项目介绍

2025年3月7日

The University of Gothenburg tackles society’s challenges with diverse knowledge. 56 000 students and 6 600 employees make the university a large and inspiring place to work and study. Strong research and attractive study programmes attract researchers and students from around the world. With new knowledge and new perspectives, the University contributes to a better future.

Doctoral position in Software security 

The department of Computer Science and Engineering is strongly international, with approximately 300 employees from over 30 countries. The department is a fully integrated department with the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology as principals. The department of Computer Science and Engineering is looking for a doctoral student. The position is placed in the Division for Interaction Design and Software Engineering at the department, with the University of Gothenburg as the employer.

Our division is a leader in research and education on complex, software-intensive systems, with strong international collaborations and close ties to the local industry. With around 50 researchers—including PhD students, postdocs, and faculty at all levels—we are one of the largest academic software engineering research groups worldwide. Our core expertise spans AI Engineering, software testing, requirements engineering, behavioral software engineering, and automotive software engineering. 

General information about being a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg can be found on the university’s doctoral student pages. 

Duties   

Doctoral studies comprises four years of full-time study, and leads to a doctoral degree.    

As part of your employment as a doctoral student, you may have departmental duties corresponding to up to 20 % of full-time employment, distributed throughout your study period, and result in a corresponding extension of the studies. Departmental duties usually consist of teaching at first- and second-cycle levels, but may also include research and administration.  

Modern software applications are almost never built from scratch but reuse a significant amount of code that has been built by 3rd parties. These code artifacts, in the form of externally developed libraries, packages and frameworks form the core of their so-called software supply chain. The goal of this project is to design, develop, and evaluate new paradigms for securing software supply chain. The activities will be ranging from developing the theoretical foundations of classes of attacks and defenses, developing state-of-the-art analysis tools, conducting large scale analyses of the emergence of vulnerabilities in the software supply chain.

Therefore, we are seeking a passionate and talented PhD student who is interested in applying program analysis, Machine learning, and graph-based analysis techniques to secure modern software by applying principled security mechanisms.

Eligibility   

Doctoral education requires general eligibility and, where appropriate, specific eligibility as set out in the general syllabus for the subject.  

The general eligibility requirements for doctoral studies are:    

1. having completed a degree at second-cycle level, or
2. the fulfilment of course requirements totalling at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits must be at second-cycle level, or  
3. the acquisition of equivalent knowledge in some other way, either in Sweden or abroad. 

Specific entry requirements for this subject, according to the general syllabus, are:   
A well-documented track record of research interests and achievements in an area strongly related to the project. Specifically, you need to have knowledge in program analysis techniques, software security principles, and good programming skills. 

Assessment criteria   

The selection of applicants who meet the basic and specific eligibility requirements will be based on the ability to assimilate the doctoral studies.   
Therefore, it is important to include parts of your own work such as theses and articles that you have authored or co-authored. Links to software repositories with relevant projects should be included where relevant.

Fluency in English (both verbal and in writing) is mandatory. Swedish is not a requirement, but the department offers Swedish courses.  

Other important qualifications:

• Strong background in program analysis (static analysis, dynamic analysis) and software security (attack graphs, CEWs, CVEs, SBOM).
• Strong programing and software engineering skills.
• Familiarity with AI/ML techniques and graph-based analysis is a plus.

Admission and employment   

Once you have been admitted to doctoral studies, you will be employed as a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg.   

The provisions for employment as a doctoral student can be found in ordinance SFS 1993:100.    

Initial employment as a doctoral student may apply for a maximum of one year, and may be renewed by a maximum of two years at a time.  

A doctoral student may be employed as a doctoral student for a maximum of eight years, but the total period of employment may not be longer than the equivalent of full-time education at doctoral level for four years.   

The University applies a local agreement on salaries for doctoral students.

Type of employment: Fixed-term employment, HF 5 kap 7§
Extent: 100% full time
Location: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, division of Interaction Design and Software Engineering
First day of employment: 2025-09-01 or according to agreement

Please note, doctoral studies at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering require physical presence to conduct the studies. If the admitted applicant needs a residence permit for higher education to pursue studies in Sweden, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering has the right to revoke the admission decision if the applicant cannot present a valid residence permit no later than at the start of the studies.

Contact information 

Information regarding the project, please contact Mohannad Alhanahnah mohannad.alhanahnah@chalmers.se
Information regarding the position, please contact Eric Knauss eric.knauss@gu.se
Regarding the appointment procedure, please contact Sanna Staf sanna.staf@cse.gu.se

Unions 

Union representatives at the University of Gothenburg can be found here:   
https://www.gu.se/om-universitetet/jobba-hos-oss/hjalp-for-sokande   

Application   

You can apply to be admitted to doctoral education via the University of Gothenburg’s recruitment portal.   

It is your responsibility to ensure that the application is complete as per this notice, and that the University receives it by the final application deadline.   

The application is to be written in English. 

The application should include the following items:  


• An application of a maximum of one A4 page summarizing your track record and outlining your research interests.

• Attested copies of education certificates, including grade reports and other documents 

• Curriculum Vitae
• Letters of recommendation and name of reference persons (preferably at least 2)
• Evidence of written work: (links to) research papers and theses 

• Links to software repositories with relevant projects


Applications must be received by: 2025-04-02

Information for International Applicants 

Choosing a career in a foreign country is a big step. Thus, to give you a general idea of what we and Gothenburg have to offer in terms of benefits and life in general for you and your family/spouse/partner please visit: 

https://www.gu.se/en/about-the-university/welcome-services 
https://www.movetogothenburg.com/