PhD Position in Generative AI for Automotive Software Engineering

04.08.2026, Wissenschaftliches Personal

Requirements

• A completed master's degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Software Engineering, Robotics, or a related field
• Strong experience in software development and excellent programming skills, preferably in Python
• Knowledge of machine learning, Large Language Models (LLMs), Vision Language Models (VLMs), or generative AI
• Experience with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), AI agents, model-driven engineering, DevOps, DevSecOps, or automated testing is advantageous
• Interest in automotive software engineering, software-defined vehicles, and future mobility technologies
• Strong analytical and scientific skills and motivation to pursue a doctorate
• Ability to work independently and contribute effectively to an interdisciplinary and international research team
• Excellent written and spoken English

Tasks

• Research and development of LLM- and VLM-based methods for automotive software engineering
• Development of agentic AI systems with Human-in-the-Loop mechanisms for software development, testing, deployment, and maintenance
• Design and implementation of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines using automotive standards, technical documentation, software models, and source-code repositories
• Development of AI-supported methods for code generation, code transformation, software updates, and platform-specific software adaptation
• Automation of automotive DevOps and DevSecOps workflows, including continuous integration, testing, verification, security analysis, deployment, and monitoring
• Development of generative AI methods for automated test-case generation, software validation, vulnerability analysis, and debugging
• Integration of locally deployable LLMs and VLMs into privacy-sensitive industrial development environments
• Evaluation of the developed approaches using automotive use cases, simulation environments, and software-defined vehicle platforms
• Publication of research results at leading international conferences and in scientific journals
• Collaboration with academic and industrial partners within a large interdisciplinary research project

We Offer

• Flexible working hours with home office options
• A friendly, international, and open working atmosphere with state-of-the-art research infrastructure
• Access to modern computing and GPU infrastructure for the development and evaluation of LLM-, VLM-, and agentic AI solutions
• Research across the entire automotive software development lifecycle, from requirements and software architecture to code generation, testing, deployment, and maintenance
• Participation in a major national research project involving leading academic and industrial partners
• The opportunity to contribute your own ideas, define research priorities, and shape the future of AI-supported automotive software engineering
• Close collaboration with automotive manufacturers, suppliers, technology companies, and research institutions
• Comprehensive scientific supervision and support for pursuing a doctorate
• Opportunities to publish at high-ranking international conferences and in scientific journals
• A full-time position with payment according to TV-L E13

Application

We look forward to receiving your application. It should include a curriculum vitae, relevant certificates and transcripts, and a brief statement describing your previous experience, research interests, and motivation for pursuing a doctorate in generative AI and automotive software engineering.

Please send all application documents as a single PDF file. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Contact:
nenad.petrovic@tum.de, marie-luise.neitz@tum.de, alex.lenz@tum.de

Kontakt: nenad.petrovic@tum.de