Associate Professor Position in small satelitte systems

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About the job

The Department of Electronic Systems (IES) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has a vacancy for the permanent position as Associate Professor.

The applications of space technology, and use of small satellites in particular, have seen an extreme growth in the past 10 years. Small satellites can fill research or commercial gaps to complement bigger commercial and governmental space missions within, for example, earth observations and radio communications domains. NTNU is currently leading and involved in several research projects on both optical remote sensing and RF monitoring and is also in the process of strengthening space related education. To meet the demands of academia and industry, IES is currently strengthening our team with one Associate Professor position within small satellite technology.

Together with experienced and enthusiastic faculty staff at the department, the successful candidate is expected to conduct research in cooperation with academic institutions, research centers and companies. The candidate should be interested in developing research and education related to applications of small satellites. The candidate should actively contribute to development of new missions related to NTNU’s ongoing and future research projects. Activities related to prototyping hardware and software payload systems are foreseen. The candidate should be able to connect her/his activities to strategic research areas at NTNU and IES as well as the European research agenda. See for example https://www.ntnu.edu/ies/about, https://www.ntnu.edu/research/strategicareas https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2025/06/Technology_2040.

The hired Associate Professor’s immediate leader is the Head of the Circuit and Radio Systems group.

Duties of the position

A successful candidate shall:

• initialize and lead research within the field of small satellite systems and payloads. From the perspective of this position, it includes identifying missions that connect NTNUs multidisciplinary research to contribute to realization of payloads for remote sensing and communications that ultimately can be enablers for research within, for example, communications, autonomy, biology, chemistry, surveillance and monitoring and more.
• take a leading role in research-based education, including supervision, teaching, and course development for Bachelor, Master and Ph.D. students within space and satellite systems at IES.
• participate in administrative activities, such as educational and research boards, that are conducted at IES.

Required qualifications 

You must have thefollowing qualifications required for the position of associate professor:

• A doctoral degree in electrical engineering in the field of communications systems, or competence at an equivalent level documented either by scientific work or artistic work of the same scope and quality,
• Educational competence
• Norwegian language skills at level B2

For the overall assessment of the application your submitted scientific works will be a major factor, as well as ability and experience in initiating and leading academic and industrial research and development relevant to the requirements of this position. NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA. This means that we pay special attention to the quality and professional breadth of these works. We also consider experience from research management and participation in research projects. We place extra emphasis on your scientific work from the last five years.

You will be expected to deliver high-quality teaching at undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels, and undertake supervision of bachelor, master and doctoral candidates. Evaluation of these skills will be based on documented experience and relevant teaching qualifications. Applicants with teaching experience at university level are preferred. Quality and breadth of the teaching qualifications will be evaluated.

You must document relevant basic competence in teaching and supervision at a university/higher education-level, as referenced in the NTNUs guidelines for academic positions. If this cannot be documented, you will be required to complete an approved course in university pedagogy within two years of commencement. NTNU offers qualifying courses.

New employees who do not speak a Scandinavian language by appointment is required, within three years, to demonstrate skills in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language equivalent to level B2of the course for Norwegian for speakers of other languages at the Department of Language and Literature at NTNU. 

Preferred qualifications

We look for a candidate who has experience with definition and execution of state-of-art small satellite systems and payloads for RF and EO applications, as well as hands-on experience with satellite hardware and software, in addition to experience with ground systems. Other preferred qualifications include:

• Interest and experience in didactic development for teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in space technology and systems.
• Ability to attract funding and lead research and development projects in academia or industry.
• Experience with mission definition and mission management for space systems including interfaces to ground systems.
• Experience with project coordination and management, including involving students on various levels into research projects.
• Experience with design and handling of space hardware.
• Industrial experience and/or an active network of contacts in industry.

Personal qualities

The successful candidate should possess the following character traits:

• Cooperates well with others and share knowledge and experience to support colleagues and teams.
• Self-motivated, taking initiatives and responsibilities. She or he should be working for a stable and affirmative atmosphere and be supportive and encouraging towards colleagues when problems arise, being stable and trustworthy.
• Strategic and analytical, communicate in a clear, precise, and structured manner, thereby achieving acceptance for ideas and plans.
• Aware of own capabilities and limitations and is seeking to learn and develop.

In the assessment of the best qualified applicant, education, experience, personal and security suitability will be taken into account, as well as motivation for the position.

We offer 

• exciting and challenging 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 

Application Process

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

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Salary and conditions

As a Associate Professor code 1011 you are normally paid from gross NOK 690 000 – 870 000 NOK per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. As required by law, 2% of this salary will be deducted and paid into the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The engagement is to be made in accordance withthe 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.

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.

About the application

Your application and supporting documentation must be in English. 

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompanythe application as these documents form the basis of the applicationassessment. 

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.

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result.

Your application must include:

• CV, diplomas, and certificates
• A teaching portfolio, in which your teaching competence is compiled and presented systematically, (See guidelines for applicants: Documentation of educational competence
• Academic works– published or unpublished – that you wish to be considered during assessment of your application (up to 10 items)
• A description of the scientific works you consider most relevant, which you particularly wish to be factored into the assessment
• A list of your previous works, with details on where they have been published
• A researchplan outlining proposed scope of research. Maximum 10 pages.
• Details of projects for which you have served as project manager, including information on financing, duration, and scope
• Names and contact information for three relevant referees

It is important that you both document and reflect on your competence. You are encouraged to use the NTNUs competence matrix as a guide for  documentation of your competence.

Joint work will also be considered. If it is difficult to identify your specific input to a joint project, you must include evidence of your contributions.

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. Our assessment of the pedagogical skills will be based on documented pedagogical material, forms of presentation in your academic works, teaching experience, PhD, and Masters supervision, and any other relevant pedagogical background. Both quality and scope will be taken into consideration, and an open scientific practice will be recognized.

NTNU is obliged by the evaluation criteria for research quality in accordance with The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment – DORA and the obligations in the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment ( CoARA) on responsible assessment of research and recognition of a wider range of academic contributions to science and society. This means that we will pay particular attention to the quality and academic range demonstrated by your scientific work to date. We will also pay attention to research leadership and participation in research projects. Your scientific work from the last five years will be given the most weight.

Your application will be considered by an expert committee. Candidates of interest will be invited to an interview, and to deliver a trial teaching session.

General information

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.

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation 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.

As an employee at NTNU, you must continually maintainand improve your professional development and be flexible regardingany organizational changes.

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself 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 reservation is not accepted.

For the sake of transparency, candidates will be given expert evaluationsof their own and other candidates. As an applicant you are considered part of the process and are stipulated by rules of confidentiality. 

If you have any questions regarding the position, please contact Professor Per Gunnar Kjeldsberg, tel. +47 73594405, e-mail pgk@ntnu.no. If you have questions regarding the recruitment process, please contact rekrutteringsteam@ie.ntnu.no .

Application deadline: 11.01.2026