Masterarbeit »User Experience (UX): Nutzerführung für KI-gestützte Digitale Zwillinge«

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Masterarbeit »User Experience (UX): Nutzerführung für KI-gestützte Digitale Zwillinge«

Company: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

Location: Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Job Type: Internship

Category: Research & Development / UX Design

Date Posted: 2026-07-28

Experience Level: 0-2 Years (Internship/Early Career)

Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Role Summary

• This Master's thesis opportunity focuses on enhancing the User Experience (UX) and user guidance for AI-powered Digital Twins within the Fraunhofer ISST's "Open Factory Twin" (OFacT) framework.

• The role involves deep dives into Human-AI Interaction, Explainable AI (XAI), and User Experience Design principles to make complex AI-driven systems more intuitive and trustworthy for industrial users.

• Candidates will conduct comprehensive research, prototype analysis, and develop concrete UX concepts, wireframes, and interaction designs for production and logistics scenarios.

• The work will contribute directly to the advancement of Industry 4.0 solutions by improving the usability and transparency of digital twin technologies.

📝 Enhancement Note: This is a Master's thesis position within a research institute, indicating a strong academic focus combined with practical application. The "0-2 Years" experience level reflects the target audience of Master's students. The role is firmly rooted in UX design and AI interaction within an industrial/research context, rather than traditional revenue or sales operations.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Conduct thorough literature and tool research on user guidance, Human-AI Interaction, Explainable AI, UX Design, and Digital Twin Engineering.

• Analyze the existing "Open Factory Twin" (OFacT) prototype to identify areas for improvement in user guidance, clarity, transparency, and overall usability.

• Perform requirements analysis by identifying key user roles, usage scenarios, and critical decision points within the OFacT framework.

• Develop a comprehensive user guidance concept for model generation, scenario analysis, and model adaptation processes within AI-powered Digital Twins.

• Design wireframes, user flows, and interaction concepts for features such as guided navigation, interactive dashboards, and visual process representations.

• Evaluate the developed UX concepts using a practical Industry 4.0 use case and derive actionable recommendations for the future development of the OFacT.

• Contribute to making AI-supported Digital Twins more understandable, usable, and trustworthy for industrial users.

📝 Enhancement Note: These responsibilities are directly derived from the "Mögliche Aufgaben umfassen" section of the job description, translated and contextualized for clarity. They emphasize the research, design, and evaluation aspects critical for a Master's thesis in UX and AI.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Currently pursuing a Master's degree in a relevant field such as Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Information Systems, Industrial Engineering, or a related discipline with a strong focus on UX/UI design and AI. Experience:

• Academic background and demonstrated interest in User Experience (UX) Design, Human-AI Interaction, and Digital Twins.

• Experience or strong theoretical understanding of AI concepts, particularly in areas like Explainable AI (XAI) and machine learning applications.

• Familiarity with research methodologies, including literature review and user study design. Required Skills:

• User Experience (UX) Design: Strong understanding of UX principles, user-centered design processes, and usability heuristics.

• Human-AI Interaction: Knowledge of how users interact with AI systems, including challenges related to trust, transparency, and control.

• Explainable AI (XAI): Familiarity with concepts for making AI decisions understandable to users.

• Digital Twin Engineering: Basic understanding of the concept and application of Digital Twins in industrial contexts.

• Wireframing & Prototyping: Proficiency in creating low-fidelity wireframes and user flows using tools like Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, or similar.

• Requirements Analysis: Ability to gather and analyze user needs and translate them into functional design requirements.

• Literature Research: Skill in conducting comprehensive academic research and synthesizing findings.

Preferred Skills:

• Interaction Design: Experience in designing intuitive and engaging user interfaces and interaction patterns.

• Data Visualization: Ability to design clear and effective visualizations for complex data, AI outputs, and process flows.

• Industry 4.0 Knowledge: Familiarity with concepts and technologies related to smart manufacturing and industrial digitalization.

• Agile Methodologies: Understanding of agile development processes and how UX integrates within them.

• German Language Proficiency: The role is based in Germany and the primary job description is in German, suggesting German language skills would be highly beneficial.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Experience Level" of 0-2 years is interpreted as the typical academic progression for a Master's student. The required skills are derived directly from the listed tasks and research areas, emphasizing UX, AI interaction, and the specific domain of Digital Twins. German language skills are inferred as highly advantageous due to the job posting's language and location.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• UX Design Case Studies: Showcase at least one detailed case study demonstrating your UX design process from research and ideation to wireframing, prototyping, and evaluation.

• Human-AI Interaction Examples: If possible, include examples of projects or concepts where you addressed the challenges of user interaction with intelligent systems or AI.

• Wireframes & User Flows: Provide clear examples of wireframes, user flows, and interactive prototypes that illustrate your design thinking and problem-solving approach.

• Research Synthesis: Demonstrate your ability to synthesize research findings into actionable design insights and recommendations.

Process Documentation:

• User-Centered Design Workflow: Clearly outline your typical user-centered design process, including how you conduct user research, ideate solutions, and iterate based on feedback.

• **Requirement Gathering