Postdoctoral Fellow in Supervisory Risk Control of Autonomous Systems

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You can find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

     

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About the position

Would you like to contribute to enabling risk-aware collaboration between autonomous systems and human supervisors?

The Department of Marine Technology has a vacant 3-year Post Doc position at the Faculty of Engineering in fundamental research on supervisory risk control and decision support for autonomous systems. The position is funded by the ERC AdG Breach, and will focus both on researching theory and performing experiments. The goal of Breach is to realize risk-based rationality in autonomous systems to achieve more proactive and intelligent behaviours, improve system safety, and leave the human supervisor with enough time to react and intervene efficiently when needed. 

The postdoctoral fellowship position is a temporary position where the main goal is to qualify for work in senior academic positions. 

Your supervisor will be Professor Ingrid Bouwer Utne, and your immediate leader is the Head of Department.

Duties of the position

• Develop quantitative risk models for autonomous systems integrating online data, data-driven approaches, and simulation, enabling learning, improved intelligence, and thereby higher autonomy
• Contribute to synthesizing the research results in the project into a coherent framework.
• Experimental testing, and developing scientific journal and conference publications related to the above-mentioned topics
• Take responsibility for data collection and ensure high-quality management within the project
• Close cooperation with the other Post Doc and PhDs in the interdisciplinary project

Teaching and supervision duties may be expected.

Required selection criteria

• Norwegian doctoral degree or corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian PhD in Marine Technology; Reliability, Availability, Maintenance, Safety (RAMS), Engineering Cybernetics, or similar
  • If you can document that the PhD thesis has been submitted, your application can be assessed even if you have not yet defended your dissertation. Documentation of the obtained doctoral degree must be presented before you can take up the position. 
• Very good English skills, written and spoken 

 

The appointment is to be made in accordance with NTNUs guidelines for recruitment positions and for general criteria for the position.

Preferred selection criteria

• Experience with risk analysis, risk modeling, simulation, machine learning (any sector)
• Experience with experimental work
• Experience with robotics/autonomous systems
• Knowledge about marine technology
• Norwegian oral and written language skills
• Excellent programming skills (MATLAB, Python etc.)

Personal characteristics

• Highly structured and organized
• Thourough and detail-oriented
• Trustworthy with strong integrity
• Innovative, creative, and open-minded
• High level of independence with strong collaborative and communication skills

Academic results, publications, relevant specialization, work or research experience, personal qualifications, and motivation and a desire to make an impact on critical societal problems will be considered when evaluating the applicants.

We offer 

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund
• employee benefits

Diversity

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population's collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values ​​are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals.

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education.

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

At NTNU we want to increase the proportion of women in scientific positions. We have a number of measures to promote equality. 

Salary and conditions

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK 633 400,- per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The period of employment is 3 years.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU.  

After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.

About the application 

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in Norwegian/a Scandinavian language or English. 

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above.

The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates and diplomas upon request. 

The application must include:

• CV and certificates 
• transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's-, master's- and PhD degrees. If you have not yet completed your Ph.D, you must provide confirmation on your estimated date for the doctoral dissertation, or that your PhD thesis has been submitted
• A copy of the doctoral thesis. If you are close to submitting, or have recently submitted your thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed doctoral degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Academic works - published or unpublished - that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 5 items)
• Research plan (1-2 pages)
• Name and contact information of three referees (including email addresses and telephone number)

 

If all or parts of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

If you have had leave or another break in your career, it is important that this is stated in your application so that the selection committee can take this into account and that the amount of your research may be reduced as a result.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal qualities. Motivation, ambitions and potential for research will also be emphasized in the assessment of the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and is committed to follow evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment DORA and the obligations in CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU's social mission).

General information 

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt from entry on the public list of applicants, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the exemption is not granted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Ingrid Bouwer Utne, telephone +47 982 22 465, email: Ingrid.b.utne@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Marit Gjersvold, e-mail: marit.gjersvold@ntnu.no.

If you find this position interesting, and in accordance with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation.

Application deadline: 15.05.2026

For practical information about working at NTNU, please visit this webpage. 
 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the tech capital of Norway with a population of 200,000.The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.