Doctoral student in Power Electronics

The position will be located in the power electronics research group within the school of electrical engineering and computer science at KTH. The group carries out research in several fields, notably high-power electronics for power transmission grids, and applications of wide-bandgap power semiconductors.

The world today faces a major challenge when it comes to reducing emissions related to the transport of people and goods. Heavy road vehicles contribute 5-7% of total human greenhouse gas emissions and are particularly difficult to electrify due to their long range, high power, and reliability requirements.

Integrating the entire drive system, both motor and inverter, into a driven rear axle of a commercial vehicle offers very interesting possibilities in terms of compactness, efficiency, and modularity. The project will explore the power electronic aspects of this possibility in different ways. This will require a holistic perspective where both electrical, mechanical, and thermal perspectives are taken into account. The student will investigate new cooling methods involving both the power semiconductors and the DC link capacitors. In addition, the aspect of vibration resilience is critical and will be studied.

The project is linked to national and EU projects that KTH participates in. This provides great opportunities to establish a strong personal network that will be valuable for a future career.

Third-cycle subject: Electrical Engineering

Supervision: Docent Staffan Norrga and Professor Hans-Peter Nee.

• The possibility to study in a dynamic and international research environment in collaboration with industries and prominent universities from all over the world.Read more
• A workplace with many employee benefits and monthly salary according to KTH’s Doctoral student salary agreement.
• A postgraduate education at an institution that is active and supportive in matters pertaining to working conditions, gender equality and diversity as well as study environment.
• Help to relocate and be settled in Sweden and at KTH .
• Participation in a very inclusive and multidisciplinary group carrying out world-class research in power electronics.

To be admitted to postgraduate education (Chapter 7, 39 § Swedish Higher Education Ordinance), the applicant must have basic eligibility in accordance with either of the following:

• passed a second cycle degree (for example a master's degree), or
• completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 second-cycle higher education credits, or
• acquired, in some other way within or outside the country, substantially equivalent knowledge

In addition to the above, there is also a mandatory requirement for English equivalent to English B/6, read more here

In order to succeed as a doctoral student at KTH you need to be goal oriented and persevering in your work. During the selection process, candidates will be assessed upon their ability to:

• independently pursue his or her work
• collaborate with others,
• have a professional approach, 
• analyse and work with complex issues, 
• have knowledge of enabling technologies for power electronics, for instance: electromagnetics, semiconductor technology, and materials science,
• use 3D solid modelling tools, and
• do experimental work in power electronics, for instance, building and testing power converters. 

After the qualification requirements, great emphasis will be placed on personal competency. 

Target degree:  Doctoral degree

Only those admitted to postgraduate education may be employed as a doctoral student. The total length of employment may not be longer than what corresponds to full-time doctoral education in four years ' time. An employed doctoral student can, to a limited extent (maximum 20%), perform certain tasks within their role, e.g. training and administration. A new position as a doctoral student is for a maximum of one year, and then the employment may be renewed for a maximum of two years at a time.

Contact information KTH's website .

Contact information section's website .

Apply for the position and admission through KTH's recruitment system. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the advertisement.

Applications must be received at the last closing date at midnight, CET/CEST (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).

Applications must include:

• CV including your relevant professional experience and knowledge.
• Application letter with a brief description of why you want to pursue research studies, about what your academic interests are and how they relate to your previous studies and future goals. (Maximum 2 pages long)
• Copies of diplomas and grades from previous university studies and certificates of fulfilled language requirements (see above) . Translations into English or Swedish if the original document is not issued in one of these languages.Copies of originals must be certified .
• Representative publications or technical reports. For longer documents, please provide a summary (abstract) and a web link to the full text.

Striving towards gender equality, diversity and equal conditions is both a question of quality for KTH and a given part of our values.

For information about processing of personal data in the recruitment process please read here.

We firmly decline all contact with staffing, recruitment agencies and job ad salespersons.

Disclaimer: In case of discrepancy between the Swedish original and the English translation of the job announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.