PhD stipend in resilient communication for drone swarms

The Department of Electronic Systems at The Technical Faculty of IT and Design invites applications for a PhD stipend in the field of resilient communication for drone swarms within the general study programme Wireless Communications; as per September 1 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter. The duration of the position is three years.

Your work tasks

You will join a cross-department project on AI-enabled distributed aerial systems that aims to significantly advance the core technologies for future defence drone systems. The project addresses how large drone swarms can operate in hostile and Global Navigation Satellite System denied environments where conventional communication links positioning support and fixed formations cannot be relied on. Within this project you will focus on the communication and radio based positioning while a companion PhD position at the Department of Architecture Design and Media Technology focuses on artificial intelligence based situational awareness. A dedicated postdoctoral researcher will work on integrating technologies and demonstrating proof of concept in lab environments.

In this PhD position you will conduct research on resilient communication for drone systems and swarms. You will study how to design analyse and evaluate mesh protocols and swarm communication schemes that can maintain coordination and information sharing under interference jamming dynamic topology changes and strict constraints on cost weight and power. You will explore how to integrate such mesh networking solutions with existing and emerging infrastructure-based systems for example fifth generation mobile communication technologies to create robust hybrid communication architectures tailored to the demands of aerial swarms.

Your work will combine analytical modelling simulation and emulation of larger swarms with experiments on real hardware when feasible. You will collaborate with colleagues in the Dependable Wireless Communication research group and with the Visual Analysis and Perception Lab to define joint scenarios where communication and perception algorithms are tested together. You will contribute to proof-of-concept demonstrations a the project progresses. Throughout the project you will interact with defence partners in Denmark and Ukraine and with relevant industry actors who are interested in dual-use drone technologies.

As part of your employment you will contribute to teaching activities at the Department of Electronic Systems. This will typically include supervision of project groups and assistance in courses in topics such as wireless communication networking signal processing or related areas depending on your profile and the departments current needs. You will also take part in the activities of the Technical Doctoral School of IT and Design including PhD courses seminars and summer or winter schools.

Your competencies

You have a Masters degree in wireless communication telecommunications electrical engineering network engineering or a related discipline and you are interested in research questions that combine fundamental communication theory with practical system design. You have a solid grounding in wireless communication principles and are familiar with concepts such as channel modelling link budgets interference and reliability. You also bring knowledge of network protocols and architecture and are ready to work with mesh networking and multi-hop communication in challenging environments. Programming and modelling skills in environments such as Matlab or Python are important and experience with network simulators or radio hardware provides a useful foundation for the project.

You like to reason rigorously about system performance but you are also motivated to see your ideas tested in realistic settings. You are comfortable working both independently and as part of a team and you enjoy collaborating with researchers from other fields such as artificial intelligence and computer vision. You are prepared to engage with applied partners in defence and industry and you are curious about how your research can support both defence and civilian use cases. If you bring insight from previous work with defence technologies or from a military context this can contribute to discussions about scenarios and operational requirements but it is not a formal prerequisite.

You communicate clearly in English in writing and speech and you are ready to present your work to both academic and applied audiences. You are willing to travel for project meetings summer schools and international conferences as part of your PhD studies and see such activities as an integral part of your development as a researcher.

Qualification requirements
PhD stipends are allocated to individuals who hold a Masters degree. PhD stipends are normally for a period of 3 years. It is a prerequisite for allocation of the stipend that the candidate will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Technical Doctoral School of IT and Design in accordance with the regulations of Ministerial Order No. 1124 of September 19 2025 on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions. According to the Ministerial Order the progress of the PhD student shall be assessed at regular points in time. As part of the PhD study you are among other things required to complete PhD courses corresponding to 30 ECTS gain experience with teaching or other forms of knowledge dissemination and complete an external research stay outside of Aalborg University preferably 3-6 months at a foreign research institution.

Who we are

You will be employed at the Department of Electronic Systems at Aalborg University and will be part of the Wireless Communication Networks section at Fredrik Bajers Vej 7 in Aalborg. Within this section you will be attached to the Dependable Wireless Communication research group which focuses on communication solutions for defence emergency and other critical applications using hardened and dual-use technologies. The group leads several defence research projects and works closely with the Danish Armed Forces the Ukrainian Electronic Warfare Systems Research Center and industrial partners on topics such as resilient communication network design and system evaluation.

The Wireless Communication Networks section works on methods and technologies for future wireless communication needs and has established facilities such as an Internet of Things Living Lab to support experimentation and collaboration with external stakeholders. Within this environment you will find colleagues with deep expertise in communication theory protocol design and system implementation and you will have access to relevant laboratory infrastructure and experimental platforms for your PhD work.

The Department of Electronic Systems employs more than 200 people of which about 90 are PhD students and about 40 % of all employees are total it has more than 600 students in its BSc and MSc programs which are based on AAUs problem-based learning model. The department leverages its unique research infrastructure and lab facilities to conduct world-leading fundamental and applied research within communication networks control systems AI sound cyber security and robotics. The department plays an active role in transferring inventions and results into applications in close collaboration with industrial partners worldwide. You can read more about the department at .

Aalborg University is recognised internationally for its engineering education and research profile and offers a stimulating environment for early-career researchers. As a PhD fellow you will be part of a large community of doctoral students at the Technical Faculty of IT and Design with access to a broad catalogue of PhD courses seminars and networking activities. The university emphasises problem based and project organised work and you will experience a high degree of autonomy in planning your research while having close access to supervision and guidance. The general working conditions include flexible working hours and the possibility for remote work by agreement within the framework of the departments activities.

How to apply
Your application must include the following:

• Application stating reasons for applying and qualifications in relation to the position
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Diplomas (bachelors and masters degree diploma including grades)
• Other relevant documents

The application must be submitted via Aalborg Universitys recruitment system which can be accessed under the job advertisement on Aalborg Universitys website.

Aalborg University wants to reflect the surrounding society and has diversity as a core value. Therefore everyone regardless of personal background and orientation is encouraged to apply for the position.

Do you have any questions
If you have any questions about the position you are more than welcome to contact us. You will find contact persons at the bottom of the jobpost.

Further information
Read more about our recruitment process here.

The assessment of candidates for the position will be carried out by qualified experts.
Shortlisting will be applied. This means that after the application deadline the head of the department with the assistance of the hiring committee will select the applicants to be assessed. All applicants will be informed whether they have been shortlisted for assessment or not.

The hiring process at Aalborg University may include a risk assessment as a tool to identify potential risks associated with new hires ensuring the safety compliance and integrity of the workplace.

Read more about The Technical Doctoral School of IT and Design

Salary and terms of employment
The employment is in accordance with the Ministerial Order on the Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities (the Appointment Order) and the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities (in Danish).

Salary and terms of employment are in accordance with the collective agreement between the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations and the state (AC collective agreement) (in Danish)

Aalborg University - Knowledge for the world
Aalborg University is an international workplace with more than 3700 employees. We offer real-world-oriented education and create world-class research results through collaboration between researchers students and public and private companies. This is how we achieve insights new solutions to societal problems and knowledge that changes the world. Our main campus is in Aalborg but we also have campuses in Esbjerg and Copenhagen.