PhD Candidate in Space-Based Capabilities and Services

The Swedish Defence University is an internationally renowned institution in defense, crisis management, and security. We offer a unique academic environment where civilian meets military. We educate civilian and military leaders, experts, and researchers who will analyze and manage today's and future crisis situations and security problems. The Swedish Defence University trains Sweden's officers and leads the academic development of the officer profession. We conduct research in law focusing on operational law and international law, defense systems, military science, leadership and management, military history, and political science.

Defense systems is a subject at the intersection of social sciences and engineering that examines how technical and social components affect the systems used for society's defense and security. Within the subject of defense systems, both research and education address how military units with new equipment should be organized or how the next generation of combat aircraft should be designed to achieve the greatest possible air defense effect or other critical societal areas such as energy supply under stressful conditions. Please read more about the subject and our activities here: Defense Systems (https://www.fhs.se/utbildning/vara-amnen/forsvarssystem.html).

Research Area

The position focuses on space-based capabilities and services. This domain expertise is being developed at the Department of Defense Systems, and you will contribute to research and teaching in the area together with other researchers and PhD candidates.

A particular focus of the PhD project is on services and capabilities where robustness, redundancy, and resilience in the space domain can be improved. The project may include research on Space Situational Awareness (SSA), Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST), or Space Support to Operations (SSO).

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

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

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

The PhD project will be located at the Department of Defense Systems and will be conducted in collaboration with the Department of Information Technology focusing on information security (IIT) at the University of Skövde. Supervision and questions, as well as advanced-level courses, will be shared between the institutions.

Applicants are required to write a preliminary research plan related to the above area.

Employment

The total employment period may not exceed what corresponds to full-time doctoral education for four years. A employed PhD candidate may, to a limited extent (maximum 20%), perform certain tasks within education and administration, which results in an extension of the employment for the corresponding time. With departmental duties, the total employment period is a maximum of five years.

Salary setting for PhD candidates is done according to a locally agreed salary scale where the starting salary is currently 31,500 SEK/month. Progression occurs in accordance with the Swedish Defence University's PhD salary scale.

Eligibility

Basic eligibility for doctoral education (Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 7, Section 39) is granted to those who:

• have obtained a master's degree,
• have completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 higher education credits at the master's level, or,
• have acquired equivalent knowledge in some other way within or outside the country.

The university may grant exceptions from the requirement for basic eligibility for an individual applicant if there are special reasons. Regulation (2010:1064)

Special eligibility according to local regulations at the University of Skövde.

To meet the requirement for special eligibility for admission to doctoral education in the subject of information technology, the applicant must have completed course requirements of at least 60 credits, including an independent thesis of at least 15 credits at the master's level, in the subject of information technology, closely related application areas, or other subject areas deemed directly relevant to the dissertation work in the subject of information technology. Furthermore, a passing grade in English 6 or equivalent is required. Equivalent knowledge is normally demonstrated through an internationally recognized language test, such as IELTS or TOEFL.

Application

Applications should be 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 the diary number Ö 234/2025.

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. Applications should be made in Swedish, English, Danish, or Norwegian. Authorized translations must be attached to documents in other languages. Applicants may be called for interviews during the spring of 2025 with the aim of making decisions on employment and admission to the doctoral program well before the autumn semester of 2025.

Inquiries

Further information about the position can be obtained from:

• Head of the Department of Defense Systems, Stefan Silfverskiöld, stefan.silfverskiold@fhs.se (mailto:stefan.silfverskiold@fhs.se)
• Chair of the Subject Council Hans Liwång, hans.liwang@fhs.se (mailto:hans.liwang@fhs.se)
• Research Leader Thomas Frisk, thomas.frisk@fhs.se (mailto:thomas.frisk@fhs.se)

Welcome with your application by April 16, 2025! We kindly decline offers of recruitment and advertising assistance due to government procurement regulations.