PhD Candidate in Enhancing Trustworthy AI Integration in Safety-Critical Systems

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About the job

The Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering is seeking applicants for a PhD research position focused on developing a theoretical framework to enhance the trustworthiness of embedded Artificial Intelligence (AI) in safety-critical systems. The research aims to ensure the reliability and predictability of AI systems, crucial in environments where erroneous outcomes or unpredictable issues from AI could lead to significant adverse consequences. Candidate will engage in in-depth theoretical research to improve the transparency and interpretability of AI decision-making processes, thereby instilling confidence in operators and decision-makers regarding these systems.

Your research will delve into developing complex AI algorithms with robust fault tolerance capabilities to maintain system stability and safety under non-standard conditions. The project also emphasizes adherence to existing functional safety standards, including performance evaluations and ensuring compliance with safety regulations. This role offers a significant opportunity to contribute to foundational research in AI and safety, impacting the long-term integration and trust of AI systems in critical applications.

You will address the following challenges:

1. Development of an AI Monitoring Framework: Establish an effective framework for continuous monitoring of AI system performance and trustworthiness in real-time scenarios within safety-critical domains. 
2. Innovation in AI Update Procedures: Develop methodologies for regularly updating AI algorithms to adapt to new data and changing operational conditions without compromising system integrity and safety. 
3. Integration of Safety and Compliance Measures: Ensure that all developed AI algorithms not only meet the stringent requirements of international safety standards but also exceed them, with a focus on the theoretical and practical impacts of these standards on AI performance.

This PhD position, which is part of the EU DN TUAI initiative, offers an exceptional opportunity for individuals eager to advance the theoretical foundations of AI applications in safety-critical systems. As part of this role, you will play a pivotal role in shaping future technologies that seamlessly integrate AI into domains where safety is paramount. Your contributions will be crucial in ensuring safer and more reliable AI deployments across a variety scenario. 

You will be supervised by Prof. Shen Yin.

Duties of the position

• participate in the Mandatory PhD Research Education Program: Engage fully in the required educational activities designed to enhance your research skills and knowledge in the field
• conduct Independent Research: Execute independent research and publish your findings in recognized scientific journals to contribute to the body of knowledge in your area of expertise
• active Participation in EU DN TUAI Activities: Take an active role in the EU DN TUAI activities, including a series of trainings, seminars, secondments, and other relevant events, to enhance your learning and networking within the academic community
• assist in the Organization and Documentation of Research Activities: Participate in organizing and documenting related research documentations, including the participating of research proposals and reports
• taking part in the mandatory PhD research education program
• writing and defending a PhD thesis

Required selection criteria

• you must have a professionally relevant background in Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and Safety (RAMS) or Cybernetics or Computer Science with a focus on Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning
• your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level
• you must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed 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 program
• excellent written and oral English skills are required

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Phd candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate and Regulations concerning the degrees of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) and Philosodophiae Doctor (PhD) in artistic research national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant 

Preferred selection criteria

• familiar with ISO-IEC related standards/technical report as well as EU AI Act 
• familiar with AI monitoring and AI updating technologies 
• competences and skills in applying these tools for safety-instrumented systems

Personal characteristics

• autonomous – able to plan and organize own work in a systematic way
• team oriented – able to work with others
• curious – eager to learn new things
• creative – able to generate more ways to solve problems
• critical – ability to question and reflect on own and others’ work

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

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

Salary and conditions

As a PhD candidate (code 1017) you are normally paid from gross NOK 532 200 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.

Appointment to a PhD position requires that you are admitted to the PhD programme in Engineering within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

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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.

The position is subject to external funding.

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

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must be attached to the application. Please note that your application will be considered based solely on information submitted by the application deadline. You must therefore ensure that your application clearly demonstrates how your skills and experience fulfil the criteria specified above.

The application must include: 

• CV and certificates
• transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the master's thesis. If you recently have 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 proposal/research proposal with a length on 5 pages
• Name and contact information of three referees
• If you have publications or other relevant research work

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. Description of the documentation required can be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, please attach this as well.

We will take joint work into account. If it is difficult to identify your efforts in the joint work, you must enclose a short description of your participation.

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. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

General information

Working at NTNU

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is our strength. We want to recruit people with different competencies, educational backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to solving our social responsibilities within education and research. We will facilitate for our employees’ needs.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources 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.

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As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted.

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.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Shen Yin, e-mail: shen.yin@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Consultant Hedda Winnberg, e-mail: hedda.winnberg@ntnu.no.

If you think this looks interesting and in line 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: 16.02.2025