CV

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Work experience

• 10/23 - today
  • Research Associate
  • DLR Institute for AI Safety and Security
  • Sankt Augustin, Germany (remote)
  • Researching and developing novel safe and resilient AI systems for the aviation domain. Pursuing my Ph. D. (Dr.-Ing.) in the field of artificial intelligence.
• 10/19 - 08/23
  • Developing Engineer for Artificial Intelligence and robotics
  • ZAL Center of Applied Aeronautical Research
  • Hamburg, Germany
  • Bringing AI into the industry. Working on research and development for research projects as well as contract research and support of industrial customers. Focusing on reinforcement learning and (simulated) robotic systems in hard- and software. Managing governmental funded research projects and representing them at conferences. Building an internal workflow to speed up the training of machine learning algorithms and streamline the deployment of trained models to the edge. Also responsible for writing proposals for government funded projects. Moreover, responsible for managing the in-house robotics simulation server and local GitLab instance.
• 12/16 - 06/18
  • Working Student
  • Cabin Supply Modules A350 (Airbus)
  • Hamburg, Germany
  • Primarily worked as Project Management support for R&D projects concerning new developments within the cabin focusing on Galleys. Especially managing a project which aimed to develop a replacement for the state-of-the-art honeycomb panels. Thus, operated as the focal point for the management, subcontractors, and different divisions across Airbus all working on the project. Therefore, bore the responsibility for multiple deliverables within different projects. Lastly, finished the project by passing TRL 6, hence, allowing Entry-into-Service.
• 09/16 - 01/18
  • Teamleader
  • HAMBURG - a REXUS/BEXUS project (funded by the German Aerospace Center and European Space Agency)
  • Hamburg, Germany; Bremen, Germany; Kiruna, Sweden
  • Led a student experiment for a REXUS/BEXUS project, a German-Swedish student programme in cooperation with DLR and ESA. Been responsible for the entire project, but mostly focused on hard- and software development. Moreover, built the experiment and performed different functional and performance tests afterward. Finally, led and managed a trip to Kiruna, Sweden, on which the experiment was again fully tested and mounted to a balloon, reaching an altitude of 25 000 m.
• 01/16 - 04/16
  • Bachelor’s Thesis: Development and Control of a Dive Cell
  • Institute of Mechanics and Ocean Engineering (M-13, MuM), Hamburg University of Technology
  • Hamburg, Germany
  • Designed as well as built an autonomous diving cell as a proof of concept of isobaric stabilization. The diving cell is built around an actuator which was used to change the volume and therefore the buoyancy. Furthermore, for the control laws, investigated different options and finally settled on a PID-controller as a simple solution and a Sliding-Mode-controller as a more advanced solution for comparison.

Education

• 02/21 - 08/23
  • External Ph. D. (Dr.-Ing.) candidate
  • Hamburg University of Technology
  • Hamburg, Germany
  • Research in the field of reinforcement learning for mechatronic systems. Focusing on the development of novel reinforcement learning algorithms for linear-parameter varying systems to approximate real mechatronic systems to speed up training.
• 10/16 - 09/19
  • Aircraft Systems Engineering, M.Sc.
  • Hamburg University of Technology
  • Hamburg, Germany
  • Pursuing a Master’s degree in Aircraft Systems Engineering focusing on Aircraft Systems, and moreover specializing on Control Systems, Robotics and Machine Learning.
• 11/18 - 04/19
  • Visiting Research Scholar
  • University of California, Berkeley
  • Berkeley (CA), United States
  • Researcher in the Hybrid Robotics Lab of Asst. Prof. Koushil Sreenath. Working on autonomous flight control of aerial quadrotors. Focusing on developing and implementing novice obstacle avoidance technology for enhanced path planning.
• 10/12 - 09/16
  • Mechanical Engineering, B.Sc.
  • Hamburg University of Technology
  • Hamburg, Germany
  • Pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering focusing on Aircraft Systems Engineering.

