PhD student in Computing Science focusing on Practically Usable Verification for Numerical Programs

Are you interested in working in automated program verification and/or software engineering, 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, and 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 seven faculty and eight PhD students that are working on different aspects of programming language design, verification and software engineering. Beyond technical collaborations, the group meets regularly and provides an engaging and supportive environment.

Project description
The project, funded by the ERC Starting grant HORNET, focuses on practically usable automated verification and debugging techniques for numerical programs. These programs are widely used in safety-critical systems, data analysis, weather forecasting, physics, engineering and more, but verifying and debugging their accuracy and reliability today is challenging due to rounding errors and limitations of current tools. One aspect that this project focuses on is accuracy of finite-precision programs with respect to a real-valued (and thus error-free) program specification. Possible research directions include automated program verification, specification inference, fault localization, and practical usability in the context of numerical finite-precision programs. The project will typically include both a theoretical part, developing new techniques and approaches, as well as implementations that can be practically used.

Duties
A doctoral student will devote the 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
Entry requirements for doctoral education are regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance. To meet the general entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must:

• hold a Master’s (second-cycle) 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.

The University may permit an exemption from the general entry requirements for an individual applicant, if there are special grounds (Chapter 7, § 39 of the Higher Education Ordinance). For special entry requirements, please see the subject’s general study plan.

We are looking for candidates with:

• a strong mathematical background and interest in static and/or dynamic program analysis, programming language techniques, formal verification, or software engineering,
• excellent communication skills with sufficient proficiency in oral and written English,
• good problem-solving skills,
• proficiency in programming,
• 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, program testing, program verification, program logics, advanced compiler construction, software engineering, debugging.

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, c) a summary of their MSc thesis or a comparable major project, and d) the earliest possible starting date of employment; 
2. a CV;
3. degrees and transcript of records with grades (translated to English or Swedish, e.g. as provided by universities); 
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).

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 2025 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala. 

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

Please submit your application by 22 April 2025, UFV-PA 2025/641.

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