Job title
PhD Candidate in AI for Marine Systems Design and Operation.
Company
Department of Marine Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), connected to the Norwegian Maritime AI Centre.
Description of the job
The Department of Marine Technology at NTNU is looking for a PhD candidate in AI for marine systems design and operation, connected to the newly established Norwegian Maritime AI Centre. The position aims to advance how artificial intelligence supports design and operational planning processes for complex marine systems.
The candidate will explore how emerging AI technologies — foundation models, generative design tools, agent platforms, reasoning engines, and reinforcement learning — can be adapted and extended for maritime design challenges. The final research focus can be adapted to the candidate's background and interests.
The Norwegian Maritime AI Centre has recently been awarded to NTNU and partners through the Research Council of Norway. This position is funded directly by NTNU but will be associated with the Centre. The PhD will contribute to positioning NTNU and the Norwegian maritime industry at the forefront of AI-enabled ship design. The work will help establish new methods, datasets, and prototypes that demonstrate how AI can transform design processes, support sustainability goals, and enable new types of high-performance vessel concepts.
The supervisor will be Professor Stein Ove Erikstad. The employment period is 3 years. The candidate will work in the new Ocean Technology Center in Trondheim.
Possible Research Topics:
- Generative methods for design documentation, including automated creation of tender documents, specifications, and requirement structures.
- 2D and 3D spatial reasoning, including general arrangement exploration, layout optimization, and constraint-aware geometry generation.
- AI-based performance assessment in early design, integrating rapid analysis tools, multi-criteria performance estimation, and surrogate modelling.
- Human–AI collaboration in design, including agent-based platforms, co-creation workflows, and decision support for design teams.
- Reinforcement learning for automated design exploration, where RL agents propose, evaluate, and refine design alternatives.
- Integration of domain knowledge into AI models, combining physics-based modelling, maritime regulations, and operational data with modern AI architectures.
- The combination of optimization and AI in fleet renewal and retrofit problems and in maritime logistics.
- Evaluation of trust, transparency, and explainability in AI-driven design tools.
Duties:
- Complete the doctoral education in collaboration with project partners.
- Carry out research of good quality.
- Contribute to the development, implementation, and validation of AI-based design tools and methods relevant to ship design.
- Develop academic publications and popular science dissemination.
- Participate in the research group Marine Systems Design.
- Participate actively in project meetings, workshops, research stays with relevant project partners, and international conferences.
What We Offer:
- Excellent facilities and working environment in the brand-new Ocean Technology Center in Trondheim.
- Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment with more than 60 PhD students from all over the world.
- Open and inclusive work environment with committed colleagues and social events.
- Favorable terms as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK).
Requirements
Required:
- Master's degree in marine technology, engineering design, artificial intelligence, computer science, or equivalent, corresponding to a five-year Norwegian master programme with 120 credits at master's level.
- Good skills in mathematics, programming, and applied AI.
- Strong academic background with an average grade from Master's degree equal to B or better compared to NTNU's grading scale.
- Must meet the requirements for admission to the Faculty of Engineering's doctoral program.
- Very good English skills, both written and oral.
- Subject to export control restrictions: candidates from countries subject to export restrictions may not be eligible.
Preferred:
- Strong skills in relevant programming languages, particularly Python.
- Knowledge of, and experience from, the maritime industry.
- Knowledge of generative models, reinforcement learning, or geometric deep learning.
- Experience with optimization methods, numerical modelling, or simulation of complex systems.
- Experience with 3D modelling, CAD APIs, or computational geometry.
Location
Trondheim, Norway.
Salary
NOK 550,800 (49,123 €) per annum (gross), depending on qualifications and seniority.
How to apply
Applications must be sent 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 (maximum 1 page), possible publications or other relevant research work, and names and contact information of three relevant referees.
For questions about the position, contact Professor Stein Ove Erikstad at stein.ove.erikstad@ntnu.no or +47 93201255.
For questions about the recruitment process, contact HR Consultant Marit Gjersvold at marit.gjersvold@ntnu.no.
Deadline
25/04/2026.
Disclaimer
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