Industrial PhD Student in World Models and Autonomous Driving

Industrial PhD Student in World Models and Autonomous Driving

TRATON is a group of strong brands with a shared mission: transforming transportation together to create the future of sustainable transport solutions. Within TRATON, we include MAN, Scania, Volkswagen Truck & Bus, and International. As part of a global team of industry experts, you get to think bigger, experience more, and reach further.

Together, we have the power to transform transportation.

Let´s make a difference together.

Find out more: www.traton.com

Our values – customer first, respect, team spirit, responsibility, and elimination of waste – are at the heart of everything we do.

Perhaps youhold aMaster’sdegree in a relevant field or are about to graduate in the coming months.Maybe youare looking for the opportunity to pursue a PhD whileremainingclose to real-world industrial challenges. If so, please continue reading.

Role Summary

**The PhD project **

Have you ever thought about how effortlessly we navigate through the world? Most of the time, we move through familiar environmentsalmost automatically, relying on our senses and an internal understanding of how the world works.Yet when something unexpected happens, we immediately switch to a more deliberate mode of reasoning.**Can we build autonomous vehicles that do something similar whilemaintainingthe level of safetyrequiredfor real-world deployment? **

The goal of this projectis toe**ndow our vehicleswith the ability torepresentand understand the worldin ordertosafelynavigate through it.**This will entail developing end-to-end trainable models that transform multimodal sensor data into compact and informative representations that support real-time trajectory planning. A particular focus of the project is understanding how compact world representations can support real-time decision-making under realistic industrial constraints.

Heavy-duty vehicles introduce challenges that differ from passenger cars. They are oftenarticulated,their mass can vary significantly depending on the load, and they require specialized maneuvers to navigate safely.The models we develop must therefore be efficient, robust, and able to generalize across different vehicle configurations.

This Is Us

***Within TRATON Group R&D, you are an important part of something bigger. Joining us means gaining access to the ins and outs of the entire transportation industry.

At TRATON, you will work with teams developing autonomous transport solutions, with a particular focus on autonomous trucks that canoperateboth in confined areas and on public roads. You willworkwith research engineersas well as otherindustrial PhD studentswho like collaborating on great ideas.Wewill support you in developing your ideas and incorporating them into theTRATONsolutions. You will not only have great teamsupport atTRATON, but you will also be a **PhD student in the Robotics, Perception, and Learning (RPL)departmentat KTH, Royal Institute of Technology, whereProfessor Patric Jensfelt and Assistant Professor Olov Anderssonwillguide and supervise your doctoral studies. ** You will be employed by TRATON on a permanent basiswith the same benefits as other TRATON employees, while concurrently being associated with KTH as a PhD student.

Who You Are

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds – your unique experience and perspectives is valuable to us.

You hold aMaster’sdegree in a relevant technical field, with strong mathematical foundations, proven programming skills, and a clear interest in machine learning, robotics, and autonomous systems.

You are curious about how complex systems work and motivated by solving difficult real-world problems. You enjoy both scientific research and practical engineering, are comfortable working both independentlyandin teams,communicate clearly,and are fluent in English.

Experience with several of the following is beneficial:*

• Programming and software development in Python, C++, or similar languages.
• Machine learning and deep learning.
• Computer vision, multimodal learning, or representation learning.
• Robotics, autonomous systems, planning, or control.
• Simulation and evaluation of autonomous systems.
• Scientific writing, peer-reviewed publications, or research project experience.

If the project excites you and you believe you can contribute, we encourage you to apply.

TRATON Offers

We offer a dynamic, flexible workplace with hybrid work options, including Scania Sergel and Midway hubs. With a structured development plan and courses, TRATON Group R&D supports your career growth both locally and internationally. Benefits include wellness allowance, bonus, flexible hours, and company car leasing. We also host events for employees and their families, and Stockholm residents enjoy direct access to Södertälje via Scania Job express buses for an easy commute to Södertälje.

Application

We look forward to receiving your application, consisting of your CV and kindly ask you not to share a cover letter to ensure an efficient and unbiased recruitment process for all parties. Apply as soon as possible, no later than 2026-07-30. Screening will take place on an ongoing basis during the application period. Logical and personality tests may be used as part of the selection process, and a background check may berequiredfor this role.

This recruitment process is handled by Scania for TRATON Group R&DForquestionsregardingthe recruitment process, please contact Maria Linnarsson, Hiring Manager, atmaria.linnarsson@scania.com.

Fortechnical questions about the project, please contact Rafael Valencia at rafael.valencia.carreno@scania.com and Thomas Gustafsson atthomas.gustafsson@scania.com.

We look forward to your application!

This recruitment process is handled by Scania for TRATON Group R&D

Education

• Bachelor's Degree or Equivalent Level 6