PhD Candidate in Human Performance and Situational Awareness in Multi-UxV Remote Operations

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NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

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

   

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About the project

Norway is facing an increasingly complex maritime security environment. Effective responses to threats against coastal and underwater infrastructure are becoming critically dependent on unmanned vehicles (UxV) — UAVs, USVs, and UUVs — operated from Remote Operation Centers (ROC). A key knowledge gap is our limited understanding of what is required for the humans operating these systems to function reliably under defence and preparedness pressure.

Research consistently shows that human cognitive capacity is the binding constraint in multi-vehicle remote operations. Managing two to four UxV systems simultaneously pushes operators toward and beyond their cognitive limits, with consequences for situational awareness, decision quality, and authority sharing. Yet the human factors of ROC-based multi-UxV supervision remain largely unstudied in maritime contexts.

NTNU Ålesund is developing state-of-the-art Remote Operation Center (ROC) infrastructure as part of Fjordlab — a unique outdoor maritime test environment with multi-sensor infrastructure including hydrophones, land-based radars, oceanographic sensors, and an UxV fleet. Through the MIND & SHELL project, a deployable ROC will be developed, combining high-fidelity simulation with full-scale testing to provide an exceptional basis for empirical research on ROC operator performance.

Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate and open up exciting career opportunities? As a PhD Candidate with us, you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a further career in higher education and research, in and outside academia.

Your immediate leader will be the Head of Department.

About the position

The PhD candidate will investigate how ROC operators construct situational awareness — understood as skilled sensework across cognitive, strategic, and organisational axes — when managing multiple UxV systems simultaneously in defence and preparedness scenarios. The research will examine how cognitive load, autonomy level, authority sharing, and interface design affect decision quality as vehicle count and scenario complexity increase. A second and complementary focus is the extent to which sustained screen-based multi-UxV supervision suppresses operators' awareness of their immediate physical environment — a phenomenon with direct implications for ROC survivability in contested settings where the operating crew must remain alert to threats beyond the screen.

The candidate will design and execute simulator-based experiments and full-scale field studies at Fjordlab, using established human factors methods such as SAGAT, NASA-TLX, and eye-tracking. The research will draw on and extend Endsley's situational awareness model, Haavik's sensework framework, and Parasuraman's taxonomy of automation, applying these to the emerging domain of maritime ROC operations.

The candidate will work in a multidisciplinary research environment at NTNU Ålesund, and collaborating closely with another PhD candidate — who develops the physical design and for deployable, survivable ROC units — as well as defence and preparedness stakeholders and technology partners. Findings are expected to contribute to design principles for ROC interfaces, operational guidelines for multi-UxV supervision, and serve as a foundation for future European-scale research initiatives.

Duties of the position

• Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate
• Carry out research of good quality within the framework described above
• Academic publications and popular science dissemination
• Participate in research group activities
• Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a relevant Master's degree in maritime operations, the maritime industry, aviation, defence operations, or similar high-stakes operational environments or equivalent. Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian course, where 120 credits have been obtained at master's level. Master students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position and no later than 1st of October 2026.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master's degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker grade background, you maybe considered if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's Doctoral Programme Engineering
• You must have high proficiency in both written and oral English

PLEASE NOTE: For detailed information about what the application must contain, see paragraph “About the application”.

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

Preferred selection criteria

• You hold a master's degree in human factors and ergonomics, maritime studies, cognitive science, organizational studies, or other related fields with relevance to the research challenges described
• You have experience with experimental methods, both quantitative and qualitative approaches to human performance evaluation (and team collaboration)
• You have experience with field work / etnographic approaches
• Good oral and written presentation skills in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language

Personal characteristics

To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to: 

• Work independently
• Work in a structured way, set goals and make plans to achieve them
• Engage across disciplines and with operational audiences
• Look at  the real-world relevance of research, not only academic contribution
• Combine theoretical rigour with pragmatism
• Get involved and contribute constructively with feedback
• Work constructively under pressure or in the face of adversity 
• Show curiosity and a strong motivation for the subject
• Analyze data, assess different perspectives and draw well-founded conclusions 
• Be flexible and open to adjusting the plan for the project as needed

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

We offer

• An exciting job with an important mission in society
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU
• Favorable terms as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)
• Free Norwegian language training at a basic level (A2)

As a PhD Candidate at NTNU, you will have access to 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. (delete if not applicable)

Salary and conditions

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be NOK 550 800,-per annum depending on qualifications and seniority. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary. 

The employment period is 3 years.

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in Engineering within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral programme through out the period of employment.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important that you keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and adapt to them.

For the necessary professional and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to bein conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

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.

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 must include:

• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor's and Master's degrees
• CV 
• Copy of Master's thesis. If you have recently submitted your Master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed Master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Project outline containing proposals for an overall description of research questions, theoretical perspectives, methodological design for the project and progress plan (maximum 1500 words/4 pages) 
• Short letter of motivation (400 words/1 page)
• Possibly publications etc. other relevant research work
• Possibly certificates
• Names and contact information of three relevant referees

PLEASE NOTE: The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Please note that the person hired will work with critical infrastructure and areas affected by controls on the export of strategic goods, services and technology.

Candidates who do not meet the requirements for the necessary security clearance, access clearance and authorization as described in the National Security Act, and the Act on the Implementation of International Sanctions (Sanctions Act) cannot be considered (e.g., candidates from, among others, Russia, Iran, North Korea, China). Relevant countries are listed as examples and as such the list is not exhaustive (as a result of any changes in the world situation, other countries may be added at short notice).

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, both Bachelor's and Master's education, in addition to other higher education. If your institution uses “diploma supplement” (normal for most European institutions), you must attach this. A description of the documentation required can also 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 work will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint work, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

When assessing the best qualified, we emphasize necessary qualifications such as education, experience and personal suitability. Motivation for the position, ambitions, and potential for research will also count when assessing the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed itself to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and 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 applicant list, 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 think this position looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, you are welcome to apply.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Andreas Madsen, email: andreas.madsen@ntnu.no

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact PhD Coordinator Lara Bromann, email: lara.bromann@ntnu.no

Application deadline: 30.08.2026

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

Ålesund, known for its unique Art Nouveau architecture and spectacular nature, is a gem on Norway's west coast. The city offers a vibrant cultural life, modern facilities, and a dynamic business environment. With its strategic location by the sea, Ålesund provides a perfect balance between urban living and natural experiences. Here, you will find excellent schools, top-notch healthcare services, and a wide range of recreational activities. Ålesund is an ideal place for both career and family life, with a safe and inclusive community.