PhD in Nuclear Power Safety: AI-Aided Severe Accident Management at KTH

Job Description

KTH’s Nuclear Power Safety group is recruiting a doctoral student in severe accident management for light water reactors, funded by the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority. The student will digitalise paper-based severe accident management guidelines, develop an AI-aided tool that diagnoses plant damage states from measured and simulated data (for example from US NRC codes), and combine the two for more effective accident management.

At a glance

• Position: Doctoral student (1 post), up to four years full time
• Subject: Physics, specialisation in Nuclear Engineering
• Supervisor: Prof. Weimin Ma (proposed), weimin@kth.se
• Reference: PA-2026-2770
• Apply by: 9 October 2026
• Apply: 9 October 2026

About the nuclear safety PhD

• Digitalise selected paper-based, lookup-table-style severe accident management guidelines
• Develop an AI-aided tool to diagnose plant damage states from measured and estimated data
• Combine the digital guidelines with the AI tool for effective accident management
• Work within extensive international cooperation on reactor safety

What to include in your application

KTH asks for certified copies of diplomas, grades and English language certificates (with translations if needed), a CV, a letter of at most two pages on why you want to do research and how it links to your studies and goals, and representative publications or technical reports. Applications must arrive by midnight CET/CEST on the closing date.

How KTH doctoral employment works

Only applicants admitted to doctoral studies can be employed as doctoral students. The first contract is for up to one year and is then renewed for up to two years at a time, adding up to at most four years of full-time study. Up to 20% of working time may go to tasks such as teaching and administration. Applicants need English at the level of Swedish upper-secondary English B/6.

PhD applicants: browse our Find a supervisor directory to see who works in your area.

What KTH is looking for

• A master’s degree in nuclear engineering or mechanical engineering
• English equivalent to English B/6

Nice to have

• Knowledge of reactor safety analysis or severe accident codes
• Machine learning and programming skills

Pay and location

Doctoral students at KTH are salaried employees, paid monthly under KTH’s doctoral student salary agreement; the advert gives no figure. The post is full time in Stockholm, starting by agreement.

How to apply

Apply through the official KTH page. The closing date is 9 October 2026.

See all our PhD positions, or browse more research jobs on ResearchJobs.in.