Thesis Work - Exploring Interaction Concepts for Multi-Agent Orchestration in Industrial Process Control

ABB Inc.
United States, North Carolina, Cary
305 Gregson Drive (Show on map)
Oct 18, 2025
At ABB, we help industries outrun - leaner and cleaner. Here, progress is an expectation - for you, your team, and the world. As a global market leader, we'll give you what you need to make it happen. It won't always be easy, growing takes grit. But at ABB, you'll never run alone. Run what runs the world. This Position reports to: R&D Team Lead Future process control will increasingly rely on multi-agent systems that optimize objectives such as quality, energy, and throughput. Yet operators and engineers face challenges in understanding, supervising, and intervening when orchestration becomes complex or opaque. This thesis investigates how to design user-friendly, transparent, and adaptive interactions with multi-agent orchestration to reduce cognitive overload and enhance trust. Details Period: Spring 2026, typically between January-July Number of credits: 30 ECTS Number of students: 1 Location: Vasteras. Possibility for hybrid work Your role and responsibilities Investigate how multi-agent orchestration can be performed, supervised, configured (e.g. adjustment based on human user's objectives set-up) in process control contexts (e.g., view multiple agent objectives and trade-offs like balancing quality, energy, and throughput and intervene in orchestration, or trouble-shooting facilitation) Design and prototype interaction concepts (proof-of-concept) that illustrate how users (e.g. operators/system engineers) could have a user-friendly seamless process when working with multi agents where users may get cognitive overload Conduct concept validation sessions with domain experts or potential users to gather feedback on the concept Summarize findings into design implications for the broader multi-agent interaction framework Your background Suitable for students in Interaction Design, UX/HCI, Software Engineering, or Computer Science, with skills such as: Interaction design and prototyping (e.g., Figma) or programming and lightweight prototyping (e.g., web apps, dashboards, simulations) Data visualization and interface/interaction design skills Curiosity to learn about process control and automation (AI/Multi Agent System knowledge is a plus, not required) Most important: ability to create and test mock-ups or prototypes for human-Multi Agent System interaction More about us ABBis a global technology leader in electrification and automation. We see our purpose as being to enable a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. By connecting our engineering and digitalization expertise, we help industries run at high performance, while becoming more efficient, productive and sustainable so they outperform. We call this: 'Engineered to Outrun.' Recruiting Manager Dawid Ziobro, dawid.ziobro@se.abb.com, will answer your questions. Apply with your CV, academic transcripts and a cover letter in English.We look forward to receiving your application! Join us. Be part of the team where progress happens, industries transform, and your work shapes the world. Run What Runs the World. A Future Opportunity Please note that this position is part of our talent pipeline and not an active job opening at this time. By applying, you express your interest in future career opportunities with ABB. We value people from different backgrounds. Could this be your story? Apply today or visit www.abb.com to learn more about us and see the impact of our work across the globe.