PhD Student Position in Cryptography

Project description
The PhD student will be working in the research group of Elena Pagnin, where the focus is on the design of provable secure cryptographic tools.

The research to be performed in this PhD position is fully funded by the Swedish Research Council through the project: 'Progressive Verification for Cryptographic Schemes'.
Cryptographic verification mechanisms play a central role in securing digital services. Common verification procedures return a decision (accept/reject) only at the very end of the execution. If interrupted prematurely, however, the verification process cannot infer any meaningful information about the validity of a given input. Is this really a limitation of cryptographic verification? It turns out that it is not! This project aims at investigating progressive verifications, that is to say, ways to dynamically adjust a verification procedure so that the effort spent evaluating an input is proportional to the accuracy of the final decision. Progressive verifications have a significant impact in real-time systems as well as in rendering post-quantum secure schemes available for IoT devices.

Information about the division and the department
The department of Computer Science and Engineering at Chalmers University is strongly international, with approximately 250 employees from over 30 countries. The position is placed in the Information Security (iSec) unit, which is composed of about 20 researchers that publish internationally recognised cutting edge works on web security, language based security, secure protocols implementations, and cryptography. The iSec unit is now building a new team specialised in cryptography, with tight connections with Aarhus University and ITU (Cophenhagen). Joining our unit you will find a welcoming atmosphere, supporting colleagues and recurring security seminars to expand your knowledge. 

Major responsibilities
The position comes with enrollment in the PhD program for Computer Science and Engineering, designed for 5 years. As a PhD student, you undertake the journey of becoming an expert in the field of cryptography. This includes devoting 80% of your working time to advancing research projects run in the group and under the supervision of more experienced researchers. Typically, this means carrying out high-quality research, writing academic articles, and taking courses to complement your background. The remaining 20% of your working time is devoted to teaching duties, such as helping as teaching assistant in courses offered by the University. The position requires sound verbal and written communication skills in English. If Swedish is not your native language, and you wish to learn Swedish, Chalmers offers you Swedish courses.

Qualifications
Applicants should have, or expect shortly to obtain, a Master's degree in Computer Science, Mathematics or in a relevant neighboring field. To qualify for this PhD position, you must have a master's level degree corresponding to at least 240 higher education credits in a relevant field before you start working at Chalmers. A good level of skills is required in oral and written English, mathematical reasoning, logic, probability theory, problem-solving. We expect applicants who enjoy solving problems in an independent way, and who get inspired to cooperate in smaller teams. 

Contract terms
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years.

We offer
Chalmers offers a cultivating and inspiring working environment in the coastal city of Gothenburg. 
Read more about working at Chalmers and our benefits for employees.

Chalmers aims to actively improve our gender balance. We work broadly with equality projects, for example the GENIE Initiative on gender equality for excellence. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers.

Application procedure
The application should be marked with Ref 20230084 and written in English. The application should be sent electronically and be attached as PDF-files, as below. Maximum size for each file is 40 MB. Please note that the system does not support Zip files.

CV: (Please name the document: CV, Family name, Ref. number)
• CV
• Other, for example previous employments or leadership qualifications and positions of trust.
• Two references that we can contact.

Personal letter: (Please name the document as: Personal letter, Family name, Ref. number)
1-3 pages where you:
• Introduce yourself and state clearly why you are eager to join this project.
• Describe your previous experience of relevance for the position (e.g. education, thesis work and, if applicable, any other research activities).
• Describe your future goals and future research focus.

Other documents:
• Copies of bachelor and/or master’s thesis.
• Attested copies and transcripts of completed education, grades and other certificates, e.g. TOEFL test results.

Please use the button at the foot of the page to reach the application form. 

Application deadline: 26-03-2023

For questions, please contact:
Asst. Prof. Elena Pagnin, Computing Science
E-mail: elenap@chalmers.se
Phone: +46723518583

*** Chalmers declines to consider all offers of further announcement publishing or other types of support for the recruiting process in connection with this position. *** 
   



Chalmers University of Technology conducts research and education in engineering sciences, architecture, technology-related mathematical sciences, natural and nautical sciences, working in close collaboration with industry and society. The strategy for scientific excellence focuses on our six Areas of Advance; Energy, Health Engineering, Information and Communication Technology, Materials Science, Production and Transport. The aim is to make an active contribution to a sustainable future using the basic sciences as a foundation and innovation and entrepreneurship as the central driving forces. Chalmers has around 11,000 students and 3,000 employees. New knowledge and improved technology have characterised Chalmers since its foundation in 1829, completely in accordance with the will of William Chalmers and his motto: Avancez!