Research Fellow in AI-Enabled Flight Deck Systems Integration and Validation

Fixed Term Contract for 37 months or until 30 April 2030, whichever is sooner.

Full time starting salary is normally in the range of £38,655 to £46,492 per annum, with potential progression up to £53,108 per annum. 

Help us bring four strands of AI research together into one working flight-deck assistant and test it with airline pilots in our research flight simulator.

About the Role

TRUST-IA is an EU Horizon Europe research project led by Cranfield with partners in Germany, France and Rolls-Royce. The project is developing an intelligent assistant to help airline pilots manage engines during normal operations and engine failures. The assistant combines decision-making, aircraft and engine monitoring, workload and trust assessment, and interaction through voice, gesture and mixed reality.

The role involves integrating these components within Cranfield’s Future Systems Simulator by developing the software platform and automated test framework needed for real-time operation. Responsibilities include creating flight scenarios, running simulator trials with pilots to evaluate safety and performance, supporting day-to-day simulator laboratory operations, and publishing research findings.

About You

You will have a PhD in aerospace engineering or a related engineering subject, or equivalent research experience, and a background in aircraft modelling and simulation, flight dynamics or flight control. You will be a capable programmer (for example in C#, C++ or Python), and experience with Unity would be a real advantage. You will need enough understanding of artificial intelligence and machine learning to integrate and test AI software written by others. Experience of running simulator trials with pilots would be useful but is not essential, as training will be given.

We are looking for someone with a good publication record for their career stage, who is well organised, enjoys working with industry and university partners, and is willing to take responsibility for a shared research facility.

About Us

As a specialist postgraduate university, Cranfield’s world-class expertise, large-scale facilities and unrivalled industry partnerships are creating leaders in technology and management globally. Learn more about Cranfield and our unique impact here.

Our Values and Commitments

Our shared, stated values help to define who we are and underpin everything we do: Ambition; Impact; Respect; and Community. Find out more here.

We aim to create and maintain a culture in which everyone can work and study together and realise their full potential. We are a Disability Confident Employer. We are committed to actively exploring flexible working options for each role and have been ranked in the Top 30 family friendly employers in the UK by the charity Working Families. Find out more about our key commitments to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Flexible Working here.

Working Arrangements

Collaborating and connecting are integral to so much of what we do. Our Working Arrangements Framework provides many staff with the opportunity to flexibly combine on-site and remote working, where job roles allow, balancing the needs of our community of staff, students, clients and partners.

How to apply

For an informal discussion, contact Dr Linghai Lu, on (E): L.Lu@cranfield.ac.uk.

To apply please click above 'Apply' Button. For further details please contact peoplerecruitment@cranfield.ac.uk quoting 5419.

Closing date for applications: 22 November 2026.

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