Student for Master's Thesis: AI-Supported Cybersecurity in the Automotive Sector

Life is always about becoming... In life it is about going on a journey to become the best version of our future self. As we discover new things, we face challenges, master them and grow beyond us.

Apply to Mercedes-Benz and find the area where you can develop your talents individually. You will be supported by visionary colleagues who share your pioneering spirit. Joining us means becoming part of a global team whose goal is to build the most desirable cars in the world. Together for excellence.

Number: MER00040YN At Mercedes-Benz we shape the future of mobility – and that also means making them safe! The rapid advances of artificial intelligence bring not only groundbreaking innovations, but also new, complex challenges in cyber security. Conventional defensive mechanisms push their borders, and the threat to OEMs, suppliers and road users is growing exponentially. We are looking for smart heads that help us meet these challenges with intelligent solutions.

Your mission: As a student for the Master's thesis, you will immerse yourself in the world of AI-based cybersecurity for 6 months. Your mission is to analyze potentials, identify innovative use cases and actively contribute to making our vehicles and the entire supply chain even safer. You help us shorten the response times for cyber threats and manually challenged risk analysis and significantly reduce compliance documentation – a real efficiency gain of up to 230 hours per project! These challenges come to you: Potential analysis & Use Case identification: You analyze the possibilities of AI to improve cyber security in the automotive sector and identify priority applications (e.g. in Threat Analysis and Risk Assessment (TARA), Vulnerability Management, Verification & Validation) Concept development & MVP creation: Not only do you support the development of AI-based cybersecurity concepts and requirements, but you are also implementing them by developing the first minimum Viable Products (MVPs). Use your expertise in Prompt engineering to get the most out of the GenAI tools Efficiency enhancement: You are investigating how automated AI analyses can help shorten detection and response times Documentation & Compliance: You help optimize processes for automated reporting and audit documentation taking into account relevant standards (e.g. ISO/SAE 21434, UNECE WP.29) Risk assessment: You deal with the specific risks (e.g. reliability, hallucinations, explainability) when using AI in safety-critical systems Optional – Innovation Monitoring: You develop a concept for innovation monitoring that helps our team to keep up with the latest developments in the field of AI and cybersecurity and identify relevant trends at an early stage The final topics will be discussed with the university, you and us.

The activity can begin from May 2026.

Study: You are a master student* in Computer Science, IT Security, Artificial Intelligence, Electrical Engineering, Vehicle Technology or a comparable degree course Secure handling of Microsoft Office applications and programming tools

Self-employment: You work very independently, structured and bring a proactive approach Communication strength: You are very happy to communicate, share your knowledge and communicate complex facts in a comprehensible way Prompt engineering: You already have experience in prompt engineering and know how to use Generative AI optimally Passion: You are burning for AI and cyber security and have a strong interest in the automotive industry Analytical skills: You bring a structured and independent working and strong analytical skills with Knowledge: First experiences in the areas of cybersecurity, risk analysis or AI are of advantage. Programming skills are a plus Languages: German and English skills Additional information: We are looking forward to your online application with CV, lettering, certificates, current enrollment certificate, giving the semester and proof of the regular study period. Please do not forget to mark your documents as ''relevant for this application' in the online form and to observe the maximum file size of 5 MB. Further information on the setting criteria can be found here. Disabled and equalized applicants are welcome! The severely disabled representative (sbv-sindelfingen@mercedes-benz.com) is happy to support you in the application process. HR Services will be happy to help you with questions about the application process. You can reach us by email via myhrservice@mercedes-benz.com or by phone at 0711/17-99000 (Mo-Fr 10-12am & 13-15am).

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