Ph.D. student position in human aspects of AI for software engineering

We are one of Sweden’s most distinctly profiled institutes of technology, with a focus on IT and innovation for a sustainable future. A key word at Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) is closeness – close cooperation with industry and society, and closeness to our students and to our management.
Our closeness to the sea is also very apparent at both campuses, as well as being a comfortable bike ride away from the city and residential areas. BTH stands for quality and new approaches and strives to be recognised as an open, exciting and creative higher education institution.
We develop new knowledge through our research, which often takes place in collaboration with wider society and with a specific application in mind. The research contributes to a sustainable future, through directly through our research results as well as indirectly, through our PhD graduates and research-based undergraduate studies. To reach our goals, we need motivated and committed staff who are provided with the conditions to deliver research and education of the highest quality. Work environment and equal opportunities are consistently on the agenda and we strive for continuous improvements. Does this sound like your future?

The Department of Software Engineering consists of about 50 researchers and teachers from 20 countries. Our tradition in software engineering traces back to 1990 when we pioneered Sweden’s first academic education in the area in cooperation with Ericsson. The department’s research and education environment, SERL Sweden – the Software Engineering Research and Education Lab, has since then expanded into a world-leading research environment in empirical software engineering. The department is responsible for education programs in software engineering from Bachelor to Ph.D. levels.

Work description

You are expected to conduct empirical research on technological change in the context of software development. The focus of the research will be on introducing and using artificial intelligence (AI) to support software development tasks and as a component of software products. The research will involve using and developing theories and frameworks of technology acceptance behavior to understand current software development processes and facilitate changes to these processes. The research is carried out in collaboration with various industry partners. The key responsibilities include:

• Studying the integration of AI solutions into software development processes.
• Conducting original research by using, developing, and refining relevant theories to address challenges related to technology acceptance behavior and organizational change in the software engineering context.
• Publishing research findings in top-tier conferences and journals, contributing to industrially relevant research in software engineering.

For this position, we are looking for a candidate with a background in data analysis and an interest in social and human factors in software engineering.

The Ph.D. position is a part of the strategic research area in IT and mobile communication ELLIIT, which is a partnership between Linköping University, Lund University, Halmstad University and Blekinge Institute of Technology.

Rules and benefits for Ph.D. students in Sweden apply to this position. The Ph.D. student will develop an individual study plan in software engineering together with his/her supervisors. The position may include up to 20% of other services, e.g., teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Eligibility requirements

To be employed as a Ph.D. student, it is required that the applicant is or will be admitted to postgraduate education.

Eligible for admission to postgraduate education is a person who has completed a degree at an advanced level in a technical, mathematical, or scientific field or who has otherwise acquired knowledge to be able to benefit from postgraduate education in the subject.

Meriting competencies and experience

In addition to the requirements described in the work description and the eligibility requirements for the position, the following degrees, competencies, and experiences are considered a merit:

• Master or Master of Science degree in software engineering, information systems, data science, AI, or computer science.
• Documented experience in professional software development.
• Experience of and interest in studying human aspects.
• Proficiency in written and oral communication in English.

Place of employment: Karlskrona.

Employment level: 100%.

Commencement: To be agreed.

Duration: Temporary employment for up to 4 years of full-time research. The position may contain up to 20% other services, e.g., teaching, whereby the employment period can be extended to a maximum of 5 years.

Application deadline: May 5, 2024.

Your application should contain the following:

• A statement of your background, knowledge, and experience in the area(s) relevant to the position.
• A CV.
• Certified degree certificates and transcripts that are officially issued by your university; see universityadmissions.se for official recommendations.
• Contact information for two references (reference letters are not required at this point).
• The earliest date you can start to work.
• An appendix with current publications (if applicable).
• A link to your thesis (latest/highest degree).

You apply online through our recruitment system by clicking on the “apply” button.

If you have protected personal data, you should not register your application in our recruitment system. Instead, contact the HR specialist listed as the contact person in the advertisement for further instructions.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the advertisement and instructions.

Instructions to applicants can be found at https://www.bth.se/eng/about-bth/vacancies-at-bth.

In case of different interpretations of the English and Swedish versions of this announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.

Blekinge Institute of Technology, BTH, embraces diversity and welcomes applicants with varying backgrounds and experiences.
We work actively to take advantage of the qualities that diversity and an even gender distribution contribute to our operations.

We have chosen media for this recruitment and therefore we reject contact with advertisers or sellers of recruitment services.

Contact person

URL to this pagehttps://www.bth.se/eng/about-bth/vacancies/?rmpage=job&rmjob=919&rmlang=UK