Doctoral researcher in Software-Defined Vehicles

The University of Luxembourg is an international research university with a distinctly multilingual and interdisciplinary character. The University was founded in 2003 and counts more than 6,700 students and more than 2,000 employees from around the world. The University’s faculties and interdisciplinary centres focus on research in the areas of Computer Science and ICT Security, Materials Science, European and International Law, Finance and Financial Innovation, Education, Contemporary and Digital History. In addition, the University focuses on cross-disciplinary research in the areas of Data Modelling and Simulation as well as Health and System Biomedicine. Times Higher Education ranks the University of Luxembourg #3 worldwide for its “international outlook,” #20 in the Young University Ranking 2021 and among the top 250 universities worldwide.

The Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine (FSTM) contributes multidisciplinary expertise in the fields of Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, Computer Science, Life Sciences and Medicine. Through its dual mission of teaching and research, the FSTM seeks to generate and disseminate knowledge and train new generations of responsible citizens, in order to better understand, explain and advance society and environment we live in.

The primary mission of the Department of Computer Science (DCS) is to conduct fundamental and applied research in the area of computer, communication and information sciences. The goal is to push forward the scientific frontiers of these fields. Researchers strive towards research goals that are of broad impact for society, in addition to their innovative scientific content.

Software has been playing a prominent role in vehicle for many years now, as a large majority of the functions of a vehicle are mostly implemented in software. Some of next generation’s Electronic Control Units (ECUs) will be equipped with powerful System-on-Chips (SOCs), each containing several multicore processors with specific capabilities (e.g., lock-step execution for safety-critical code, low-power execution, etc). Larger ECUs routinely support hypervisors hosting Virtual Machines (VM) running OSes of different types (e.g., real-time, infotainment or general-purpose OS). Besides VMs, software containers are also technologies that start being considered for use in the automotive domain to ease software update.

In that landscape, a new trend is that the runtime execution platform increasingly relies on software, allowing for more modularity and providing a lot of flexibility in terms of configuration, or re-configuration after new functions have been deployed.  For instance, software components executing in the VMs may communicate through software-implemented (“virtual”) network interfaces connected to a virtual Ethernet switch, i.e. software replacing the actual HW. More generally, what has been observed over the last decade is that the complexity is migrating from the hardware (in the past, vehicles sometimes had 50+ ECUs, most running a few functions) to the software (today E/E architectures tend to rely on a lesser number of powerful ECUs, with complex internal software architectures).  This era of increasing reliance on software in the automotive domain is referred to as Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV).

If SDV holds much promises, it requires us to rethink the existing design, development and verification approaches:

• SDV may require more software-centric design and development methodologies.
• Additional run-time mechanisms, e.g. implemented in middleware software layers, may be needed to complement current standards and technologies.
• Configuration and Design-Space-Exploration (DSE) algorithms need to be extended to support SDV.
• Performance evaluation in the automotive domain is typically conducted with worst-case scheduling analysis (“schedulability analysis”) at the level of a processor or at system level (considering “timing chains” over different processors and networks). Are the existing techniques, such as system-level compositional analysis, able to cope with the complexity of next-generation execution platforms? If not, what would be the techniques that could allow verifying that non-functional concerns like timing and safety are met?

This Phd thesis explores these questions with the aim to contribute to the design of provably-correct SDV E/E architectures.

• Master’s degree in Computer Science or Electrical Engineering,
• Ideally, some background in embedded systems, networking and model-based design,
• Strong analytical capacities, creativity and commitment,
• Good programming skills,
• Good written and oral English skills.

• Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract 36 Month (extendable up to 48 months if required)
• Starting date: As soon as possible
• Work Hours: Full Time 40.0 Hours per Week
• Location: Belval
• Employee and student status
• Job Reference: UOL04997

The yearly gross salary for every PhD at the UL is EUR 38.028,96 (full time)

Applications in English should include:

• A motivation letter, with a clear statement of interest for the position,
• A detailed Curriculum Vitae,
• A transcript of the grades you received in your Bachelor and Master studies,
• An abstract of your master thesis with a download link,
• The names and contact details of two referees.

We ensure a full consideration for applications received by the 30th of June 2022, however early submission is encouraged. Applications sent by e-mail will not be considered; please apply ONLINE.

The University of Luxembourg embraces inclusion and diversity as key values. We are fully committed to removing any discriminatory barrier related to gender, and not only, in recruitment and career progression of our staff.

• Multilingual and international character. Modern institution with a personal atmosphere. Staff coming from 90 countries. Member of the “University of the Greater Region” (UniGR). 
• A modern and dynamic university. High-quality equipment. Close ties to the business world and to the Luxembourg labour market. A unique urban site with excellent infrastructure.
• A partner for society and industry. Cooperation with European institutions, innovative companies, the Financial Centre and with numerous non-academic partners such as ministries, local governments, associations, NGOs …

For further information, please contact Prof. Nicolas NAVET, Email: [email protected]