Doctoral student in Electrical Engineering focusing on secure distributed learning - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

Description of the workplace

The position is within the Division of Communications Engineering at the Department of Electrical and Information Technology at The Faculty of Engineering, LTH, Lund University. The Division has 13 senior researchers, around 20 doctoral students and works within wireless communications in a wider sense. The activities range from communication theory, information theory, joint communication and control, channel measurements/modeling, development of advanced testbeds to the implementation of antenna structures.
We are now looking for a new colleague in the form of a doctoral student in Electrical Engineering with focus on secure distributed learning.

Being a doctoral student 

As a doctoral student, you are both admitted as a student and employed at Lund University. 
As a doctoral student, you will be trained in a scientific approach. In short, you will be trained to think critically and analytically, to solve problems independently using the right methods, and to develop an awareness of research ethics. In addition, you will have the opportunity to work on projects, to develop your leadership and pedagogical skills. Throughout your studies, you will be guided by supervisors. Doctoral studies end with a thesis and a doctoral degree.
More about being a doctoral student at LTH on lth.se. 

Project description

This research position addresses privacy and security issues in federated and decentralized learning systems by bringing together concepts from information and coding theory, machine learning, and distributed algorithms.

The project is in collaboration with Linköping University, which includes opportunity for research visits.

The project is funded by ELLIIT, a strategic research environment funded by the Swedish government in 2010, as part of its initiative to support strong research in information technology and mobile communications. ELLIIT constitutes a platform for both fundamental and applied research.
More about ELLIIT (elliit.se).

Work duties

You will primarily devote yourself to your doctoral programme, which includes participation in research projects as well as third cycle courses, seminars and conferences. 

A major challenge in distributed learning systems is that sensitive information about the private local data sets can be inferred from the model updates that are exchanged between nodes. In this project, you will work on developing novel techniques to achieve privacy protection in federated learning systems with minimal utility degradation, and re-examine the communication-privacy-utility interplay in differentially private federated learning with practical coding schemes. In particular, you will focus on communication aspects of artificially perturbed local gradients and the possibility of combining error-correcting codes with artificial noise for secure aggregation.

The work duties include:

• Carrying out research within the subject area of the project.
• Taking doctoral courses in subjects of relevance to the research area.
• Writing scientific papers and travel to national and international workshops and conferences to present your results.
• The duties also include participation in teaching and other departmental work (however, a maximum of 20% of working hours).

Qualifications 

To be eligible for admission and employment as a doctoral student, you must fulfil the requirements below.

Admission requirements 

A person meets the general admission requirements for third-cycle courses and study programmes if the applicant: 

• has been awarded a second-cycle qualification, or 
• 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.

A person meets the specific admission requirements for third cycle studies in Electrical Engineering if the applicant has: 

• at least 60 second-cycle credits in subjects of relevance to electrical engineering, or
• a MSc in Engineering in Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science,
  Electrical Engineering, Engineering Mathematics, Nanoengineering, 
  Engineering Physics or Information and Communication Engineering.

Additional requirements

In order to complete the doctoral programme in question, the following are also required: 

• Good ability to work independently and to formulate and tackle research problems. 
• Good written and oral communication skills.
• Good ability to cooperate.
• Very good knowledge of English, spoken and written.

Other qualifications

For the doctoral programme in question, the following are considered as other qualifications: 

• Experience in scientific programming and algorithm development.
• Knowledge/experience in wireless communication systems and the theory behind.
• Knowledge/experience in information theory and/or channel coding.
• Knowledge/experience in secure aggregation and/or differential privacy. 
• Experience with machine learning algorithms and in particular federated learning.
• Strong mathematical ability.

Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and 
independence, and how the applicant, through experience and skills, is deemed to have the abilities necessary for successfully completing the third cycle programme.

We offer

Lund University is a public authority which means that employees get particular benefits, generous annual leave and an advantageous occupational pension scheme. 
More about working at Lund University on lu.se. 

About the employment 

The employment is a fixed-term employment at full time, starting as soon as 
possible by agreement, however no later than December 1, 2026. 
Third cycle studies at LTH consist of full-time studies for 4 years. In the case of teaching and other departmental duties, the employment is extended accordingly. Doctoral studentships are regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance (1993:100), chapter 5, 1-7 §§.
More about terms of employment for doctoral students on Lund University’s Staffpages. 

How to apply

Applications shall be written in English and include: 

• CV and a cover letter stating the reasons why you are interested in the doctoral programme/employment and in what way the research project corresponds to your interests and educational background. 
• Copies of issued study certificates and/or awarded degree certificates. These must confirm that you meet the general and specific admission requirements for the doctoral programme and show that you have the subject knowledge required for the doctoral programme project. 
• Other documents you wish to be considered (grade transcripts, contact information for your references, letters of recommendation, etc.)

We welcome your application.