PhD Research Fellow in Self-Organising Maritime Autonomy
Develop resilient coordination architectures and self-organizing robotic fleets for complex maritime environments.
Best for:Best for robotics and marine cybernetics graduates with a strong background in control engineering and multi-agent coordination.
Overview
The Department of Marine Technology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) invites applications for a 3-year PhD Research Fellow position focusing on self-organizing maritime autonomy. The successful candidate will design and validate resilient coordination architectures for heterogeneous fleets of autonomous underwater and surface vehicles operating in communication-constrained environments. Working within the AUR Lab research community, the researcher will combine theoretical developments with extensive experimental validation using advanced infrastructure such as HUGIN autonomous underwater vehicles. Applicants are expected to complete doctoral coursework, produce academic publications, and participate actively in field campaigns and international collaborations.
What you'll do
- Complete structured doctoral education and successfully obtain a PhD degree within the 3-year appointment period
- Conduct high-quality independent research on coordination architectures for autonomous maritime robot fleets
- Develop and validate control and navigation methods through rigorous simulation and real-world field experiments
- Participate in field campaigns using advanced infrastructure including autonomous underwater and surface vehicles
- Disseminate research outcomes through peer-reviewed academic publications and popular science channels
- Engage actively with the AUR Lab research group, collaborating across disciplines and contributing to peer feedback
- Participate in international activities, including academic conferences and research visits at foreign institutions
Requirements
Degree required: Master's degree in Marine Cybernetics, Control Engineering/Robotics, Marine operations, Underwater technology, Applied Mathematics, Physics, Risk/Reliability, Computer Science or equivalent
Degree offered: PhD
Language: English; documented thorough knowledge of English if neither a Scandinavian language nor English is native (equivalent to TOEFL 600 or more)
Instruction: English
- Master's thesis or major independent project worth a minimum of 30 ECTS
- Academic grade average equivalent to B or better on NTNU's grading scale
- Strong foundation in robotics, control engineering, or marine cybernetics
- Eligibility for security clearance at the CONFIDENTIAL level under Norwegian security legislation
- Must meet admission requirements for the IV faculty's Doctoral Programme
- Citizens of Norway, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, EU, or NATO countries, or able to provide evidence of export control compliance for restricted equipment
Funding & terms
How to apply
Deadline: 2026-10-14
Applicants must submit their electronic applications and all required supporting documents through the Jobbnorge portal before the application deadline. All submitted documents must be written in English and clearly demonstrate how qualifications meet the selection criteria.
- CV
- Master's degree transcripts and diploma
- Master's thesis
Create a free profile to unlock your personal match score, the full requirements, funding details and how to apply — in English or Persian.