Gerrit Muller

This PhD Research Fellow position is based in the Department of Science and Industry Systems at the University of South-Eastern Norway, campus Kongsberg, and is embedded in the wider SFI CELECT centre and the Norwegian Industrial Systems Engineering Research Group (NISE). The project focuses on life-cycle perspectives on system qualities , especially how long-living energy, infrastructure, and defence systems can remain changeable and affordable to update over decades. The research addresses a practical systems problem: early architecture decisions strongly influence how easily a system can be modified later, while information about the built system is often lost across handovers and during operation. The PhD will investigate how lightweight architecting, the digital thread, and AI can connect requirements, architecture, and operation across the life cycle, helping engineers reason about trade-offs between future changeability and life-cycle cost. The project is positioned in a strong industrial ecosystem. SFI CELECT brings together USN, NTNU, and the University of Agder together with leading industrial partners, and this PhD will use industry as a laboratory through real cases with companies such as TechnipFMC, Glitre Nett, Herøya Industripark, and Forsvarsmateriell. The student will work closely with engineers and systems architects on development projects, and may also have a research stay abroad. The academic environment combines doctoral training, collaborative research, and cross-institutional activity through CELECT and INRESCOS. The role is structured as organised research training leading toward the doctoral degree, with participation in courses, publications, workshops, and international research activity. The appointment is linked to systems engineering research with strong relevance to long-living technical systems and industrial practice.