PhD OWI-LAB PHD POSITION ON CONDITION MONITORING AND AI ON REMOTE EDGE DEVICES

1 - Working at the VUB

For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike. 

At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located. 

Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again. 

Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.

2 - Position description

The Faculty of Engineering, Department Industriële ingenieurswetenschappen, is looking for a PhD-student with a doctoral grant. 

More concretely your work package, for the preparation of a doctorate, contains: 

The VUB Acoustics and Vibrations Research group has a core focus on wind energy as a member of OWI-lab. Our vision is to bring methodological advancements all the way to application in industry. This is achieved by working closely together with the different wind farm operators within the Belgian offshore zone, e.g., Parkwind, Norther, Otary. The main focus of the department is on performance monitoring and health monitoring of the different machine components. To this end, multiple dedicated measurement campaigns have been performed throughout the Belgian offshore zone, resulting in a large in-house database of experimental real-world data enabling large-scale validation of developed algorithms.

Wind turbine drivetrains are critical components, and their failures can lead to significant downtime and operational costs. Traditional condition monitoring approaches often face challenges in accurately detecting early-stage faults, especially in the presence of highly impulsive signals characteristic of damaged gears or bearings. Furthermore, the increasing decentralization of wind farms necessitates robust and efficient on-site data processing capabilities.

This PhD project will address these challenges by exploring and developing advanced methodologies for wind turbine drivetrain condition monitoring.

The successful candidate will primarily focus on:

• Signal processing techniques: Developing and implementing signal processing algorithms specifically tailored to analyze signals that contain interfering impulsive content, often encountered in data coming from main and pitch bearings.

• Machine learning for anomaly Detection and diagnostics: Leveraging state-of-the-art machine learning and deep learning models for automated fault detection, classification, and time-till-failure prediction. This will involve exploring various architectures and unsupervised learning techniques to identify anomalies and diagnose specific fault types based on processed sensor data (e.g., vibrations, currents).

• Edge device deployment for remote applications: A crucial aspect of this project will be the optimization and deployment of developed signal processing and machine learning algorithms onto resource-constrained edge devices. This will involve investigating techniques for model compression and efficient inference to enable on-board condition monitoring directly at the wind turbine, reducing data transmission requirements, central computing needs, and enabling rapid responses to potential issues in remote locations. The aim is to develop robust and scalable software solutions suitable for practical industrial deployment on a large scale.

The project will involve working with real-world wind turbine data, collaborating with industry partners, and conducting experimental validation. The candidate will be expected to publish their research in leading international journals and present at conferences. Given the group’s international relations with other universities, it is also highly recommended to do a joint PhD with one of these universities through an extended research stay abroad to further strengthen the candidate’s profile.

For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base. 

3 - Profile

What do we expect from you?

• Applicants should preferably have: Master degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Mathematical engineering, Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science: AI

• Experience in programming
• Proficiency in English
• Interest in experimental work on on- or offshore turbines is a plus

• You have not performed any works in the execution of a mandate as an assistant, paid from operating resources, over a total (cumulated) period of more than 12 months.

The VUB wants to be a reflection of the society where everyone's talent is valued, regardless of gender, age, religion, skin color, migration background, disability and neurodiversity.

4 - Offer

Are you going to be our new colleague?

You’ll be offered a full-time PhD-scholarship, for 12 months (extendable up to max. 48 months, on condition of the positive evaluation of the PhD activities), with planned starting date 1st October 2025. 

You’ll receive a grant linked to one of the scales set by the government.

IMPORTANT: The effective result of the doctorate scholarship is subject to the condition precedent of your enrolment as a doctorate student at the university.

At the VUB, you’re guaranteed an open, involved and diverse workplace where you are offered opportunities to (further) build on your career.

As well as this, you will also enjoy various other benefits:

• Extensive homeworking options, a telework allowance of 50 euros per month OR an internet fee of 20 euros per month;
• An open and informal working environment where attention is paid to work-life balance, and exceptional holiday arrangements with 35 days of leave (based on a fulltime contract), closure between Christmas and New Year and 3 extra leave days;
• Cost-free hospitalisation insurance;
• Full reimbursement of your home-to-work commute with public transport according to VUB-policy, and/or compensation if you come by bike; 
• A wide selection of meals in our campus restaurants at attractive prices;
• Excellent and affordable facilities for sport and exercise, a range of discounts via Benefits@Work (in  all kinds of shops, on flights, in petrol stations, amusement parks...) and Ecocheques; 
• Nursery near campus, discount on holiday camps; 
• The space to form your job content and to continuously learn through our VUB learning platforms and training courses;
• And finally: great colleagues with a healthy drive.

5 - Interested?

Is this the job you’ve been dreaming of?

Then apply, at the latest on 31 August 2025, via jobs.vub.be, and upload the following documents:

• your CV;
• your motivation letter;
• your diploma (not applicable for VUB alumni).

Do you have questions about the job content? Contact Prof dr. ir. Jan Helsen at jan.helsen@vub.be or by phone on +32 479 85 58 79 or dr. ir. Cédric Peeters on cedric.peeters@vub.be or by phoone on +32 472 92 22 92.

Would you like to know what it’s like to work at the VUB? Go to jobs.vub.be, and find all there is to know about our campuses, benefits, strategic goals and your future colleagues.

Would you like more information about EUTOPIA? Go to eutopia-university.eu, and read more about the role of the VUB in the development of the EUTOPIA alliance.