professor Dong Trong Nguyen (dong.t.nguyen@ntnu.no). For questions about the recruitment process, contact HR Advisor Marit Gjersvold (marit.gjersvold@ntnu.no).
Deadline
03/03/2026.
Disclaimer
This job post has been published by Blue-jobs based on information that is publicly available on the internet through official company websites or third-party job boards. Blue-jobs is not affiliated with the company mentioned and does not take responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or updates of the job content. If you would like to edit or remove this post, please contact us at info@blue-jobs.com.
