Welcome to a rapidly growing international company, thriving at the forefront of cutting edge technology. Westermo develops and manufactures advanced devices for industrial data communication, used in mission critical installations and harsh industrial environments. The very robust and secure communication networks built with our products provide a high value for our customers. Our Headquarters are in Västerås, where we are about 120 people working, primarily within R&D. 

Our Hardware team works on both new- and redesign. Within our four Software teams, we develop our own Operating System, WeOS. We also work with a configuration tool called WeConfig. We run nightly tests, and a team works on developing our own automated test system.

We are passionate about taking advantage of the growth opportunities in our market. The work environment is very dynamic with great loyalty and team spirit. It is expected to take initiative and our flat organization creates efficiency and provides the opportunity for those who are closest to the task of solving it.

For the spring semester of 2026, we are looking for final year students to conduct the following thesis topics:

1. Containerized Soft PLCs in Secure Industrial Networks (suitable for 1-2 master students within Computer Science or similar, key competence is programming and networking)

In the domain of secure industrial networks, legacy and modern solutions often coexist. One promising technique is to run Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs)without dedicated hardware as containerized software services at the edge of the network. This approach may offer benefits such as improved flexibility, simplified deployment, and remote management.

However, when soft PLCs operate in virtual environments on existing edge devices(e.g., a Westermo router already deployed in the network), resource limitations in terms of memory and processing power must be considered.

In this thesis project, we want the students exploring the potential, implementation, and limitations of containerized soft PLCs in edge environments.

2. Developing a Data-Driven Threat Modeling Methodology for Westermo’s Industrial Networking Products Across the Product Lifecycle  (Suitable for 1-2 Master Students in the area of Cyber Security, Computer Science, Data Science or similar)

This thesis aims to develop and validate a data-driven threat modeling methodology specifically tailored for Westermo’s industrial networking products. The approach focuses on securing critical data assets throughout the entire product lifecycle, from initial design during development to deployment, maintenance and decommissioning. 

The methodology integrates threat intelligence, known weaknesses, and product-specific data to identify and assess potential threats. By combining these inputs, the model enables the creation of a prioritized list of threats, supporting effective risk management and guiding strategic security decisions. 

3. Virtual WeOS - HW Emulations (Suitable for 1-2 Master Students in the area of, Computer Science, Data Science or similar)

This thesis explores the feasibility and implementation strategies for emulating hardware-level behaviour, such as temperature, voltage, and PHY characteristics including duplex and link speed, which can be run in environments such as GNS3 for evaluation.

The primary objective is to evaluate how these hardware aspects, typically tied to physical hardware platforms, can be realistically represented in a virtual environment to support testing, diagnostics, and development.

4. AI Memory Leak Detector (Suitable for 1-2 Master Students in the area of, Computer Science, Data Science or similar)

Westermo develops networking products for industrial and mission-critical applications, such as railway, energy, and maritime. These systems have strict reliability, uptime, and safety requirements, making memory management a critical concern.

The primary objective is to evaluate how AI can be leveraged to detect use-after-free memory issues in embedded environments by learning memory allocation patterns and identifying anomalies that indicate incorrect memory handling.

5.  Test Solutions- Open option (Suitable for 2 students in Computer Science or similar, on Bachelor's level. Skills in Python is meritorious.)

For our fifth Thesis Opportunity, we are open to suggestions within our Sofware Test Team. Delivering reliable products with top quality is key for us at Westermo. At the same time, we want new products and features to reach our customers with short lead time. Therefor we invest a lot in test automation and tools to make automation as easy as possible, and every night, we run close to 5000 automatic tests! 

If you are interested in things like log management (logging for automatic analysis, anomaly detection, AI-integration, etc.), development in service-oriented architecture, etc., give us a suggestion on what it is that you want to do your thesis about!

General Requirements:

• Studying at a Swedish University
• Having a Swedish Social Security Number (personnummer/samordningsnummer)
• Can do their thesis during the spring semester of 2026.

Apply with the following attachments:

• CV/Resumé
• Transcripts of grades/courses
• Application letter where you specify which area you would like to write your thesis about
• If you want to apply with a fellow student; please make your own applications, and add the information about your friend.

Additional Information:

Last day to apply: 2025-11-10, but recruitment is on-going and students can be selected before last date.

Location: Kopparlunden, Västerås

For further Information, please contact Recruiter Elin Sandell at elin.sandell@westermo.com