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We are now looking for a PhD student in communication systems at the Department of Electrical Engineering (ISY).

Your work assignments

The position is embedded with the newly established multi-disciplinary center for heterogeneous adaptive swarm systems, CHASS. This is a national effort funded by the Swedish Strategic Research Foundation (SSF) to bring together leading researchers in AI, autonomous systems, communications and sensing systems, robots, and swarm intelligence to develop novel solutions for autonomous heterogeneous swarm systems for the benefit of Swedish industry and society. The vision is to make Sweden a leader in intelligent, adaptive, and trustworthy swarm systems by pioneering autonomous heterogeneous collectives of space, aerial, ground, surface, and underwater platforms that can operate as a unified intelligent entity with minimal human intervention. The research program focuses on six key themes: Drone Design, Adaptation, & Production; Perception, Sensing, & Communication; Autonomy, Localization, Mapping & Navigation; Coordination, Self-Governance, & Self-Improvement; Human Swarm Interaction; and Swarm-based Services & Socio-Technical Aspects. The PhD position in this announcement focus on research related to coordination, self-governance, and continuous improvement of autonomous swarm systems.

CHASS will perform world-class research in autonomous swarm systems through a strong, stimulating, and well-connected international research environment. Research outcomes will be validated in real-world scenarios with industry and public-sector partners. CHASS will also serve as a national hub for autonomous swarm systems, promoting education, knowledge sharing, innovation, and policy development. The PhD student will therefore work at the cutting edge of drone swarm technology within a richly multidisciplinary environment and will be part of an initial team of approximately 15 PhD students connected to CHASS.

Research topics lie at the intersection of perception, sensing, and communication, with a particular focus on distributed radar and communications over drone swarms, distributed coherent processing, and distributed synthetic aperture radar (SAR).

As a PhD student, you devote most of your time to doctoral studies and the research projects of which you are part. Your work may also include teaching or other departmental duties, up to a maximum of 20 per cent of full-time.

Your qualifications

You have graduated at Master’s level in Electrical Engineering or Applied Mathematics with a minimum of 240 credits, at least 60 of which must be in advanced courses in Electrical Engineering or Applied Mathematics. Alternatively, you have gained essentially corresponding knowledge in another way. The degree requirement must be met no later than at the time the employment decision is finalized, which occurs when the employment contract is signed.

We are looking for a candidate with strong mathematical maturity and excellent programming skills, as the research involves advanced signal processing and the development of algorithms. As the work is conducted in an international environment, excellent English skills, both spoken and written, are required. You are a collaborative team player who enjoys working with others. Furthermore, you are goal- and results-oriented, with strong problem-solving abilities, and you approach complex issues from an analytical and structured perspective.

Your workplace

The Division for Communication Systems carries out research, undergraduate and postgraduate eduction. Welcome to read more about us at: liu.se/en/organisation/liu/isy/ks.

To read more about ISY, please visit: https://liu.se/en/article/open-positions-at-isy.

The employment

When taking up the post, you will be admitted to the program for doctoral studies. More information about the doctoral studies at each faculty is available at Doctoral studies at Linköping University.

The employment has a duration of normally four years’ full-time equivalent. Extension of employment up to five years is based on the degree of teaching and institutional assignment. Further extensions may be granted in exceptional circumstances. You will initially be employed for one year, after which your employment will be renewed for a maximum of two years at a time, depending on your progress through the study plan.

To learn more on working as a PhD student at ISY, please contact: isyphdcouncil@groups.liu.se. 

Starting date by agreement.

Background screening may be carried out before any decision on employment is made.

Salary and employment benefits

The salary of PhD students is determined according to a locally negotiated salary progression.

More information about employment benefits at Linköping University is available here.

Union representatives

Information about union representatives, see Help for applicants.

Application procedure

Apply for the position by clicking the “Apply” button below. Your application must reach Linköping University no later than July 6, 2026.

Applications and documents received after the date above will not be considered.