Up to 2 PhD positions Computer Systems focusing on Security at the Architectural Level

Updated: almost 2 years ago
Deadline: 31 May 2022

Published: 2022-05-09

Uppsala University is a comprehensive research-intensive university with a strong international standing. Our ultimate goal is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to make a long-term difference in society. Our most important assets are all the individuals whose curiosity and dedication make Uppsala University one of Sweden’s most exciting workplaces. Uppsala University has over 54,000 students, more than 7,500 employees and a turnover of around SEK 8 billion.

The Department of Information Technology holds a leading position in research as well as teaching at all levels. The department has 300 employees, including 120 faculty, 110 PhD students, and 30 research groups. More than 4000 students are enrolled annually.

Duties/Project description:
The project focuses on memory protection that is becoming more critical as with the expansion of Non-Volatile memory technologies, a large amount of sensitive information is left exposed in mobile or Internet-of-Things devices, even when they are switched off. Today, implementations of a small set of fundamental concepts for encrypted (secure or protected) memory are commercially available but it is widely recognized that they come at a great performance and energy cost (e.g., over 3× slowdowns). For this reason, the applicability of memory protection is limited and reserved for specialized situations.

This project aims to address this critical deficiency by exploring a range of architectural techniques to ameliorate the cost of protecting memory, with an ultimate goal of making memory protection accessible to a wider range of systems and applications. More broadly this project aims to improve the safety of our digital lives.

Read more about our benefits and what it is like to work at Uppsala University

Duties
The position is for four years of research, but will typically include 20% teaching extending the time to five years. You will be expected to teach in Swedish or English.

Requirements
Candidates should have a Master of Science in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or equivalent.

Ultimately, pursuing a PhD will require that you learn new skills and master new subjects. While we consider experience with computer architecture, security, compilers, OS, and parallel programming important and meritorious, you will be working in a coaching-focused environment where such skills can readily be improved with help from your advisors, fellow PhD students, and courses. Thus, aptitude, self-motivation, interest and perseverance are therefore more important a particular skill-set. There are however a few things which one will not have the time to learn during a PhD and hence we require that applicants are already good writers and programmers, and are able to point to indications thereof, such as text and code produced by the in the past.

In addition to the above, applicants should be able to work well both on their own and with others in a diverse group, be comfortable giving and receiving constructive criticism, and have strong abilities for critical thinking and structured work. These competencies are as important as the technical qualifications. Please see http://www.it.uu.se/research/group/uart/applying_phd for more details.

Excellent skills in spoken and written English are an absolute requirement.

Additional qualifications
Experience with Computer architecture, Security, Programming, Algorithms and Data Structures, Compilers, Operating Systems, & Parallel Programming.

Working in Sweden
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. Spouses of employees are entitled to work permits. 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. Upon completion of the PhD degree, students are entitled to permanent residency to find employment within Sweden.

Application
The application must include a statement (at most 2 pages) of the applicant’s motivation for applying for this position, including the candidate’s research interests and how they will support this project, a description of MSc thesis, and evidence of the applicant’s self-motivation and ability to work in a group. The application must also include a CV, degrees and grades (translated to English or Swedish), a copy of the MSc thesis (or a draft thereof), publications (and specific descriptions of the candidate’s own contributions), links to online repositories of code and other artefacts (such as GitHub or Bitbucket) other relevant documents, and the earliest possible starting date. Contact information for at least one reference should be provided. Promising applicants will be invited for an in-depth interview before hiring. 

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

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

For further information about the position, please contact: Professor Stefanos Kaxiras, [email protected]

Please submit your application by 31 May 2022, UFV-PA 2022/1704.

Are you considering moving to Sweden to work at Uppsala University? Find out more about what it´s like to work and live in Sweden .  

Please do not send offers of recruitment or advertising services.

Submit your application through Uppsala University's recruitment system.


Placement: Department of Information Technology

Type of employment: Full time , Temporary position longer than 6 months

Pay: Fixed salary

Number of positions: 2

Working hours: 100

Town: Uppsala

County: Uppsala län

Country: Sweden

Union representative: ST/TCO [email protected]
Seko Universitetsklubben [email protected]
Saco-rådet [email protected]

Number of reference: UFV-PA 2022/1704

Last application date: 2022-05-31


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