Thesis Worker: Data-Driven Requirement Development

About this opportunity - Background

The Electrical Safety & Reliability attribute team (ELP) focuses on maximizing customer value across the entire vehicle lifecycle, particularly in the areas of reliability, electrical safety, and cost-of-ownership of the electrical system.

We define and develop requirements for electrical systems and components, contribute to international standardization efforts (e.g., ISO, SAE), and provide technical support throughout the development process. We also verify our requirements on a complete vehicle level.

Scope of the thesis work

This master's thesis project aims to support the development of more robust and data-driven requirements for Volvo Cars’ electrical systems. Your focus will be on understanding field data connected to Electronic Control Units (ECUs) that demonstrate exceptionally high reliability.

Specifically, you will:

• Evaluate the quality and availability of data associated with high-reliability ECUs by analyzing sources such as the Current Model Quality (CMQ) databases and vehicle data collected from our test fleet.
• Perform statistical analyses to identify patterns and characteristics associated with ECUs that rarely or never fail in the field.
• Conduct hands-on investigations of hardware to complement the data-driven findings with physical insights.
• Translate your findings into input for requirement updates, helping to ensure that future electrical systems are designed for optimal reliability and long-term performance.

This project gives you a unique opportunity to explore the intersection between data analytics, hardware reliability, and requirement engineering in a real automotive environment.

During this thesis work, you will gain: 

• Experience working across the entire R&D organization, including function, system, and component levels.
• Insight into data-driven development and how quality and test data feed into requirement updates.
• Collaboration with a passionate and experienced team focused on electrical reliability, safety, and cost-efficiency.

What you'll bring

We are looking for students pursuing a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering, applied physics, or similar. A genuine interest and curiosity, and excellent analytical skills are needed. 

The main part of the work is to be done on site at Volvo Cars R&D location in Torslanda, Göteborg, Sweden.

Duration

• The duration of the Thesis is 20 weeks.
• The Thesis starts in Q1 2026.
• 30 ECTS (academic credits) if in agreement with your Thesis Advisor at the University.
• This thesis is suitable for 1 student.