Induction hardening is extensively employed in industries such as automotive, aerospace and heavy machinery, where components require superior mechanical properties and long-term durability. Despite its advantages, the process induces tensile residual stresses that may compromise component performance by initiating micro-cracks. Therefore, optimizing the process design is essential to achieve a balanced outcome in terms of surface hardness, residual stress distribution and fatigue resistance. Traditionally, process optimization has relied heavily on experimental trials, which are both time-consuming and costly. This highlights the need for more efficient and reliable alternative methods. However, induction hardening is inherently a complex multiphysics process, involving strong couplings between thermal, electromagnetic, phase transformation and mechanical phenomena.