PhD student position in Software Performance Engineering

You will be a part of an exciting research environment and acquire the skills to conduct independent research. You will contribute to a future in which we can rely on better, more reliable, and better performing software systems that have the potential to improve the web-based applications that are the fundament of modern society.  

General information
The Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Chalmers and University of Gothenburg in Sweden with approximately 270 employees from more than 30 countries is widely recognized for excellent research and education. Our department is located in Sweden’s second largest city Gothenburg – the world’s most sustainable destination every year since 2016 according to the Global Destination Sustainability Index. The four research divisions at our department are essential scientific facilitators in a vibrant ecosystem of software-intensive companies such as Volvo, Ericsson, and Einride. This ecosystem is complemented by a growing start-up scene supported by collaboration hubs like MobilityX Labs and AI Sweden, the national center for applied AI that is bringing together over 120 partners across public and private sectors including academia.

We are announcing one PhD position that is placed at the Division of Interaction Design and Software Engineering, with Chalmers University of Technology as the employer. Our division provides world-leading research and education in the development of complex and software-intense systems and is characterized by extensive international cooperation as well as close collaboration with the local industry. With approximately 50 researchers including PhD students, postdocs, and faculty on all levels, we are one of the largest academic software engineering research groups in the world. Our core expertise is in AI Engineering, software testing, requirements engineering, behavioral software engineering, and software engineering for automotive systems. Being broadly recognized in the academic community, our division has hosted top international conferences such as ICSE, SPLC, and ICSA during the past recent years.  

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 acquire the skills and knowledge to conduct independent research in the field of software engineering, with a special focus on software performance benchmarking and predicting of software performance using AI techniques. You also contribute to the development of knowledge in the subject by writing a scientific dissertation. This includes devoting 80% of your working time to performing research under the supervision of more experienced researchers. Typically, this means carrying out research, writing academic articles, and taking courses to complement your background. The remaining 20% of your working time is devoted to departmental duties, such as helping as teaching assistant in courses offered by the university. Those duties can be concentrated in parts of the year depending on the needs of the university in consultation with the students.

As a successful applicant, you will be funded by the Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems, and Software Program (WASP). You will be part of the Sweden-wide WASP community, participate in WASP meetings, conferences, summer schools, and study trips. You will also be enrolled in the WASP PhD School in addition to the PhD school at CSE.

As part of your research project, you will (micro-)benchmark Java-based applications using JMH. You will collect performance measurements from real projects, statistically analyse them, and conduct experiments with modern machine learning techniques (e.g., deep neural networks, graph neural networks, or active learning) with the goal of predicting the performance impact of code changes. A strong background in software engineering as well as some interest in machine learning will be required for this project.  Interest in compilers and the Java Virtual Machine are a benefit to this project.

Read more about doctoral studies at Chalmers here.

Qualifications
A person meets the general entry requirements for third-cycle studies if he or she:  


• has been awarded a second-cycle qualification
• has satisfied the requirements for courses comprising at least 240 credits of which at least 60 credits were awarded in the second-cycle, or 
• has acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way in Sweden or abroad 

You are highly motivated, self-propelled, energetic, independent and with a well-developed analytical problem-solving ability. As a person, you are empathetic and have high ethical standards. You are able to work effectively and respectfully in a multi-cultural team.

The Department aims to actively improve our gender balance and we work broadly with equality projects. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at the University and Department. We therefore welcome a diversity of applicants with different backgrounds and experiences.

The position requires sound verbal and written communication skills in English. If Swedish is not your native language, Chalmers offers Swedish courses.

In selecting between applicants who meet the general and, where applicable, specific entry requirements, their ability to benefit from third-cycle studies shall be taken into account.  

We strongly welcome candidates who have demonstrated early research potential in the area of this project, evidenced either through initial publication(s) or a strong master’s thesis. Prior industrial experience (e.g., as a software or DevOps engineer) is a plus. The ability to work in a team as well as to systematically work within a project environment and its deadlines is desirable.  Strong analytical skills are required.

The assessment will be based on applicant’s CVs and interviews, and may also include a short take-home or live test, in which the applicants can demonstrate their ability to solve technical problems and reason about relevant research problems.  

Contract terms
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years.
First day of employment: Per agreement, but no later than 2025-01-01

For more information about what we offer and the application procedure, please visit Chalmers website.