PhD Research Fellow in Systems Engineering – Life-cycle perspectives on system qualities: changeability and affordability

Doctorat / PhD Profil chercheur : First Stage Researcher (R1) Type de contrat : Temporary Date limite de candidature : 15 Dec 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Oslo) Date de début : 1 May 2027 Programme UE : Not funded by a EU programme Département : Department of Science and Industry Systems Domaine : Other

Do you want to contribute to the development of knowledge, insight and solutions that are relevant to society and working life today and in the future? Power grids and energy installations run for 30–50 years – but the information about how they are actually built is often wrong. Help make long-living systems easy and affordable to update. We are looking for a PhD research fellow within Systems Engineering. About the position Do you want to help keep long-living energy and infrastructure systems up to date, changeable and affordable for decades? Join us as a PhD research fellow at the Department of Science and Industry Systems, campus Kongsberg. Start: May 2027 (at the latest August 2027). You will be part of SFI CELECT – the Centre for Effective Engineering and Learning in Complex Systems – whose vision is to do more with less, and faster. The centre, funded by the Research Council of Norway, brings together Norway's leading industrial companies and 30 PhD candidates across USN, NTNU and the University of Agder. You will also join the Industrial Research School in Complex Systems (INRESCOS). Campus Kongsberg sits at the heart of one of Norway's strongest technology clusters, with world-leading companies in maritime, defence, aerospace, energy and subsea technology. Research and industry work side by side – giving you a unique network and strong career opportunities in industry or academia. The position is a three-year educational position with pure organised research training. A four-year appointment with 25% career-advancing work may be considered. You must apply for and be admitted to the doctoral programme in Technology (Systems Engineering) within three months of starting. The programme includes courses of about six months (30 ECTS), an independent thesis, research dissemination, a trial lecture and a public defence. Your supervisors will be Professor Kristin Falk (main supervisor) and Professor Gerrit Muller (co-supervisor). Your workplace will be shared between campus Kongsberg and one or several CELECT partner companies: depending on the project, you will spend between 3 and 30 months located at a company's premises. You are expected to be present at campus or at the company during ordinary working hours. About the doctoral project The aim of this PhD is to develop lightweight, AI-supported architecting methods that make long-living systems changeable and affordable – from early architecture decisions to upgrades decades later. Energy, infrastructure and defence systems run for 30–50 years. Early architecture decisions largely determine how well they can be changed later, and what that costs. Yet changeability and affordability often start as vague requirements, and asset information gets lost through many manual handovers. Without knowing the real configuration in the field, every upgrade becomes slow, costly and risky. In this PhD you will investigate how lightweight architecting, the digital thread and AI can connect requirements, architecture and operation across the life cycle – and help engineers weigh changeability against life-cycle cost. Questions you could explore: • Where and why are changeability and affordability lost between requirements, operation and maintenance? • How can AI and the digital thread support early trade-offs, and later decisions on upgrades and reinvestment? • How well do such methods transfer between product development, critical infrastructure and defence? You will help shape the final research questions together with your supervisors and industry partners. The project is part of SFI CELECT headed by Professor Kristin Falk. Industrial cases will be selected among CELECT partners such as TechnipFMC, Glitre Nett, Herøya Industripark and Forsvarsmateriell. Using industry as your laboratory, you will work alongside engineers and systems architects on real development projects. A research stay abroad may be possible. This position is one of several related CELECT PhD positions at USN: it focuses on the long life cycle of systems, and complements positions on early design and validation (PhD1.3), early systems integration in systems-of-systems (PhD1.5) and competence development for industry (PhD5.1). You will be part of the Norwegian Industrial Systems Engineering Research Group ( NISE ). Duties Complete the doctoral programme up to completion of the doctoral degree within the employment period Conduct high-calibre research within the framework described above Academic publications in high-quality journals and conferences Actively work with companies in an industry-as-laboratory environment, combining qualitative and quantitative research Report progress and deliver outputs to the CELECT centre Participate in the Norwegian Industrial Systems Engineering Research Group ( NISE ) Active involvement in SFI CELECT's doctoral team across NTNU, USN and UiA, including the research school INRESCOS, and participation in common workshops, learning events and courses Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign research and educational institutions Be prepared for changes in your work tasks after appointment

Do you want to contribute to the development of knowledge, insight and solutions that are relevant to society and working life today and in the future?

Power grids and energy installations run for 30–50 years – but the information about how they are actually built is often wrong. Help make long-living systems easy and affordable to update. We are looking for a PhD research fellow within Systems Engineering.

About the position

Do you want to help keep long-living energy and infrastructure systems up to date, changeable and affordable for decades? Join us as a PhD research fellow at the Department of Science and Industry Systems, campus Kongsberg. Start: May 2027 (at the latest August 2027).

You will be part of SFI CELECT – the Centre for Effective Engineering and Learning in Complex Systems – whose vision is to do more with less, and faster. The centre, funded by the Research Council of Norway, brings together Norway's leading industrial companies and 30 PhD candidates across USN, NTNU and the University of Agder. You will also join the Industrial Research School in Complex Systems (INRESCOS).

Campus Kongsberg sits at the heart of one of Norway's strongest technology clusters, with world-leading companies in maritime, defence, aerospace, energy and subsea technology. Research and industry work side by side – giving you a unique network and strong career opportunities in industry or academia.

The position is a three-year educational position with pure organised research training. A four-year appointment with 25% career-advancing work may be considered.

You must apply for and be admitted to the doctoral programme in Technology (Systems Engineering) within three months of starting. The programme includes courses of about six months (30 ECTS), an independent thesis, research dissemination, a trial lecture and a public defence.

Your supervisors will be Professor Kristin Falk (main supervisor) and Professor Gerrit Muller (co-supervisor). Your workplace will be shared between campus Kongsberg and one or several CELECT partner companies: depending on the project, you will spend between 3 and 30 months located at a company's premises. You are expected to be present at campus or at the company during ordinary working hours.

About the doctoral project

The aim of this PhD is to develop lightweight, AI-supported architecting methods that make long-living systems changeable and affordable – from early architecture decisions to upgrades decades later.

Energy, infrastructure and defence systems run for 30–50 years. Early architecture decisions largely determine how well they can be changed later, and what that costs. Yet changeability and affordability often start as vague requirements, and asset information gets lost through many manual handovers. Without knowing the real configuration in the field, every upgrade becomes slow, costly and risky.

In this PhD you will investigate how lightweight architecting, the digital thread and AI can connect requirements, architecture and operation across the life cycle – and help engineers weigh changeability against life-cycle cost. Questions you could explore: • Where and why are changeability and affordability lost between requirements, operation and maintenance? • How can AI and the digital thread support early trade-offs, and later decisions on upgrades and reinvestment? • How well do such methods transfer between product development, critical infrastructure and defence?

You will help shape the final research questions together with your supervisors and industry partners.

The project is part of SFI CELECT headed by Professor Kristin Falk. Industrial cases will be selected among CELECT partners such as TechnipFMC, Glitre Nett, Herøya Industripark and Forsvarsmateriell. Using industry as your laboratory, you will work alongside engineers and systems architects on real development projects. A research stay abroad may be possible.

This position is one of several related CELECT PhD positions at USN: it focuses on the long life cycle of systems, and complements positions on early design and validation (PhD1.3), early systems integration in systems-of-systems (PhD1.5) and competence development for industry (PhD5.1).

You will be part of the Norwegian Industrial Systems Engineering Research Group ( NISE ).

Duties

Complete the doctoral programme up to completion of the doctoral degree within the employment period

Conduct high-calibre research within the framework described above

Academic publications in…