Associate Professor in Design of Safety-Critical Systems

This is NTNU

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

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 44,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

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About the position

The Department of Design represents NTNU’s academic design environment and is responsible for research, teaching and academic development across the design disciplines, ranging from product design and interaction design to human-centred technology development and graphic design. The department is located in Trondheim and Gjøvik and contributes to the development of knowledge about how design, technology, and human needs shape the products, services, and systems of the future.

This position is affiliated with the NTNU Shore Control Lab, a leading interdisciplinary research environment that designs human-centred emerging technologies for the maritime domain. The lab works on the design and evaluation of complex sociotechnical and safety-critical systems for autonomous and remote operations across surface vessels, underwater robots, aerial drones, satellite systems, aquaculture technology, robotics, and other domains where human oversight, robustness, safety and operational complexity are central.

We are seeking an associate professor with strong research and innovation competence in human-computer interaction, human-centred design and the design of safety-critical systems and products. We are looking for a candidate who wishes to take part in developing NTNU Shore Control Lab towards an internationally leading research and education environment. You should have a solid understanding of technological systems, interdisciplinary development work and practical design research, and you can contribute both strategically and academically to the department’s priorities.

As an associate professor, you will spend approximately half of your time on teaching and half on research. You are expected to contribute to ongoing research and innovation projects, develop new research initiatives, and apply for external funding. You will also contribute to the education of future industrial designers through teaching, supervision, and course development, as well as to lifelong learning courses for professionals.

Your immediate leader is the Head of Department at the Department of Design.

Duties of the position

The position includes the following:

• Teaching and supervision at bachelor’s, master’s and PhD levels
• Further develop existing courses or develop new courses and learning formats in human-machine interaction, human-centred design and the design of safety-critical systems
• Conduct research at a high international level on human-centred technology for the maritime domain
• Conduct research on the design of safety-critical systems or products in the maritime domain, including – but not limited to – surface vessels, underwater robots, aerial drones, satellite technology, robotics, remote operations, autonomous systems and aquaculture systems
• Contribute to research and innovation projects across disciplinary boundaries in collaboration with industry and the public sector
• Publish in recognised international journals and conferences
• Disseminate research results to academia, industry and society at large
• Collaborate with colleagues and partners to secure external research and innovation funding

Required qualifications 

You must qualify for the position of associate professor in accordance with the following requirements:

• A doctoral degree (PhD) in design, interaction design, industrial design, or a closely related field
• Pedagogical competence
• Experience with experimental design research, user studies, interaction design and industrial design
• Strong technological understanding and experience collaborating with technology environments and industry
• Documented research competence with publications at a high international level
• Good language skills in English, both written and spoken
• Norwegian language skills at level B2

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 B2 of the course for Norwegian for speakers of other languages at the Department of Language and Literature at NTNU. 

Preferred qualifications

• A strong research and/or professional background in human-centred design, human-computer interaction (HCI), human factors, user experience (UX) or industrial design
• Experience in obtaining external funding 
• Experience in building and operating advanced research infrastructure
• Experience in establishing consortia and collaboration with multiple external partners
• Experience with research dissemination in different formats
• Experience with innovation or entrepreneurship

Personal qualities

We are looking for a candidate who:

• Has high academic ambitions and strong motivation to build an internationally leading research environment
• Contributes positively to an inclusive, pedagogical and creative learning environment
• Is able to combine analytical research, teaching and practical design work
• Is collaborative, flexible and enjoys working in interdisciplinary teams
• Is proactive, structured and adaptable

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

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.

Video: https://youtu.be/bwfNPj8HxHw

Salary and conditions

As a Associate Professor (code 1011) you are normally paid from gross NOK 750 000 – 1 020 000 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 in Trondheim.

About the application

The application and the description of the scientific works to be considered in the assessment must be submitted in English.

Please note that the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information available by the application deadline. Therefore, please ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above. The application and all attachments must be submitted electronically via Jobbnorge. Upon request, you must be able to provide certified copies of your documentation.

If you have had leave or other breaks in your career, it is important that this is stated in your application so that the recruitment committee can take this into account, recognising that the volume of your research may have been reduced as a result.

Your application must include:

• CV, certificates and diplomas
• A teaching portfolio in which your educational competence is presented systematically and comprehensively; see Documentation of educational competence
• Scientific works – published or unpublished – that you wish to be considered in the assessment (up to 10 works)
• A description of the scientific work you consider most significant and which you particularly wish to be considered in the assessment
• A description of professional design work you consider most significant and which you particularly wish to be considered in the assessment
• A complete publication list
• A research plan
• Information about projects for which you have served as official or de facto project manager, including funding, 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. 

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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 about the position, please contact Ole Andreas Alsos, tel. +47 915 44 825, e-mail oleanda@ntnu.no or Head of the department, Vikram Singh Parmar, email vikram.s.parmar@ntnu.no

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Erik Lunde, erik.lunde@ntnu.no 

Application deadline: 12.10.2026