Skills

• Languages
  • German (native)
  • English (fluent, C1)
• CAD
  • Catia
  • Inventor
  • SolidEdge
  • SolidWorks
• Calculation
  • Maple
  • MATLAB
  • Simulink
• Programming
  • C
  • C++
  • git
  • Java
  • PX4
  • Python
  • ROS
  • TensorFlow
• Other
  • CI/CD
  • GitLab

Publications

Design and Adaptive Depth Control of a Micro Diving Agent

Bessa, W. M., Kreuzer, E., Lange, J., Pick, M. and Solowjow E. "Design and Adaptive Depth Control of a Micro Diving Agent", in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 1871-1877, Oct. 2017, doi: 10.1109/LRA.2017.2714142.

Obstacle avoidance-driven controller for safety-critical aerial robots

Lange, J. "Obstacle avoidance-driven controller for safety-critical aerial robots", in Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Sep. 2019, eprint: 2011.08178.

Comparing Popular Simulation Environments in the Scope of Robotics and Reinforcement Learning

Körber, M., Lange, J., Rediske, S., Steinmann, S. and Glück, R. "Comparing Popular Simulation Environments in the Scope of Robotics and Reinforcement Learning", in arXiv preprint, March 2021, eprint: 2103.04616.

Reward Shaping for Reinforcement Learning in the Aviation Industry

Wei, J. "Reward Shaping for Reinforcement Learning in the Aviation Industry", Master's Thesis, Hamburg University of Technology, October 2022.

Applying Model-Based System Engineering and DevOps on the Implementation of an AI-based Collision Avoidance System

Stefani, T., Christensen, J. M., Hoemann, E., Anilkumar Girija, A., Köster, F., Krüger, T. and Hallerbach, S. "Applying Model-Based System Engineering and DevOps on the Implementation of an AI-based Collision Avoidance System", in 34th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, Sep. 2024.

Automated Scenario Generation from Operational Design Domain Model for Testing AI-Based Systems in Aviation

Stefani, T., Christensen, J. M., Anilkumar Girija, A., Gupta, S., Durak, U., Köster, F., Krüger, T. and Hallerbach, S. "Automated Scenario Generation from Operational Design Domain Model for Testing AI-Based Systems in Aviation", in CEAS Aeronautical Journal, Sep. 2024.

Towards Certifiable AI in Aviation: A Framework for Neural Network Assurance Using Advanced Visualization and Safety Nets

Christensen, J. M., Zaeske, W., Anilkumar Girija, A., Friedrich, S., Stefani, T., Durak, U., Köster, F., Krüger, T. and Hallerbach, S. "Towards Certifiable AI in Aviation: A Framework for Neural Network Assurance Using Advanced Visualization and Safety Nets", in 2024 IEEE/AIAA 43st Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), Sep. 2024.

Towards an Operational Design Domain for Safe Human-AI Teaming in the Field of AI-Based Air Traffic Controller Operations

Stefani, T., Jameel, M., Hunger, R., Gerdes, I., Anilkumar Girija, A., Christensen, J. M., Bruder, C., Köster, F., Hallerbach, S. and Krüger, T. "Towards Certifiable AI in Aviation: A Framework for Neural Network Assurance Using Advanced Visualization and Safety Nets", in 2024 IEEE/AIAA 43st Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), Sep. 2024.

Towards the Monitoring of Operational Design Domains using Temporal Scene Analysis in the realm of Artificial Intelligence in Aviation

Anilkumar Girija, A., Christensen, J. M., Stefani, T., Hoemann, E., Durak, U., Köster, F., Hallerbach, S. and Krüger, T. "Towards the Monitoring of Operational Design Domains using Temporal Scene Analysis in the realm of Artificial Intelligence in Aviation", in 2024 IEEE/AIAA 43st Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), Sep. 2024.

Advancing the AI-Based Realization of ACAS X Towards Real-World Application

Christensen, J. M., Anilkumar Girija, A., Stefani, T., Durak, U., Hoemann, E., Köster, F., Krüger, T. and Hallerbach, S. "Advancing the AI-Based Realization of ACAS X Towards Real-World Application", in 36th IEEE International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI), Oct. 2024.

Ensuring the Trustworthy Development of AI Based Applications Compatible to Future EASA Regulations

Werner, F. "Ensuring the Trustworthy Development of AI Based Applications Compatible to Future EASA Regulations", Master's Thesis, Ulm University of Applied Sciences, January 2025.