PhD Candidate in Competence and Training Development for Remote Operators of USVs

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

   

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About the position

The Department of Ocean Operations and Civil Engineering has a vacancy for a PhD candidate. For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

The maritime industry is quickly evolving with the introduction of autonomous and remotely operated vessels. Smaller Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs), also known as sea drones, present new opportunities for efficiency and flexibility in maritime operations but also introduce challenges related to human-system interaction, situational awareness, and operator competencies. As technology for remote control advances, understanding the skills and training needed for USV operators is important to ensure safe and effective operations.

NTNU Ålesund is developing a state-of-the-art Remote Operation Center (ROC) for USV control, enabling full-scale testing at sea, accompanied by high-fidelity simulations. This facility will provide a unique opportunity to study the role of remote operators, their workload, decision-making processes, and socio-technical challenges.

A proposed research case could be to investigate the remote operation of USVs for maritime survey tasks, such as hydrographic mapping, environmental monitoring, or subsea infrastructure inspection. Introducing a concept where USV operator are located onshore will require training methodologies to develop the necessary skills for remote supervision.

To advance knowledge in this field, the Department of Ocean Operations and Civil Engineering is seeking a PhD candidate to investigate the competencies required for remote USV operation, contributing to best practices for training, system design, and operational procedures.

Duties of the position

The PhD candidate will conduct research on the competencies, training needs, and sociotechnical challenges in remote USV operations. The candidate may design and execute studies for example to assess operator workload, decision-making processes, and situational awareness in different operational scenarios, using NTNU’s full-scale testing facilities and simulators.

The candidate will work in a multidisciplinary research environment at NTNU Ålesund, collaborating closely with industry partners, maritime training institutions, and technology developers. The research will contribute to defining best practices for remote USV operation, including operator selection criteria, training frameworks, and interface design improvements.

Data collection will involve a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including simulator-based experiments, field studies with industry stakeholders, interviews, and surveys. The candidate may also explore how emerging technologies such as automation, augmented reality, and AI-assisted decision support can enhance remote USV operations. Findings from this research are expected to inform future training programs, certification standards, and operational guidelines for safe and effective USV control.

Required selection criteria

• 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. 
• Master’s students can apply, but the master’s thesis must be submitted, meet the requirements for completion, and be documented before 31.08.2025.
• If your academic grades are weaker, you may still be considered if you can document your particular suitability for this PhD education. If you have not yet completed your master’s degree, you must provide proof of its imminent completion
• You must meet the requirements for admission to PhD in Engineering.
• High proficiency in written and oral English

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

• You have a professionally relevant background in maritime academia, the maritime industry, oil and gas, aviation, or similar operations.
• You hold a master’s degree in maritime studies, human factors and ergonomics, education and training science, or other related fields, with a focus on areas relevant to solving challenges in this research.
• You have high proficiency in both written and oral English and Norwegian, or other Scandinavian languages

Personal characteristics

• Ability to work independently and as part of research teams
• Strong motivation and a proactive approach to taking ownership of your research
• Solution-oriented with excellent problem-solving skills
• Strong interpersonal skills, contributing to a friendly and inclusive work environment
• Ability to create and maintain an international network of relations
• Driven to succeed in the position

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities as well as motivation for the position.

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 536 200 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 Doctoral Programme - PhD - Faculty of Engineering Science - NTNU 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.

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

About the application

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these 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
• Letter of motivation
• 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 for this Ph.D.-project (maximum two A4 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 Ålesund, with its population of 50 000, will provide you with plenty of opportunities to explore a region of Norway that is famous for its beautiful scenery with high mountains and blue fjords. Ålesund itself, with its Art Nouveau architecture, is by many considered to be the most beautiful city in Norway! The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world.

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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 Assoc. Prof. Andreas Madsen: Andreas.madsen@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Synnøve Sunde, e-mail: synnove.sunde@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: 25.04.2025