Job Advertisement: Researcher in Civil Communication Systems

The Total Defence Research Institute (FOI) is a government agency conducting world-leading research in defence and security to support Sweden's military and civil defence. The research spans several areas, including underwater, cyber defence, space, electronic warfare, sensor systems, civil defence, CBRNe (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive materials), military platforms including weapons and protection, as well as security policy analysis. FOI's research plays a key role in building Sweden's defence capability.

Do you want to work with advanced applied research and development in a dynamic workplace at the forefront of technology? Then FOI could be your new workplace! We offer a balanced work life, a developing work environment, and a socially important job!

About the Position

Nowadays, the Swedish Armed Forces use civil communication systems to a greater extent than before. For example, civil mobile telephony, satellite communication, and WiFi are used. To utilize civil communication systems in a military context, knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of these systems compared to military requirements such as resilience and uninterrupted service is necessary.

In our assignments, there is a need for increased knowledge of civil communication systems such as 4G and 5G, covering everything from the physical layer's construction to how a core network reacts to intentional interference. Our focus is twofold: how we use mobile networks in the most appropriate way and how a mobile network can be degraded by an adversary.

Your tasks with us will include applied problems to identify strengths and weaknesses in today's and tomorrow's mobile networks to ensure robust functionality within the military defence.

The work is project-based in collaboration with other researchers within and outside FOI. Our projects are relatively small, which means your contribution will be an important part of the whole, and you will have a great opportunity to influence project outcomes. You will have good opportunities to follow your idea from sketch to finished system.

Since we often verify our results in realistic environments with field measurements, it is a plus if you appreciate being outside the office and lab environment.

About the Unit

You will be part of the Robust Radio Communication unit, which belongs to the Electronic Warfare department. The unit covers a wide range of technologies, providing great opportunities for varied tasks. The military requirements such as resilience, uninterrupted service, and detection probability, along with high mobility, differentiate our activities from those normally conducted by other actors such as academia and companies. We work with radio communication for military users on frequencies from 10 kHz to 100 GHz in close collaboration with clients from all parts of the military defence to ensure high connectivity in peace, crisis, and war.

Do you have the competence profile we need?

Requirements

We are looking for someone who has:

• A Master's degree in engineering physics, electrical engineering, computer engineering, IT, or another equivalent education,
• Good ability to express yourself verbally and in writing in both Swedish and English.

We want you to be an initiative-taking, self-driven, and structured person with good problem-solving and analytical skills. We solve our tasks together and individually, which means you need to be able to combine independent work with frequent social interaction with colleagues.

We place great importance on your personal qualities.

Meritorious

We often work with broad questions, so it is meritorious, but not necessary, if you have knowledge in any of the following areas:

• Knowledge of civil wireless communication systems (e.g., Tetra/RAKEL, 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi)
• Knowledge of radio technology or communication systems
• Signal processing or machine learning for wireless communication
• Experience with Matlab, Python, or C++
• Experience working with test environments and lab equipment
• Experience in the defence domain, e.g., through previous employment, military service, military volunteer organizations, or companies supplying to defence authorities

We want to utilize all your knowledge and interests, so please describe any other skills you wish to continue developing with us.

What do we offer you?

The Total Defence Research Institute (FOI) is a government agency conducting world-leading research in defence and security to support Sweden's military and civil defence. We offer a unique workplace where you can work on what is important for total defence and society as a whole. The research is applied both within defence authorities and with civil actors and plays a crucial role in building a relevant and effective defence capability.

We consciously work for a good work environment with a good balance between work and private life. In addition, we offer a range of benefits. Read more about what it is like to work with us: Work with us (https://www.foi.se/jobba-hos-oss.html)

The position is a permanent employment that may start with a six-month probationary period.

Do you want to be part of finding answers for a safer world?

Welcome with your application in the form of a CV and cover letter via the application button no later than December 14, 2025!

For more information about the position, please contact unit manager Johan Falk. Union representatives are Ulf Sterner (Saco-S) and Pernilla Bergfeldt (OFR/S – ST) All can be reached at 08-555 030 00.

As the employment is placed in a security class, Swedish citizenship is required. A security check with a background check will be conducted before employment according to the Security Protection Act (2018:585). For the security check, certified copies of relevant education and service certificates will be requested.

FOI is an authority where submitted application documents become public documents that can be disclosed to third parties upon request according to the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act.

Offers from recruitment companies are declined.