PhD Student Statistical Uncertainty Safety Argumentation Autonomous Driving (f/m/d)

PhD Student Statistical Uncertainty Safety Argumentation Autonomous Driving (f/m/d)

Job ID:  15813
Company:  Volkswagen AG
Location: 

Wolfsburg, DE, 38436

Department:  Autonomous Driving
Career Level:  PhD students
Working Model:  Full-time
Contract Type:  Fixed-term
Remote Working:  Up to 80%
Posting Date:  Jul 1, 2025

PhD Student Statistical Uncertainty Safety Argumentation Autonomous Driving (f/m/d)

 

 

Work environment

You are working in an international team on one of the most exciting and challenging topics in the automotive industry: developing autonomous driving for series production for ride-pooling customers! Together with colleagues from technical (commercial vehicle) development and a development partner, you are developing the ID. Buzz AD (Autonomous Driving) and next-generation autonomous vehicles. For the approval of autonomous vehicles, a holistic safety argumentation is required for the first time. This argumentation combines well-known safety domains such as functional safety, operational safety, and cybersecurity with process-related and organizational requirements to achieve the highest possible level of safety for autonomous vehicles. Your task is to create the safety argumentation for the AD function in a timely and complete manner. You will work as part of a team of AD function experts and experts from the different safety domains.

Possible Tasks within this Role

  • Contributing to the safety assurance case for Level 4 autonomous driving
  • Supporting the qualitative safety argumentation through quantification
  • Researching the expression of uncertainty and confidence within the safety argumentation
  • Investigating the use of safety performance indicators within the safety argumentation
  • Linking uncertainty, confidence, and safety performance indicators into a coherent quantification framework

 

The final doctoral topic is defined together with the professor. The prerequisite for the cooperation is the confirmation of supervision as well as a confirmed delimitation of topics by the professor of a university or research institution entitled to confer a doctorate.

Qualification requirements

  • Good to very good university degree qualifying for doctoral studies in Computer Science, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics or a related field
  • Knowledge of safety engineering (functional safety, SOTIF, etc.)
  • Solid knowledge of an object-oriented programming language, e.g. Java
  • English and German language level B2
  • Strong analytical skills, quick comprehension, and willingness to familiarize oneself with new topics
  • High level of independence and initiative, a goal-oriented work style, strong team spirit, and excellent customer orientation

Keywords

uncertainty representation, Dempster-Shafer theory, theory of evidence, subjective logic, Bayesian network, uncertainty propagation, safety case


What we offer

  • Attractive salary & 30 vacation days (+ 24.12. and 31.12. off)
  • 35-hour week, flexible working hours, remote work
  • Special conditions for the purchase and leasing of vehicles
  • Free seminars on scientific work and interdisciplinary qualifications
  • Participation in the doctoral network for scientific exchange with science representatives and other doctoral candidates within the Volkswagen Group

Contact person for this posting: Fabian Wenzel

 

 

Work environment

You are working in an international team on one of the most exciting and challenging topics in the automotive industry: developing autonomous driving for series production for ride-pooling customers! Together with colleagues from technical (commercial vehicle) development and a development partner, you are developing the ID. Buzz AD (Autonomous Driving) and next-generation autonomous vehicles. For the approval of autonomous vehicles, a holistic safety argumentation is required for the first time. This argumentation combines well-known safety domains such as functional safety, operational safety, and cybersecurity with process-related and organizational requirements to achieve the highest possible level of safety for autonomous vehicles. Your task is to create the safety argumentation for the AD function in a timely and complete manner. You will work as part of a team of AD function experts and experts from the different safety domains.

Possible Tasks within this Role

  • Contributing to the safety assurance case for Level 4 autonomous driving
  • Supporting the qualitative safety argumentation through quantification
  • Researching the expression of uncertainty and confidence within the safety argumentation
  • Investigating the use of safety performance indicators within the safety argumentation
  • Linking uncertainty, confidence, and safety performance indicators into a coherent quantification framework

 

The final doctoral topic is defined together with the professor. The prerequisite for the cooperation is the confirmation of supervision as well as a confirmed delimitation of topics by the professor of a university or research institution entitled to confer a doctorate.

Qualification requirements

  • Good to very good university degree qualifying for doctoral studies in Computer Science, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics or a related field
  • Knowledge of safety engineering (functional safety, SOTIF, etc.)
  • Solid knowledge of an object-oriented programming language, e.g. Java
  • English and German language level B2
  • Strong analytical skills, quick comprehension, and willingness to familiarize oneself with new topics
  • High level of independence and initiative, a goal-oriented work style, strong team spirit, and excellent customer orientation

Keywords

uncertainty representation, Dempster-Shafer theory, theory of evidence, subjective logic, Bayesian network, uncertainty propagation, safety case


What we offer

  • Attractive salary & 30 vacation days (+ 24.12. and 31.12. off)
  • 35-hour week, flexible working hours, remote work
  • Special conditions for the purchase and leasing of vehicles
  • Free seminars on scientific work and interdisciplinary qualifications
  • Participation in the doctoral network for scientific exchange with science representatives and other doctoral candidates within the Volkswagen Group

Contact person for this posting: Fabian Wenzel

Job ID:  15813
Company:  Volkswagen AG
Location: 

Wolfsburg, DE, 38436

Department:  Autonomous Driving
Career Level:  PhD students
Working Model:  Full-time
Contract Type:  Fixed-term
Remote Working:  Up to 80%
Posting Date:  Jul 1, 2025

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