The Department of Industrial Design of the TU/e is offering a fully-funded 2-year position to master graduates leading to the award of an EngD (Engineering Doctorate) degree in Designing Human-System Interaction. This position is in the context of the project COROB. The appointment is for two years starting at the earliest possible date, but latest in April 2024.

The project

The main objective of COROB is to develop a flexible, COoperative and intelligent multi-ROBotic solution  for arc welding-based manufacturing processes (joining and additive manufacturing), to offer new operational capabilities that allow to increase the efficiency and improve the flexibility of industrial processes. COROB, conceived as a global solution, will employ a cooperative multi-robot system powered by Inspection, Monitoring, Control and AI techniques to optimise the welding process, and the adjacent manufacturing stages (pre-process and post-process) for time, cost, energy, and resource reduction.

The solution(s) will be validated in two semi-industrial use cases focused on arc-welding joining and wire-arc additive manufacturing for repairing, and will be ready to be extrapolated to other processes such as assembling, painting, finishing etc. In this

way, manufacturing processes will take advantages of the latest technological innovations in cooperative and intelligent robotic solutions, but with human in the loop approach, towards a more sustainable and competitive manufacturing industry.

The main focus will be on a human-centered design and development of the user interaction in the two use cases, with the goal to empower non-technical users to be able to interact in such scenarios.

The EngD candidate will collaborate closely with the project partners and researchers, including EngD candidates involved, focusing on user interface and UX design (including requirements eliciation phase, field observations and on-site workshops) on the one hand, and contributing to the overall aim of the project on the other.

Candidates should have a background in an area related to interaction design (e.g., industrial design, software engineering, human-computer interaction, design for business innovation) and significant experience working on projects related to UX research, UX design and also hands on ability to produce UI mock-ups. They need to be creative, autonomous, self-organized, and data-oriented.

HSI Program

The mission of the HSI program is to train professionals who already have a Master's degree in design or engineering to develop competences in designing and evaluating interactive intelligent and innovative systems, services, and products. The goal is to ensure positive user experiences that support their values and needs. The HSI program is based on design thinking and system thinking, as well as scientifically founded and methodologically sound user-centered and data-driven approaches, paying special attention to the frontier of the complex systems enabled by artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies and its impact on individuals, organizations and society.

In the HSI program, candidates are positioned as designers throughout the program, as the intermediate between market demands and technical possibilities, between user needs and product satisfaction; candidates work on design cases and projects for research, industry, or government supervised by university staff and the host organization; Candidates work on assignments and case studies throughout the program; Candidates with backgrounds in the engineering, behavioral and physical sciences work in small interdisciplinary teams, together with other EngD, PhD, and Master students with different national and cultural backgrounds; 

The structure of the program is attached. The design project stretches over two years with a total of 10 to 12 month of effort. The courses are offered once a year and the candidate may decide to take a course during either the first year or the second. Elective courses can be adjusted or replaced if needed. Design cases are one to three month long smaller design or research projects in the context of the research groups. For each individual candidate a Training and Supervision plan of courses, design cases and projects will be developed and followed according to the background of the candidate and the needs from the industry and business.

Career perspective

Examples of positions held by HSI graduates are data designer, ai-system designer, interaction designer, usability engineer, user experience designer, human factor engineer, information architect, manager in innovative businesses, and team leader of these roles.

The HSI program is for people who

• are passionate in designing with AI and data, with a focus on business model innovation,
• wish to improve the interaction between people and systems,
• wish to make technology truly accessible and beneficial,
• are interested in technological development and its impact on people,
• like to lead and work in multidisciplinary teams in an international context,
• like to be at the forefront of enabling technologies and want to exploit those technologies from the perspective of end-users, stakeholders, and business,
• are challenged by societal impact, engineering problems and real-world constraints.

Eligible candidates shall have a relevant Master degree with a keen interest in human-machine interaction, the use of exponential technology for impact, and business innovation. Practical experience is an asset. We require that trainees in our program have excellent social and communicative competencies, including sufficient proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and comprehension of English.

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an international setting with a close relationship to industry. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:

• A fixed-term, 2 year position in a research group with an excellent reputation. Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, including.
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale TOIO  (€2,618).
• Additionally, 8% holiday and 8.3% end-of-year annual supplements.
• A minimum of 41 holidays per year (excluding bank holidays, for a full-time employment of 40 hrs/week).
• Additional benefits, including excellent technical infrastructure, childcare, holiday savings schemes, and sports facilities.
• Assistance for finding accommodation is offered.
• To support you during your EngD and to prepare you for the rest of your career, you will have free access to a personal development program for EngD trainees.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) for international candidates.