At the M-Group at KU Leuven Bruges Campus, we are driving innovation in interconnected, intelligent mechatronic systems. A dedicated part of our team focuses on dependable autonomous systems and dynamic safety assurance, addressing the latest challenges in safety-critical autonomous operation and advancing the future of this rapidly evolving field in close collaboration with Flanders Make.
With the newly launched COSAIN project – “Co-Designing Safety, Control and Perception for Autonomous Outdoor Operation” – we are looking for an ambitious junior researcher to help develop next-generation methods for runtime safety assurance in autonomous systems operating in complex, uncertain environments.
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Project
COSAIN addresses a key challenge in autonomous systems: ensuring safe behaviour in dynamic and uncertain outdoor environments where perception, control, and safety are tightly interconnected. The project introduces a novel co-design approach centred around Dynamic Safety Cases (DSCs) that evolve during system operation and interact with perception, modelling, and control components.
As a PhD researcher, you will play a central scientific role in developing executable and runtime-integrated safety assurance mechanisms for the COSAIN project. Your responsibilities include:
- Developing machine-readable and executable safety case representations and methods to derive runtime monitoring requirements and safety performance indicators.
- Contributing to the development of dynamic safety case frameworks and their integration with runtime data and system behaviour.
- Collaborating closely within an interdisciplinary team working on perception, modelling, and control.
- Participating in experiments and validation (simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, real-world demonstrators).
- Collaborating with industrial partners and contributing to use cases in domains such as inland navigation and robotics.
- Publish research results in leading international journals and conferences.
Profile
We are looking for a candidate with the following background:
- A master degree in Safety Engineering, Computer Science, Electronics, Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field.
- Strong interest in safety engineering, autonomous systems, or cyber-physical systems.
- Experience or interest in safety analysis methods and runtime safety assurance approaches.
- Familiarity with model-based safety engineering tools is a strong plus.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication and scientific writing skills in English.
- Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively in multidisciplinary teams.
Offer
We offer:
- A fully funded 4-year PhD position at KU Leuven.
- The opportunity to contribute to pioneering interdisciplinary research at the intersection of safety engineering, autonomous systems, and runtime assurance.
- Access to advanced simulation environments and real-world autonomous system demonstrators (including vessel experiments).
- A dynamic and internationally connected research environment with strong industrial involvement through Flanders Make.
- Opportunities to collaborate with leading companies in autonomous systems, robotics, maritime technology, and sensing.
- Participation in international conferences, workshops and collaborative European research initiatives.
- A competitive salary and a comprehensive package of university benefits.
Interested?
For more information please contact Prof. dr. ir. Davy Pissoort, mail: [email protected] or Mr. Dries Vanoost, mail: [email protected].
KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.
