Magnetic materials display many intriguing phenomena at the nanoscale. They host exotic spin configurations such as domain walls or skyrmions, which are promising candidates for storing information in energy-efficient memory and logic devices. The magnon excitations in these materials also enable performing computations with low energy dissipation. The properties of both the magnetic configurations and their excitations are determined by spin interaction parameters that sensitively depend on the local electronic structure. Multilayers combining magnetic materials with non-magnetic systems, particularly with heavy metals possessing a strong spin-orbit interaction, have proven to be a remarkable platform for controlling magnetism. The various combinations of materials, layer thicknesses and stacking orders provide a plethora of possibilities for engineering the spin interactions. In the proposed doctoral project, first-principles calculations will be combined with the simulations of the magnetic dynamics to explore novel types of spin interactions between magnetic layers separated by non-magnetic spacers in multilayer geometries. The research is to be carried out using the ab initio simulation code developed at the university. It is planned to be unravelled how these interactions depend on the type and thickness of the non-magnetic materials, and what types of magnetic configurations and excitations they give rise to. The project will provide the opportunity for collaboration with other experimental and theoretical groups within an international network.