Post-doctoral positions in Computer Science with specilization in Software Engineering and Software Technnology - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Subject description
Software engineering involves an interplay between humans and their development tools and often takes place in complex open source ecosystems. We aim to explore the socio-technical interplay in four post-doc projects, designing and evaluating smart tools for 1) code reviews, 2) continuous automated testing, 3) automatic software near-clone merging, and 4) gradual updating of service-based software.

1. Code reviews improve quality and build shared understanding. We aim to study modern ​code review and to investigate how intelligent assistance tools, driven by eye-tracking,​ may assist developers during this activity. The project involves observation studies of code reviews, experimental studies with eye-tracking, and tool prototype development and evaluation.
2. Continuous automated testing is a central part of agile software development. We aim to explore the concept of “near failure assertions” to make testing more efficient by getting more information from each test execution, asserting not only pass/fail, but also a risk assessment of the test case outcome. The concept will be prototyped in an automation testing framework and evaluated in open source projects.
3. Software near-clones arise when software developers copy, paste, and adapt code while retaining the original code. Such near-clones come at a long-term cost to software maintenance. In this project, we aim to develop new tools to help developers reduce this cost. Activities will involve developing source-to-source code transformation tools, supporting the ongoing development of a source code corpus, and user studies.
4. Updating applications in an internet-of-things setting needs to be performed live, since such massively distributed systems cannot be taken down and rebooted. We are exploring how updating can be performed gradually and how versioned configurations of components can be gradually phased in and out. Activities include developing demonstrators in smart city applications.

Work duties
The main duties involved in a post-doctoral posistion is to conduct research. Teaching is included, but up to no more than 20% of working hours. The position includes the opportunity for three weeks of training in higher education teaching and learning.

Detailed description of the work duties:

• Research within the subject area, as defined above
• Teaching in the second and third cycles of studies
• Supervision of degree projects and doctoral students
• Collaboration with industry and wider society
• Administration related to the work duties listed above

Qualification requirements
Appointment to a post-doctoral position requires that the applicant has a PhD, or an international degree deemed equivalent to a PhD, within the subject of the position, completed no more than three years before the last date for applications. Under special circumstances, the doctoral degree can have been completed earlier.

Additional requirements:

• Very good oral and written proficiency in English.
• Experience of industrial software engineering practice, open source communities, or research collaboration with practitioners (positions 1 and 2).
• Experience in developing software tools, especially tools related to source-to-source transformation or program analysis (position 3).
• Experience in developing pervasive/ubiqutous/distributed applications (position 4).

Assessment criteria and other qualifications
This is a career development position primarily focused on research. The position is intended as an initial step in a career, and the assessment of the applicants will primarily be based on their research qualifications and potential as researchers. Particular emphasis will be placed on research skills within the subject. 

For appointments to a post-doctoral position, the following shall form the assessment criteria:

• A good ability to develop and conduct high quality research.
• Teaching skills.

Additional assessment criteria:

• Internationally published work in relation to the subject topics
• Experience of multiple research methods and willingness to explore mixed-method research (positions 1 and 2)
• Openess for a human-centered focus on the methods and tools
• Excellent programming skills

Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and independence, and how the applicant’s experience and skills complement and strengthen ongoing research within the department, and how they stand to contribute to its future development.

Terms of employment
This is a full-time, fixed-term employment of a maximum of 2 years. The period of employment is determined in accordance with the agreement “Avtal om tidsbegränsad anställning som postdoktor” (“Agreement on fixed-term employment as a post-doctoral fellow”) between Lund University, SACO-S, OFR/S and SEKO, dated 4 September 2008.

Instructions on how to apply
Applications shall be written in English. Please draw up the application in accordance with LTH’s Academic qualifications portfolio – see link below. Indicate the priority order of interest for the four positions. Upload the application as PDF-files in the recruitment system. Read more:

To apply for academic positions at LTH

Candidate selection to the four positions takes place continuously.