PhD Candidate in AI-Assisted Software and Systems Engineering

Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet (NTNU); Trondheim; On-site; NOK 522,000 - 638,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mentor programme

Public pension (SPK)

Free Norwegian language courses

Open and inclusive working environment

Job summary

NTNU in Trondheim invites applications for a PhD candidate in Computer Science. You will pursue doctoral studies while gaining research experience in software and systems engineering, including Generative AI aspects, with opportunities for international collaboration and dissemination.

The role includes teaching support, publication work, and participation in the Software Engineering group, under the Leader of the Software Engineering unit, in a diverse research environment.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Computer Science or equivalent with major independent project (30 ECTS).
• Strong programming skills and ability to present in English.

Responsibilities

• Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate.
• Carry out research of good quality within the described framework.
• Author academic publications and dissemination material.
• Participate in the Software Engineering research group.
• Engage in international conferences and research stays.
• Support education activities in Software Engineering courses.
• Prepare learning grant proposals as part of career promotion.

Skills

Programming skills

English presentation

Education

Master's degree in Computer Science

Job description

About The Position

Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate and open up exciting career opportunities? As a PhD candidate with us, you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a further career in higher education and research, in and outside academia.

The Software Engineering group conducts research in a wide range of topics related to design, development, verification, and operation of complex software systems, including emerging technologies and their relation to Software Engineering.

You will join a diverse research environment and an exciting Doctoral Programme.

Your immediate leader will be the Leader of the Software Engineering unit.

About The Project

Software is today prominent in many critical systems and infrastructures, such as power distribution systems, railway infrastructure, or flight control systems.

These systems are subject to complex development and verification processes, including certification and audits, and in general different activities that span the Software Engineering and the Systems Engineering disciplines.

Generative AI and AI agents are rapidly changing how software-based systems are being designed, developed, and evaluated.

While AI agents have become common in certain Software Engineering tasks, such as programming, documentation, and vulnerability detection, their adoption for other tasks such as software architecture design, or safety and hazard analysis, is still limited.

The objective of this position is to investigate and evaluate solutions for software engineering and systems engineering tasks in critical systems and infrastructures.

Within this context, the project can be tailored to the interests and background of the successful candidate.

Duties of the position

• Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate
• Carry out research of good quality within the framework described above
• Author academic publications and popular science dissemination material
• Participate in the Software Engineering research group
• Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions
• Support to education activities in courses within the Software Engineering area
• Other career-promoting work, such as learning grant preparation fundamentals

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.

Required Selection Criteria

• You must meet the requirements for admission to the Doctoral Programme in Computer Science, see Section 6-1 of the PhD regulations for more information.
• You must have a relevant Master's degree in Computer Science or equivalent. Your degree must include a major independent project (minimum 30 ECTS) equivalent to a master’s thesis.
• Master students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position and no later than 30.10.2026.
• You must have a strong and relevant academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your Master's degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker academic background, you may be considered if you can document that you are exceptionally suited for a PhD education, for example through relevant work experience and/or peer-reviewed academic works.
• Good programming skills.
• Good oral and written presentation skills in English.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with NTNUs guidelines for recruitment positions for general criteria for the position.

Preferred Selection Criteria

The following characteristics will be considered an advantage during the selection process:

• Good understanding of Software Engineering or Systems Engineering fundamentals
• Experience with modeling of software and/or system architecture
• Experience with agentic frameworks (e.g., LangChain, Microsoft Agent Framework)
• Good knowledge of AI concepts, particularly Generative AI
• Knowledge of aspects related to critical systems and infrastructures

Personal characteristics

To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to:

• Work in a structured way, set goals and make plans to achieve them
• Present and discuss your research with other professionals
• Work constructively under pressure or in the face of adversity
• Be good at anticipating problems and identifying logical solutions as well as contradictions and inconsistencies
• Be flexible and open to adjusting the plan for the project as needed

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

We offer

• An exciting job with an important mission in society
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
• Career guidance and follow-up during the PhD period
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
• Working capital that can be used to implement the project
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU
• Favorable terms as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)
• Free Norwegian language training at a basic level (A2)

As a PhD Candidate at NTNU, you will have access to employee benefits.

Diversity

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.

At NTNU we want to increase the proportion of women in scientific positions. We have a number of measures to promote equality.

Salary and conditions

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be NOK 580 000,-per annum depending on qualifications and seniority. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary.

The employment period is 3 years for the doctoral work in addition to 1 year of career promotion work.

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in Computer Science within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral programme throughout the period of employment.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important that you keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and adapt to them.

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.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to be in conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

About The Application

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in English.

The Application Must Include

• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor's and Master's degrees.
• CV.
• Copy of Master's thesis. If you have recently 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 outline containing your own research proposal within the topics of this position, including a description of research questions, methodological design for the project and progress plan (maximum 1500 words/4 pages).
• Short motivation letter (cover letter) (maximum 400 words/1 page).
• Scientific publications if you have, or other relevant work that fits the position topics.
• Names and contact information of three references.

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. If your institution uses “diploma supplement” (normal for most European institutions), you must attach this. A description of the documentation required can also be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

Joint work will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint work, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

When assessing the best qualified, we emphasize necessary qualifications such as education, experience and personal suitability. Motivation for the position, ambitions, and potential for research will also count when assessing the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed itself to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU's social mission).

General information

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt 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 exemption is not granted.

Application deadline: 08.10.2026

For practical information about working at NTNU, please visit this webpage.

The city of Trondheim

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the tech 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.

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Computer Science

We are the leading academic IT environment in Norway, and offer a wide range of theoretical and applied IT programmes of study at all levels. Our subject areas include hardware, algorithms, visual computing, AI, databases, software engineering, information systems, learning technology, HCI, CSCW, IT operations and applied data processing. The Department has groups in both Trondheim and Gjøvik. The Department of Computer Science is one of seven departments in the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering .

Questions About The Position

Leonardo Montecchi

Associate Professor

[phone]

[e-mail]

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Leonardo Montecchi, [phone], [e-mail].

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact our HR hiring team at [e-mail].