PhD Candidate in High Performance Computing and Simulation

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

Benefits offered by this job

Mentor programme

Pension fund benefit

Language training

Job summary

NTNU in Trondheim seeks a PhD Candidate to study performance and scalability of CFD simulations on current and future supercomputers. You will join the System Software Group and collaborate with Uninett Sigma2 to advance HPC research and prepare for a doctoral degree while gaining experience for an academic career.

You will complete the PhD within four years, publish research, present at conferences, and engage in international activities, with English proficiency required.

Qualifications

• Must meet admission to the PhD programme in computer science.
• Master's degree in computer science or equivalent with at least 30 ECTS project.
• Strong English skills, both written and spoken.
• Experience with MPI/OpenMP and a CFD simulation program contribution.

Responsibilities

• Complete the doctoral education up to the doctorate.
• Carry out high-quality research on performance modeling for CFD in HPC.
• Publish academic work and participate in conferences.
• Coordinate and manage practical exercises in parallel computing courses.

Skills

English proficiency

Research ability

Independent work

Education

Master's degree in CS

Tools

MPI

OpenMP

CUDA

OpenCL

SYCL

Job description

About The Position

Long term management of large scale computing infrastructures requires detailed knowledge of the performance parameters that affect their application software, as it aids in making future technology choices, predicting performance and scalability, and adapting critical software to new developments. The candidate will join the System Software Group, and study the performance and scalability characteristics of adapting scientific simulation software to current and future supercomputer hardware. The research work will be informed by collaborations with the scientific computing team that manages the local HPC resources at NTNU, and Uninett Sigma2, which manages both the Norwegian national infrastructure for HPC in Norway, and international connections. 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. Your immediate leader will be the head of the computing unit.

About The Project

The primary research goal will be to create quantitative performance models that describe a range of numerical methods, parallel programming models, and hardware platforms when we apply them to the CFD problem of simulating the sloshing motion of a fluid within a moving tank. The purpose of these experiments will be to identify the hardware/software interactions that dominate the parallel scalability of similar simulations, with a view towards informing future technology choices in the HPC sector.

Duties of the position

• Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate


• Carry out research of good quality within the framework described above


• Academic publications and popular science dissemination


• Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions


• Coordinating and managing the practical exercises in a course on parallel computing.

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.

Required Selection Criteria

• You must meet the requirements for admission according to Section 6-1 of the PhD regulations.


• 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.


• 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 oral and written presentation skills in English.


• You must have prior experience with the MPI and OpenMP programming models, and provide an example of a CFD simulation program you have contributed.

Preferred Selection Criteria

• Good oral and written presentation skills in Norwegian, or another scandinavian language


• Experience with the CUDA programming model for general-purpose GPUs


• Experience with the OpenCL programming model


• Experience with the SYCL programming model

Personal characteristics

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

• Work independently


• Work in a structured way, set goals and make plans to achieve them


• Present and discuss your research with other professionals


• Get involved and contribute constructively with feedback


• Work constructively under pressure or in the face of adversity


• Show curiosity and a strong motivation for the subject


• Analyze data, assess different perspectives and draw well-founded conclusions


• 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 4 years, including 3 years of doctoral work and 1 year of career promoting work as assigned by the department.

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.

Application deadline

Application deadline: 07.10.2026

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.

Contact information

If you have any questions about the position, please contact associate professor Jan Christian Meyer ([e-mail]), and if you have any questions regarding the hiring process please contact HR at [e-mail].

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

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

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

Jan Christian Meyer

Associate Professor

[e-mail]