PhD Candidate in Demonstration of safety and reliability of novel control technologies

17 Apr 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Department

Department of Engineering Cybernetics (ITK)

Research Field

Engineering » Control engineering
Engineering » Simulation engineering
Engineering » Systems engineering
Technology » Safety technology

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Norway

Application Deadline

12 May 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Oslo)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

37,5

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description
This is NTNU

NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

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

About the job

The PhD position is a part of the research center SUBPRO-Zero (SUstainable Bridge PROgram towards Zero emissions), that has the mission to conduct fundamental and applied research to contribute to net-zero emissions in the offshore industry. Industrial partners include Equinor, Aker BP, TotalEnergies, Vår Energi, Petrobras, Aker Solutions, Kongsberg Digital and Siemens Energy.

The transition period into climate neutral zero emission energy production involves oil and gas production, as a supplementary energy source and as an input to e.g., blue hydrogen production. As the access to develop new oil and gas fields may decline over the coming years, it is even more important to recover as much as possible from the existing developed fields. Here, sea water treatment and injection systems play an important role to enhance the recovery factor of existing fields.

Autonomous subsea seawater injection system is a novel, but yet not proven, system concept requiring the following capabilities:

• Cover sea water treatment and chemical storage
• To be operated in an autonomous way, including the control of injection tree, at an autonomy level 4, here defined as a system in full control in certain situations and where humans may supervise and intervene as needed.
• Not physically tied to a floating production unit
• All electric solutions, not dependent on hydraulic power supplies
• Power supplied by an external source (e.g., floating wind turbines)
• Can communicate and transfer essential data to the control room

This research project will have the primary focus on ensuring safe and reliable autonomous operation at level 4, where safety aspects relate to protecting the environment and the critical subsea infrastructure.

The research will address the following challenges:

     1.    Safety and reliability requirements for autonomous operation
     2.    Technology qualification process
     3.    Qualitative and quantitative safety and reliability analysis methods
     4.    Modeling and simulation of autonomous control system
     5.    Simulation-based testing of autonomous control strategies
     6.    Incorporation of digital twins to support the qualification process, including exploration of industry standards like asset administration shell (AAS)

The project will involve relevant use cases from industry and active industry collaboration.

The main supervisor of the research is Professor Mary Ann Lundteigen as main supervisor, with co-supervision by Professor Jørn Vatn at the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. The PhD project is part of SUBPRO-Zero  which is a larger research center with industry partners. 

Your immediate leader is Professor Mary Ann Lundteigen.

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree.

Duties of the position

• Take part in the mandatory Ph.D. research education program.
• Conduct independent research and publish the result in recognized scientific journals and conferences.
• Participate actively in activities of SUBPRO-Zero and in relevant Ph.D. seminar series.
• Present achieved results at SUBPRO-Zero reference group meetings. 
• Interact with industry partners, including short mobility visits.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in Cybernetics (Control Engineering) and/or Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and Safety (RAMS).
• If you are a student at NTNU starting in the last year of the master education in study programs related to engineering cybernetics at the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, you may apply for qualification for integrated PhD, see https://www.ntnu.no/ie/forskning/integrertphd  . 
• 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. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• Master's students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented within start-up date.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program in Engineering Cybernetics https://www.ntnu.edu/studies/phtk  . 
• For applicants with primary background in RAMS: Sufficient background in control theory to take at least one of the mandatory course work from the PhD program in Cybernetics, see https://www.ntnu.edu/studies/phtk/coursework  
• For applicants with primary background in control engineering: Ability and willingness to carry out at least one PhD or master course within safety analysis and probabilistic reliability modeling.
• Experience in the use of Python and/or MATLAB, and a strong will to learn more.
• Excellent English writing and oral skills.

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 at the norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

Preferred selection criteria

• Experience in writing scientific papers and/or reports
• Some experience with safety systems
• Some experience with autonomous control systems
• Some experience with safety and reliability analysis

Personal characteristics

• Problem-solver
• Focused on results
• Team-player
• Good communicator
• Willing to learn

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

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 532 200 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 PhD programme in Engineering Cybernetics  within three months of employment, and that you participate in an organized PhD programme during the employment period.

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.

The position is subject to external funding.

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

About the application

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow 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 
• 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 
• 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 NOKUT, 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.  

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

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 Professor Mary Ann Lundteigen, e-mail: [email protected]  . If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Consultant Berit Dahl, e-mail: [email protected]  . 

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: 12.05.2024.

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 Engineering Cybernetics (ITK)

Engineering cybernetics is the study of automatic control and monitoring of dynamic systems. We develop the technologies of tomorrow through close cooperation with industry and academia, both in Norway and internationally. The Department contributes to the digitalization, automation and robotization of society. The Department of Engineering Cybernetics  is one of seven departments in the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering .

Requirements

Research Field

Engineering » Control engineering

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Engineering » Simulation engineering

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Engineering » Systems engineering

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Research Field

Technology » Safety technology

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Additional Information
Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Country

Norway

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/261759/phd-candidate-in-demonstr…

Contact

City

Trondheim

Website

http://www.ntnu.no

Postal Code

N-7491

STATUS: EXPIRED