Master Thesis "Potential Ergonomic and Human Factors Issues Relating to Use of Tablet in Single-Seat Fighter Cockpits" (d/f/m) (m/w/d)

Job Description:
Airbus Defence and Space is looking for a
Master Student/ Title of Master Thesis: "Potential Ergonomic and Human Factors Issues Relating to Use of Tablet in Single-Seat Fighter Cockpits" (d/f/m)
You are looking for a master thesis? Then apply now!

• Location: Manching
  
• Start: 01.01.2026
  
• Duration: tbd
  

Your location
Located about an hour’s drive north of Munich, Manching is an up-and-coming market town that offers a wide range of leisure and cultural activities. Here, you can enjoy the quality of life in the countryside while the pleasures of near-by cities are still within easy reach.
Your benefits

• Attractive salary and work-life balance with an 35-hour week (flexitime).
  
• Mobile working after agreement with the department.
  
• Traveling overseas or within Germany (team events) is possible after consultation and agreement from the department.
  
• International environment with the opportunity to network globally.
  
• Work with modern/diversified technologies.
  
• At Airbus, we see you as a valuable team member and you are not hired to brew coffee, instead you are in close contact with the interfaces and are part of our weekly team meetings.
  
• Opportunity to participate in the Generation Airbus Community to expand your own network.
  

Your tasks and responsibilities
War fighting concepts have been evolving mostly based on developments of new platforms with technologically more capable sensors and effectors on them. The changes in traditional warfighting concepts necessitates processing of massive amount of data and communicate the outcome information to the human operators in the most intuitive way. Using a tablet in a fighter cockpit is one of the solutions of the evolving air warfighting concepts to tackle the challenges of manned-unmanned teaming.
With this research project it is aimed to distinguish key human factors aspects of tablet usage in the single-seat fighter such as pilot attention distribution, cognitive load during flight, visual revisit frequency, and interaction ergonomics (e.g., hand positioning, posture, and screen readability in different flight phases).
The intention is to investigate these aspects through both literature review and data collection (e.g., simulation sessions, eye-tracking, pilot interviews).
The steps to conduct this research project is as listed below.

• Literature review on the use of tablets in fighter cockpits.
  
• Data collection via simulation sessions and pilot interviews.
  
• Evaluation of the collected data in relation to mission performance and safety.
  
• Providing insight into the influence of tablet usage on situational awareness and attention allocation.
  
• Providing design suggestions to reduce cognitive and physical strain during mission-critical phases.
  
• As time permits, provide evidence-based recommendations for the optimal positioning and interface layout of the tablet.
  

Desired skills and qualifications

• enrolled full time Student within Human Factors, psychology or related fields
  
• you have basic knowledge in information processing (e.g. abstraction and manipulation of saliency)
  
• you have basic knowledge with prototyping tools (e.g. Axure, Figma, Adobe XD, ...)
  
• you have prior experience in aviation/military aviation
  
• you are a good team player and have good communication skills
  
• Language Skills: fluent in German and English
  

Please upload the following documents: cover letter, CV, relevant transcripts, enrollment certificate.
Not a 100% match? No worries! Airbus supports your personal growth.
Take your career to a new level and apply online now!
This job requires an awareness of any potential compliance risks and a commitment to act with integrity, as the foundation for the Company’s success, reputation and sustainable growth.
Company:
Airbus Defence and Space GmbH
Employment Type:
Final-year Thesis
-------
Experience Level:
Student
Job Family:
Support to Management
By submitting your CV or application you are consenting to Airbus using and storing information about you for monitoring purposes relating to your application or future employment. This information will only be used by Airbus.
Airbus is committed to achieving workforce diversity and creating an inclusive working environment. We welcome all applications irrespective of social and cultural background, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief.
Airbus is, and always has been, committed to equal opportunities for all. As such, we will never ask for any type of monetary exchange in the frame of a recruitment process. Any impersonation of Airbus to do so should be reported to emsom@airbus.com .
At Airbus, we support you to work, connect and collaborate more easily and flexibly. Wherever possible, we foster flexible working arrangements to stimulate innovative thinking.