PhD candidate Autonomous Driving (f / m / x)

THE FUTURE IS WHAT WE CREATE WHEN WE TAKE OUR VISIONS TO THE LIMITS.

PHD AT THE BMW GROUP.

Bridging the gap between your doctoral studies and the kind of career challenge you’re looking for isn’t always easy. That’s why our ProMotion PhD programme gives you the opportunity to apply your passion and scientific expertise to very real challenges that could shape the future of mobility. If selected, you’ll have the chance to really develop your own future career path with us through your practice-related thesis, promote your chosen specialty from within – and position yourself to secure the career you’ve always wanted.

We, the BMW Group, offer you an interesting and varied Ph.D. program in the area of autonomous driving. Level 2 (L2) autonomous driving functions have reached a high level of maturity in simpler situations such as parking, or driving on highways and back roads, where the interaction of the driver with the external environment is minimal. Urban scenarios require more numerous and more complex interactions with the surroundings. In this setting, for safe and supporting autonomous driving functions, these must be enabled adaptively to both the awareness of the driver and the current situation, that is, to the degree to which the “driver is in the loop” (name of the concept in the scientific literature).

The goal of this doctoral thesis is to analyze and understand the human behavior of the driver in various urban situations and use this knowledge for a concrete and applicable definition of the awareness of the driver of the current situation (“Driver in the Loop”).

What awaits you?

• You research whole-body human factors characterizing the driver behaviour and awareness in urban scenarios in level 2 autonomous driving.
• You work across the fields of human factors, driver monitoring, body modelling, machine learning…
• You use a data-driven approach, using existing data and collecting your own data, with the driving simulator or drives in test cars.
• You design and train deep neural networks for time series or videos, and you use explainable AI (XAI) to understand their decisions.
• You extend and design algorithms for driver assessment and autonomous driving functions with your findings.
• You prototype and validate your algorithms, by simulation and by integration into existing software and test vehicles.
• You contribute your own ideas in an open, collaborative, supportive, agile environment.

What should you bring along?

• University degree (master) in computer science, electrical engineering, applied mathematics, statistics, human factors or a related subject.
• Knowledge of machine learning techniques and frameworks, with a focus on deep neural networks and (self-)supervised learning applied to computer vision functions. Body and pose modelling, activity recognition and related topics are a plus.
• Experience in software development using Python (C++ and shell scripting are a plus), in the implementation of algorithms and machine learning pipelines (data preparation, training / validation / testing).
• Experience in data collection and processing (e.g., camera, IMU…), data analysis and visualization.
• Interest in agile working models, test-driven development, Linux, build tools and CI systems (e.g., Bazel, Zuul, Jenkins).
• Proactivity, self-directedness, analytical and critical thinking, willingness to learn, willingness to master new domain areas.
• Business-fluent English. Basic German.

What do we offer?

• Digital offers & mobile working.
• Attractive remuneration.
• Apartment offers for students (subject to availability & only Munich).
• And many other benefits.

You are enthused by new technologies and an innovative environment? Apply now!

At the BMW Group, we see diversity and inclusion in all its dimensions as a strength for our teams. Equal opportunities are a particular concern for us, and the equal treatment of applicants and employees is a fundamental principle of our corporate policy. That is why our recruiting decisions are also based on personality, experience and skills.

Find out more about diversity at the BMW Group.

Earliest starting date: from 08 / 01 / 2024