PhD student in Computing Science focusing on Automated Verification of Numerical Code - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Are you interested in working in the area of automated program verification, with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in an international environment? Are you looking for an employer that invests in sustainable employeeship and offers safe, favorable working conditions? We welcome you to apply for a PhD position at Uppsala University. 

The Department of Information Technology holds a leading position in both research and education at all levels. We are currently Uppsala University's third largest department, have around 350 employees, including 120 teachers and 120 PhD students. Approximately 5,000 undergraduate students take one or more courses at the department each year. You can find more information about us on the Department of Information Technology website.

The PhD position is hosted by the Division of Computing Science and specifically within the Programming Languages group that currently consists of 6 faculty and 7 PhD students that are working on different aspects of programming language design and verification. Beyond technical collaborations, the group meets regularly and provides an engaging and supportive environment.

Project description
Numerical software is widely used to model, simulate, predict and make decisions in applications across different domains such as data analysis, weather forecasting, physics, or engineering. Ensuring that such software is correct is important, but non-trivial. One approach to do so is to employ rigorous automated verification that proves at compile-time that a program computes for all valid inputs what it is expected to. However, automated verification of numerical programs over finite-precision (e.g. floating-point) numbers is currently limited. Finite precision introduces rounding errors w.r.t. an ideal, real-valued specification and poses unique challenges for verification of program accuracy and other kinds of desirable properties. 

The goal of this thesis project is to develop a rigorous verification approach and tool for real-world numerical software. The project will explore, develop and combine different static and dynamic verification techniques with the ultimate ambition to make it easier for developers to write correct numerical code. The developed techniques will be implemented in a practically usable tool, for example building on the LLVM framework.

Duties
A Ph.D. student is expected to devote their time to graduate education mainly. The rest of the duties may involve teaching at the Department, including also some administration, to at most 20%.

Requirements
To meet the entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must

• hold a Master’s (second-cycle) degree in degree in computer science or a related field, or
• have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, with at least 60 credits at Master’s level including an independent project worth at least 15 credits, or
• have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way.

We are looking for candidates with

• a strong mathematical background and interest in static and/or dynamic program analysis, programming language techniques or formal verification,
• excellent communication skills with sufficient proficiency in oral and written English,
• good programming and problem solving skills,
• ability to work well both on their own and with others in a diverse group.

Additional qualifications
Experience and courses in one or more subjects are valued: static program analysis, dynamic analysis or testing, program verification, program logics, advanced compiler construction.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

Application
The application must include: 
1)    a statement (at most 2 pages) of the applicant’s motivation for applying for this position, that should additionally include: a) the candidate’s research interests, b) evidence of the applicant’s self-motivation and ability to work in a group, and c) a summary of their MSc thesis or a comparable major project; 
2)    a CV;
3)    degrees and transcript of records with grades (translated to English or Swedish); 
4)    the Master’s thesis (or a draft thereof, and/or some other self-produced technical or scientific text), publications, and other relevant documents; 
5)    Contact information for at least one reference (but no reference letter).
6)    The earliest possible starting date. 
 
Promising applicants will be invited for an interview on-site before hiring.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date 1 September 2024 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala. 

Sweden is a fantastic place for living and working. Swedes are friendly and speak excellent English. The quality of life is high, with a strong emphasis on outdoor activities. The Swedish working climate emphasizes an open atmosphere, with active discussions involving both junior and senior staff. PhD students are full employees, with competitive salaries, pension provision and five weeks of paid leave per year. Healthcare is free after a small co-pay and the university subsidizes athletic costs, such as a gym membership. The parental benefits in Sweden are among the best in the world, including extensive parental leave (for both parents), paid time off to care for sick children, and affordable daycare.

For further information about the position, please contact: Associate Professor Eva Darulova, e-mail: eva.darulova@it.uu.se.

Please submit your application by 26 April 2024, UFV-PA 2024/957.

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