PhD Student in Information Technology

The Swedish Defence University hereby announces a position as a doctoral student in Defence Systems, in the field of space-based services with placement at the Department of Defence Systems in Stockholm.

You will be employed at the Department of Defence Systems, Swedish Defence University (FHS), and admitted as a PhD student in Information Technology at the Department of Information Technology at the University of Skövde (HiS).

The doctoral student position is funded through the Knowledge Foundation's Jubilee Doctoral Students initiative, which is designed to promote collaboration between academia and industry.

Research

The position focuses on the area of space-based capabilities and services. Domain competence is under construction at the Department of Defence Systems and you will, together with other researchers and doctoral students, contribute to research in the field.

A particular focus of the PhD project is on services and capabilities where robustness, redundancy and resilience in the space field can be improved. 

The project aims to identify existing and planned space-based services that are critical for Swedish society and for Sweden's total defence. 

Overall questions are: Which space-based services are critical for Swedish society and how can a redundant or resilient capability be obtained for identified space-based services with high availability requirements?

The development of space-based capabilities and services can be based on research carried out in relation to military, civilian, industrial or commercial aspects.

The PhD project will be located at the Department of Defence Systems and is carried out in collaboration with the Department of Information Technology with a focus on Information Security (IIT) at the University of Skövde. Supervisors will come from both institutions. 

The applicant should write a preliminary research plan that relates to the above area.

Assessment criteria

In the assessment, particular emphasis will be placed on the applicant's ability to benefit from the doctoral education, the scientific quality of previous work and proposals for the thesis focus (preliminary research plan), the relevance of the subject and its feasibility in relation to prioritized research areas.

The ability to collaborate, especially between academia and the business community, is a merit.

For the position, you must be able to express yourself very well in English, in speech and writing.

As a basis for the assessment of scientific quality of previous work, one or more independently written essays or equivalent in Swedish, English, Danish or Norwegian or in translation into one of these languages are required.

Employment

The total period of employment may not be longer than the equivalent of full-time doctoral education for four years. 

As the doctoral project is a collaboration between the Swedish Defence University and the University of Skövde, the employment requires that the doctoral student is admitted to doctoral studies at the University of Skövde. The Department of Defence Systems aids and supports in this procedure, but the position requires that the applicant meets the general and specific entry requirements at the University of Skövde in accordance with the Knowledge Foundation's conditions for the funding of the doctoral project. In particular, the master thesis of the student must include information technology or information systems components.

This means that the doctoral student conducts their doctoral education and has his or her daily activities located at the Swedish Defence University, but undergoes their education within the framework of the examination rights of the admitting higher education institution. The doctoral student will thus have the opportunity for supervision, as well to take part in courses and seminar series at both universities.

Salary setting of doctoral students is done according to a locally agreed salary ladder where the starting salary is currently SEK 31,500/month. Promotion will then take place in accordance with the Swedish Defence University's doctoral ladder.

Qualification

To meet the general entry requirements for third-cycle studies (Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 7, Section 39), the following must be achieved:

• completed a second-cycle degree
• completed course requirements of at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits are at second-cycle level, or,
• acquired essentially equivalent knowledge in some other way within or outside the country.

The university may grant an individual applicant an exemption from the general entry requirements if there are special reasons. Ordinance (2010:1064)

Specific entry requirements according to local regulations at the University of Skövde

In order to meet the specific entry requirements for admission to doctoral studies in the subject of Information Technology, the applicant must have fulfilled course requirements of at least 60 credits, including an independent thesis of at least 15 credits at advanced level, in the subject of Information Technology, related application areas or other subject areas that are deemed to be directly relevant to thesis work in the subject of Information Technology. Furthermore, a passing grade in English 6 or equivalent (i.e. native English speaker) is required. Equivalent knowledge is normally demonstrated through an internationally recognized language test, such as IELTS or TOEFL. This is however not necessary for native English speaker.

Application

The application is submitted via the Swedish Defence University's recruitment system by clicking on the link "Log in and apply for the job" on the advertisement page. Mark your application with reference number Ö 512/2025.

A complete application must be received by the Swedish Defence University no later than the last day of application at midnight, CET/ CEST (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).

Only complete applications will be processed. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that the application is complete and in accordance with what is stated in the advertisement. The application must be made in Swedish, English, Danish or Norwegian. Documents cited in other languages must be accompanied by an authorised translation. The applicant may be invited for interviews in the fall of 2025 with the aim of making a decision on employment and admission to the doctoral program during the autumn semester of 2025.

Starting date

By appointment.

An employment at the Swedish Defence University may entail a security clearance for placement in a security class, which means a register check and, in some cases, a security interview.

We welcome both Swedish and international applicants.

Information

For further information about the position please contact:

• Head of the Department of Defence Systems, Stefan Silfverskiöld, stefan.silfverskiold@fhs.se
• Chairman of the Scientific Council, Hans Liwång, hans.liwang@fhs.se
• Research leader Thomas Frisk, thomas.frisk@fhs.se 
• Supervisor Marcus Nohlberg, IFI-HIS, marcus.nohlberg@his.se
• HR Partner, christoffer.svensson@fhs.se

All of them can be reached by telephone through the Swedish Defence University's switchboard, 08-553 425 00 and the University of Skövde, 0500-44 80 00.

Welcome with your application no later than the 24th of August 2025.