2 PhD positions in Automated Software Debugging in Luxembourg | University of Luxembourg

The University of Luxembourg seeks to hire outstanding researchers at its Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT). SnT is a recently formed centre carrying out interdisciplinary research in secure, reliable and trustworthy ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) systems and services, often in collaboration with industrial, governmental or international partners. SnT is active in several international research projects funded by the EU 7th framework programme and the European Space Agency.

Fixed Term Contract up to 3 years in total, pending satisfaction of progress milestones (CDD), full-time (40 hrs/week)

University of Luxembourg (UL) is offering a fully funded student bursary in Automated Software Debugging to start as soon as possible. The funding provides fees and living support for full four years, subject to standard University of Luxembourg terms and rates, and will be awarded to the student who meets the UL admissions criteria for the Department of Computer Science PhD programme.

Your Role

Research Context

In software development, developers still need more improved automation support in spite of recent remarkable advances of development tools and techniques. Debugging is, particularly, one of the most time-consuming tasks, in which developers can take advantage of automated tools. According to IDC reports, most of software development organizations spent more than $5 million annually on fixing bugs. In addition, the number of reported bugs outnumbers available human resources as software systems are getting more complex and larger. Developers even release programs with bugs. For example, Windows 2000 was shipped with more than 63,000 known and unresolved bugs. This is pervasive both in many open/closed source software projects.

Topics

Our goal is to automate every debugging subtasks so that developers can save their time and effort for other development tasks such as software design and feature implementation. To achieve this goal, we seek and pursue specific topics in software debugging. The research topics include bug localization, defect prioritization, common bug/fix pattern mining, and patch generation. These topics are essential to automate the software debugging process.

Under the direction of a professor, you will carry out research activities and write a thesis, the main goal being to obtain a PhD in the area of Empirical Software Engineering. You may be tasked with conducting literature surveys and establishing state-of-the-art; developing necessary experimental and simulation facilities where required; planning, executing, and analyzing experiments and simulations; conducting joint and independent research activities; contributing to project deliverables, milestones, demonstrations, and meetings; disseminating results at international scientific conferences/workshops and peer reviewed scientific publications.

Your Profile

• A master’s degree in Computer Science.
• A proven interest in Software Security and Software Engineering is required.
• Commitment, team working, a critical mind, and motivation are skills that are more than welcome.
• Fluent written and verbal communication skills in English are mandatory.
• Understanding of software development process, especially for open source projects,
• Programming Skills (e.g. Java and Scala),
• Optional: machine learning, metaheuristics, statistics, and text analysis.

We offer

The University offers a fixed Term Contract up to 4 years, pending satisfaction of progress milestones (CDD). The University offers a three year appointment (extension up to 4 years in total is possible). The University offers highly competitive salaries and is an equal opportunity employer. You will work in an exciting international environment and will have the opportunity to participate in the development of a newly created research centre.