Master Thesis Student in Aerospace, Physics, Mathematics, m/w/d

Dlr; Oberpfaffenhofen; Remote; EUR 12,000 - 19,000; Full time

Job summary

DLR invites applications for a Master Thesis Student in Aerospace, Physics, Mathematics at Oberpfaffenhofen, starting 01.10.2026. The project covers PPP-AR with DIA quality control in GNSS positioning. Part-time/Full-time 6-month contract with remuneration per TVöD-Bund.

Strong Python or MATLAB skills and English proficiency are required. You will perform literature reviews, implement or adapt DIA-enabled PPP-AR components, and assess positioning performance across scenarios, collaborating with

Qualifications

• Experience with Python or MATLAB for data analysis and simulations.
• Strong foundation in estimation theory and statistical testing.
• Understanding GNSS positioning principles and related concepts.

Responsibilities

• Research quality control for PPP-AR within a DIA framework.
• Conduct literature review on GNSS positioning workflows and ambiguity resolution.
• Extend or adapt PPP-AR software to include DIA testing and evaluation.
• Analyze positioning performance with DIA and compare strategies across scenarios.

Skills

Python

MATLAB

Estimation theory

GNSS positioning

English

Job description

Master Thesis Student in Aerospace, Physics, Mathematics, m/w/d Language Profile

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Master Thesis Student in Aerospace, Physics, Mathematics, m/w/d Job Description Req ID: 5586 Place of work: Oberpfaffenhofen Starting date: 01.10.2026 Career level: Student research project and final thesis Type of employment: Part time, Full-time Duration of contract: 6 Monate

Remuneration: Remuneration is in accordance with the Collective Agreement for the Public Sector - Federal Government (TVöD-Bund).

Enter the fascinating world of the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V.; DLR) and help shape the future through research and innovation! We offer an exciting and inspiring working environment driven by the expertise and curiosity of our12,000employees from 100 nations and our unique infrastructure. Together, we develop sustainable technologies and thus contribute to finding solutions to global challenges. Would you like to join us in addressing this major future challenge?Then this is your place!

The DLR Institute of Communications and Navigation is dedicated to mission-oriented research in selected areas of communications and navigation. Its work ranges from the theoretical foundations to the demonstration of new procedures and systems in a real environment and is embedded in DLR's Space, Aeronautics, Transport, Security and Digitalization programmes.

What to expext:

Precise Point Positioning with Ambiguity Resolution (PPP-AR) is a high-accuracy GNSS user positioning technique that combines precise satellite orbit, clock offset and bias products with integer ambiguity resolution at the user
receiver. This is widely used in geodesy, precise orbit determination, autonomous systems, and other applications where a centimeter-level positioning is required without relying on a local reference station.
Ambiguity resolution is a key step in PPP-AR because the carrier-phase ambiguities are resolved to their integer values, improving positioning precision and convergence. However, a reliable ambiguity fixing depends strongly on the quality of observations, satellite precise products, a
proper stochastic modelling and bias handling.

The Detection, Identification and Adaptation (DIA) framework is widely used for quality control, which provides a rigorous statistical procedure to detect and identify the mismodelling. This thesis should evaluate how DIA testing framework can be implemented into mixed-integer models for PPP-AR, looking at how different detection and adaptation strategies might affect the
final solution, and quantify improvements that can be obtained in float and fixed positioning performance.

Your tasks:

• the candidate will research quality control for precise positioning with ambiguity resolution (PPP-AR)
• literature review to understand the processing workflow of GNSS positioning, unteger ambiguity resolution
• quality-control scheme under DIA framework in an existing PPP-AR software
• analyzing positionig performance using DIA quality control and to compare different strategies

Your profile:

• Experience with programming languages (Python & MATLAB)
• Background on estimation and statistical testing theory
• Understanding of GNSS positioning principles
• Optional: knowledge of precise point positioning, ambiguity resolution
• Fluent in English

We offer

DLR stands for diversity, appreciation and equality for all people. We promote independent work and the individual development of our employees both personally and professionally. To this end, we offer numerous training and development opportunities. Equal opportunities are of particular importance to us, which is why we want to increase the proportion of women in science and management in particular. Applicants with severe disabilities will be given preference if they are qualified.

We look forward to getting to know you!

If you have any questions about this position (Vacancy-ID 5586) please contact:

Prof. Dr. Michael Meurer
Tel.:[phone]